Mparntwe Sacred Sites

Clip 2: Caterpillar

2 min 28 sec

Taken from the documentary Mparntwe Sacred Sites (2004)

Original title classification not known – this clip chosen to be G

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Availability of the complete title

Please be aware that this clip may contain the names, images and voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may now be deceased.

Curator’s clip description

Thomas Stevens, Max Stuart and Peter Renehan all speak about the importance of the custodianship of the land, and explain that when the land is not cared for, the people get sick.

Curator’s notes

The Arrernte people in this clip talk about the importance of protecting the sites created by the ancestor caterpillar being. Indigenous people have a familial connection with land, and it is this perspective that values the land differently to Westerners. An example of this different value system is evident in a decision in 1983 by the government to desecrate a sacred site in order to build a road to the casino.

Romaine Moreton, curator

australian screen