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THE GUARDIAN: PAUL DALEY
ETCHED IN BONE – CHRONICLING AUSTRALIA’S SHAMEFUL TRADE IN INDIGENOUS REMAINS
Early next month when the documentary film, Etched in Bone, is screened for the small west Arnhem Land Aboriginal settlement of Gunbalanya it will be almost seven decades to the day since an expedition of American and Australian scientists stole the remains of community elders and dispatched them to Washington. The film, produced by historian/writers […]
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INSIDE STORY: JANE GOODALL
COMING HOME
“You’ve just seen a hard drive being smoked. On it are all the video files that went into this film.” Martin Thomas’s voiceover comes through quietly, to avoid altering the level of concentration established in the opening sequence of his film Etched in Bone (SBS on Demand, until 31 July). It’s the voice of the land […]
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ABC LATE NIGHT LIVE: PHILLIP ADAMS
ANCESTRAL BONES RETURNED TO ARNHEM LAND
For over 150 years, scientists and anthropologists took indigenous human remains out of the country to museums and university research centres.
In 1948 an anthropological expedition callously removed human remains from a burial cave near the community of Gunbalanya in western Arnhem Land.
A new documentary, “Etched in Bone”, follows the community of Gunbalanya as they fight to have the remains returned.
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ABC RELIGION & ETHICS: AARON NYERGES
ETCHED IN BONE: ON THE REPATRIATION
OF INDIGENOUS LANGUAGES
While the Aboriginal repatriation of human remains from the Smithsonian Institution should be celebrated as a great achievement, it raises questions about indigenous languages that remain unsettled.
Death does not alter our responsibility to respect each other. That is the conclusion that film-maker Martin Thomas offers when reflecting on his new documentary, […]
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THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY: SYDNEY IDEAS
THE ROAD TO INDIGENOUS REPATRIATION
How we can better understand the conflict between
scientific and Indigenous knowledge?
For more than 60 years the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC had stolen
ancestral remains in its collection. It was only recently that the bones were repatriated. This story kicks off our conversation for this event, which focuses on the roles of film, history and culture in advancing the repatriation debate.
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ABC NATIONAL: JOLENE LAVERTY, SUNDAY BRUNCH
THE DECADES-LONG HOMECOMING
OF ANCESTRAL REMAINS TO REMOTE AUSTRALIA
The theft of human remains from western Arnhem Land was done in the name of science. But the true story involved a lot of subterfuge and sinister intentions toward indigenous Australians. The film Etched in Bone documents the journey of aboriginal human remains from Arnhem Land to the Smithsonian in Washington DC. Martin Thomas and Beatrice Bijon spoke to the ABC’s Jolene Laverty about the film, which is being released ahead of the 70th anniversary of the theft.
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ABC RADIO CANBERRA: MICHAEL BLACK
DOCUMENTARY SHEDS LIGHT ON ROBBING OF INDIGENOUS REMAINS ‘IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE’
Grave robbing is the notorious practice of raiding burial grounds for items to sell on the black market.
It’s not the label typically applied to archaeologists, who often encounter ransacked graves themselves during expeditions. The Australian documentary Etched In Bone has exposed the great American-Australian […]
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ABC: ELIAS CLURE, THE WORLD TODAY
‘ETCHED IN BONE’: DOCUMENTARY
HIGHLIGHTS ANCESTORS’ RETURN
This year marks the 70th anniversary of a American archaeological expedition to Arnhem Land. The group took with them hundreds of human bones and sacred artwork back across the Pacific, displaying their at the Smithsonian Institution […]
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CAAMA: ERIN LIDDLE
ETCHED IN BONE – THE DISGRACEFUL STORY
OF CULTURAL THEFT
Etched in Bone, produced and directed by Dr Martin Thomas and Dr Beatrice Bijon from the Australian National University, is a Documentary that follows the journey of the most recent and disgraceful case in cultural theft. Back in 1948, during an […]