Our Generation (ATOM Study Guide)

Our Generation (Sinem Saban & Damien Curtis, 2011) is a 52-minute documentary that presents a first-hand view of the situation facing remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory.

It is a passionate and powerful Indigenous-led response to current Indigenous policies by the Australian Government, in particular the Federal Government's Northern Territory Intervention and the NT Government's Homelands Policy. These policies have breached many international human rights and continue to disrupt the lives of Aboriginal people across the Northern Territory.

The film is set in the remote community of Galiwin'ku on Elcho Island in N.E Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, presenting the voices of the Yolngu people who live there. It then widens to a broad context of concern that many other Australian Indigenous people share with those on Elcho Island, the systematic human rights violations, exclusion from economic and political power, territorial dispossession and cultural extinction. It shows a situation in which the oldest culture in the world is being besieged by the youngest. It argues for a fundamental re-alignment of relationships between government and Indigenous people, a deeper respect of Aboriginal culture and dignity, Indigenous self-determination, and the need for a treaty.

The film was also made in response to what it claims is the clear distortion and lack of accurate information in mainstream media about the issues faced by Aboriginal people, particularly in remote communities. Their voices are rarely heard in the media, and the public has developed a distinctly scandalised and prejudiced perspective on the Intervention. Overall, it is a call for non-Indigenous Australia to stop making decisions for and on behalf of Indigenous people, and for Aboriginal control over their lives to be restored.

In short, the film is a powerful journey into Australia's Indigenous relations, from colonisation until the present day. It looks at Australia's ongoing policies of paternalism and assimilation, explains what it believes to be the real issues underlying Indigenous disadvantage in the 'lucky' country, and upholds the right of First Australians to dignity, culture and empowerment in their own land.

Featuring the voices of youth, men, women and elders from remote communities in the Northern Territory, Aboriginal leaders and personalities from across the country, as well as academics, lawyers and international commentators, the film opens the way for dialogue on how Australia can move forward with genuine respect and partnership with its First Peoples. Into a future where solutions come from working together, rather than being dictated from Parliament thousands of kilometres away.

CURRICULUM APPLICABILITY

Our Generation is a densely argued film and is suitable for senior students (Years 10–12) in:

• English
• History, including the National Curriculum
• SOSE/HSIE
• Legal Studies
• Indigenous Studies
• Film and Media Studies
• Civics and Citizenship.