Jacob Nayinggul, Indigenous Elder from the Gunbalanya region in Ahnem Land.
A documentary film by researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) is set to shine a light on the cultural and emotional damage caused to Aboriginal communities by 'bone theft' - the removal of human remains from their resting places for scientific purposes. Etched in Bone tells the story of Aboriginal bones taken during the American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem Land in 1948. The bones were then taken to the Smithsonian Institution in the United States before eventually being repatriated to Arnhem Land more than 60 years later. The film was made and directed by historian Dr Martin Thomas and Dr Béatrice Bijon (Co-Director) from the ANU School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics. Dr Thomas explained that the film explores why human remains are important within Indigenous culture. "The Spirits of the ancestors are attached to the bones, so removing them creates disharmony within the spirit world," Dr Thomas said. "There is a fundamental conflict between scientific values and Indigenous beliefs." The film uses original footage of the 1948 scientific expedition and tells the story from the perspective of Jacob Nayinggul, an Indigenous Elder from the Gunbalanya region in Arnhem Land who passed away before the film could be released.
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