Coombs Lecture Theatre, Coombs Building #9
Bringing Them Back: The homeward journey of human remains from Western Arnhem Land
Dr Martin Thomas, School of History, ANU
SCREENING AND DISCUSSION OF A FILM IN PROGRESS
In 1945, Charles P. Mountford, the Adelaide-based photographer and ethnologist, won financial support for what would become the American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land of 1948. For the communities that fell within its gaze, the expedition has been a mixed blessing. Photography and sound recordings are being studied and enjoyed by descendant communities. But the theft of human bones by American anthropologist Frank Setzler is a cause of enduring grief. These bones were held in the physical anthropology collection of the Smithsonian Institution for sixty years. Only recently, in a rare decision to allow an international repatriation from its collections, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History agreed that the remains could return to Australia. The story of the removal of the remains, and their journey back to their place of origin, is the subject of a documentary film-in-progress. This seminar-cum-screening will explore how the original theft and the recent return of the remains are being dealt with in Arnhem Land, as seen from the perspective of Jacob Nayinggul, a ceremonial ‘bossman’ of Gunbalanya (aka Oenpelli) who recently organised the burial of the returned bones.
The seminar coincides with a visit to Canberra by a group of senior elders from Groote Eylandt, another locality visited by the 1948 expedition. Mr Thomas Amagula, who appears in a section of the film shot in Washington, has generously agreed to participate in the discussion following the screening.
Please note that the film contains images of Aboriginal people who have passed away.
Martin Thomas is an ARC Future Fellow in the ANU School of History. He is the author of The Many Worlds of R. H. Mathews (2011) and co-editor of Exploring the Legacy of the 1948 Arnhem Land Expedition (2011).
Photo: Jacob Nayinggul and Martin Thomas at burial ceremony in Gunbalanya, July 2011. Photograph courtesy of Glenn Campbell.
ALL WELCOME
Please direct enquiries to Gregory.Barton@anu.edu.au