This description is derived from notes taken during class and my memories of the session.

In today’s first presentation, the student mentions a place called Condamine. When he finished his speech, L2 asks him whether he knows where Condamine is situated. He is unsure and so is she, so he looks it up on Google Maps and L2 then shows us on the map on wall which shows the borders of the Aboriginal nations. {Click here for analysis}

One aspect of the presentation makes L2 think of the Burrawang tree. It is a plant which has a long piece of wood in its middle from which spears were made, she explains. Because of its peculiar shape, colonists often thought there was a person hiding behind it. Although Aboriginal peoples traded with each other, L2 goes on explaining, they would always only go to the edge of another people’s country unless they were invited in. At the borders, they would communicate with the help of dot art. Dot art, L2 clarifies, is not traditional Aboriginal art. Traditional Aboriginal art are paintings which show animals in form of skeletons.

L2 also tells the class that the Institute used to organise bus trips to different important Aboriginal sites for students, and gives examples. While she is talking about the sites she is looking for photos of them on the internet. In the past, regular events used to take place at these sites, she says, including marriages, trade and occasions during which knowledge was shared.

After the second presentation, L2 tells us that she used to have students in her classes who did not know about their family’s background. With the help of their family name, she was able to tell them. She also picks up individual places and facts from the presentation saying that while she did not know about some of the aspects, she has been to one of places. When a student asks what circular breathing is, she mocks her a little by walking in a circle while breathing before giving a serious answer.

As it is the last session before the mid-semester break, L2 talks about her plans for the next two weeks. There will be the football knock-out in Dubbo, she says, which will be an opportunity for her to catch up with her family. When she meets them, she tells us, she always brings a few good books she read to lend to other people. After talking about police issues at big Aboriginal events, L2 asks: “Did I tell you the story about my husband in 2010?” As we shake our heads, she goes on vividly describing an incident in which the police thought her husband had stolen a car, although it was his own. “You would hope that people are not that judgmental…” L2 says at the end of the story. {Click here for analysis}

Back to the list of all descriptions