Resting Place: Subverting the Plunderer's Gaze in 'Etched in Bone'

Years in the making, Martin Thomas' document of the efforts to retrieve and properly bury stolen Indigenous remains from an American museum is a sensitive and contemplative portrayal of Arnhem Land cultural practices. As Will Cox finds, the film's narrative of remedying colonial wrongs is mirrored in its eschewal of a traditional documentary approach in favour of careful collaboration.

Additional keywords:
Talking Society, middle years, senior secondary, Smithsonian Institution, Indigenous, Aboriginal, archaeology, National Geographic, 1948 American–Australian Scientific Expedition, Northern Territory, cultural fidelity, authorship, Jacob Nayinggul, Béatrice Bijon, James Smithson, colonialism, appropriation