Graha Badari Billabong Scene with Huning Mimi

'Culture Trackers'

- Ashley Crawford

Graham Badari, Simon Badari, Gershom Garlngarr, Linde Ivimey, Bardayal Nadjamerrek, Hanna Nawarridj, Roslyn Nawarridj, Nick Magnan, Gabriel Maralngurra, Kate Rohde, Peter Walsh and Guan Wei.

To describe the current governmental policies on indigenous issues as cultural Armageddon is, sadly, all too accurate.

The Telstra National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Art Award and the current exhibition at 24HR Art, Culture Trackers, are examples of constructive interaction between black and white Australia. The blanket policies toward Aboriginal communities currently being imposed are, simply put, racist. It is quite clearly a craftily structured land grab. Yep, there's uranium in those there hills. Having visited numerous communities over the years there can be no doubt that there are problems, and often those can be sourced directly back to government policies. But there can also be no doubt that each community has quite specific problems - treating each and every community as identical is nothing short of ridiculous. It is clear that in the Prime Minister's mind, the world is black or white.

The hypocrisy here is remarkable. While the government doesn't mind trading off the brilliance of indigenous culture - see John Howard grinning with John Mawurndjul and Jacques Chirac at the Musee du Quai Branly in Paris - the traditions from where this art emerges are being demolished. White fellas can now legally trample over sacred lands tossing beer cans and scarring the land with motorbike trails.

Culture Trackers was an alternative approach to melding the ways of disparate cultures. The scheme was concocted by the director of 24HR Art, Steve Eland and the notion, in some ways was ridiculously simple, in others a total nightmare.

It was never going to be a straight forward affair. There were some of the lesser issues to confront; cyclones, crocodiles and logistics. Then there were the artists.

The campsite for this enterprise was chosen by the traditional owner of the Kunwinjku country of Arnhem Land, Donald Gumurdul, and was not far from Gunbalanya (Oenpelli) in the staggering escarpment country of western Arnhem Land. To those who have not visited the region it comes as a shock of both natural and cultural change. When one crosses the East Alligator River - the border of Arnhem Land - the country, along with the time, temperature, language and spirit, changes. It is an initiation in itself and one that most city people seem to find both exhilarating and terrifying, which was very much the case for some of the balanda (non-Aboriginal) artists on board.

The results of this trip - both sociological and aesthetic - were truly remarkable. In the first days there were essentially two artists' camps, one white, one black. By the third day there was one intermingled camp, each artist comparing techniques, content, ideas and cultures. Graham Badari shared his enthusiasm for heavy metal rock music with Nick Magnan. Linde Ivimey and Kate Rohde sat by the stream with Hanna Nawarridj and Roslyn Nawarridj learning the art of weaving. Peter Walsh and Gabriel Maralngurra sat on a canvas drop cloth swapping ochres and acrylics. Both Walsh and Guan Wei were given permission to make use of certain designs seen in rock art at Injalak Hill and Wei would talk quietly with Badari and Maralngurra about the stories behind the figures. By now they were all used to Hari Ho taking pictures.

At night everyone would collect around the fire and swap stories, then one night an old woman let out a blood curdling scream and began singing to the Two Dogs Dreaming, the sacred site where we sat in the sand spellbound.

At the start they were total strangers. At the end they were friends, bonded by art, by music, by sharing food and fire. There are lessons in this project that could well be taught to the community at large.

But a greater tragedy co-exists with this success. Under the Howard Government, direct interaction with traditional owners and elders on even the most minor of issues has been all but non-existent. Australia's government has to finally acknowledge that indigenous leaders on their home lands are as important, if not far more so, as the premiers of the various states. They should be accorded at least the same respect.

There have been numerous occasions where indigenous elders have made the offer of sitting down around a fire and talking the issues out directly with the Prime Minister. Racial harmony is a two way street. If the white government wants respect, then respect should be accorded to those who lived in this land far before the arrival of Europeans.

There are worse ways to work out problems than sitting around a fire. Perhaps the governmental dry cleaning bill is the problem - no sitting on the ground for our prime minister, even when an entire culture and civilization is at risk.