DPM>BEATS January 2020

January 2020

We were so excited to be invited to Fingal where the culture AND waves are pumping - and didn’t the mob show us the goods!  
Goodjinburra mob - you guys are DEADLY.
This was fourth project in our series of 'Break It Down' projects funded by the North Coast Primary Health Network, and the enthusiasm of the community made our start to 2020 epic.
In true DPM style we transformed the surf club into a comfy studio and recorded lyrics in the back of a van.  The young people of Fingal showing an incredible level of spirit, commitment and enthusiasm to the whole process.  
We had the honour of witnessing and filming the mob dancing on their family dance ground.  The dance 'Goway' is all about respect and contribution.  It was an incredible experience for the project crew to capture the strength and resilience in this community and the way this is shining through these young people.
We can't wait for the launch of the music video and two short films that were created with this solid mob.  The launch happens 6pm Thursday 13th February when we return for the DPM Roadshow at the Fingal Heads Public School.    
'Break It Down' aims to support a community-led conversation about social and emotional wellbeing for Original Nations young people, and is fully funded by the North Coast Primary Health Network.  This was the fourth project in a series of 8 projects in the region over 2019/2020.  

As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, we have an obligation to learn and respect our laws, while we also have to learn the laws and ways of the colonists. We have to learn twice as much, and contribute to two societies, while having access to less than half the resources of your average Australian.
The colonisation of Australia and its mandated policies and acts of genocide have deliberately disturbed and damaged the practice of Aboriginal cultures and our cultural heritage in the most devastating way. Yet, culture is something we are rich in. It includes our laws, our respect for our Elders and our stories and songs of the creation of the land. Our languages in which these stories are told, are steeped in the landscape around us, our customs and our beliefs. Cultural heritage is all around us, sites, objects, and places hold thousands of years of stories and practices. There are complex rules around how and with whom it is shared.
As and cultural practioners, we walk a hard road in maintaining our ancient culture which is not for public consumption and creating a contemporary body of cultural work to share with wider community and to inspire our younger generations to take their place.  
Contemporary cultural practioners, led by Elders and bound by protocol must recreate cultural collateral, songs, dance, art works and music informed by the practice of the past.  Within Aboriginal culture many of our practices, songs, and dances, stories that are sacred are also secret with strict process of how it is passed on. 
Our people are under enormous economic and social pressures just to survive, it is increasingly difficult for people to find time and space to share, practice and teach our culture with each other.  Yet this has to come first, the empowerment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to prioritise the practice of our culture, designated places and times in our national calendar before we can share this with the world.  We need the designated time and space in our modern society to prioritise and celebrate our culture in order to strengthen and heal.
Working with Desert Pea Media has enabled me to refine this practice and de - institutionalise myself.  I have found Desert Pea Media's framework aligns with my cultural framework.  This has supported me to level up in my practice with Bunyarra Culture Collective and in the broader community.  One of the best aspects of my role is connecting with the communities and our team and feel a great deal of respect from the team here at Desert Pea Media.