Reconciliation Week: Our History, Our Story, Our Future

Around Australia, National Reconciliation Week is being celebrated and commemorated in a range of events as varied as the people who have cared for this country for thousands of years.

Reconciliation Week, which is on from 27 May to 3 June, gives us the opportunity to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history and culture. Events are being held around the country, from the annual Long Walk in Melbourne to dances and photographic exhibitions in small towns around Australia.

As this year’s National Reconciliation Week theme “Our History, Our Story, Our Future” makes clear, each event gives us the opportunity to reflect on the place of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and rights in our nation’s story.   

Black Screen is a series of free film screenings throughout remote and regional South Australia. Organised by Country Arts SA and the National Film and Sound Archive, Black Screen features short films by local Aboriginal filmmakers as well as the feature film Spear by the Bangarra Dance Theatre.

Mandy Brown, Aboriginal Arts and Cultural Development Officer at Country Arts SA, is one of the organisers of Black Screen. Mandy, an Elder of the Peramangk and Ngarrindjeri nations with connections to the Kokatha and Pitjantjatjara peoples, says that Black Screen is an opportunity for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to come together to watch films in impressive surroundings.

“One of our venues is the old Coober Pedy Drive-In, which is a fantastic place to watch films,” Mandy said.

“You can’t drive your car into the old Drive-In anymore but everyone brings a chair in and has a great time.”

However, Mandy, whose grandfather is the famous tracker Jimmy James, says that while she is happy that people enjoy events like Black Screen, it is important to remember why Reconciliation Week exists. 

“We still have some way to go before we have reconciliation in Australia,” Mandy said.

“Non-Indigenous people must take the lead in reconciling with us over the past and for the future. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are still reconciling with each other and the land and the sea, so while reconciliation can occur, there is still much work to be done.”