Mparntwe Sacred Sites
Clip 3: Wild Dog Dreaming
2 min 48 sec
Taken from the documentary Mparntwe Sacred Sites (2004)
Original title classification not known – this clip chosen to be G
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
Aerial views show Mount Gillen. The voice-over narration tells us about the Wild Dog Dreaming, when a local dog ancestor battled an intruder dog and eventually transformed into a rock embedded into the ground. Shots show the sacred rock in the bustling town of Alice Springs. This site is an example of a site that became unusable for ceremony due to its location. A custodian tells the Wild Dog Dreaming story during a National Native Title Tribunal Hearing in 1997.
Curator’s notes
The Dreaming stories are of significant importance to their Indigenous custodians, and they are also important within the Western legal system when Indigenous groups are seeking Native Title. In this clip, we see how the Dreaming stories offer proof within the Western legal system of connection to land.
Romaine Moreton, curator
