Reclaiming identity and territory: events and Indigenous culture

Abstract

This chapter reviews the socio-cultural benefits and impacts of Indigenous festivals, along with the politics of Indigenous identity and cultural authenticity at events. It begins by reviewing research on the socio-cultural, economic and political impacts of hallmark Indigenous festivals in Mexico, Sweden, Canada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. The chapter then focuses on Indigenous cultural festivals in Australia, including community festivals (Heydon, 2007), the Garma Festival (Phipps, 2010a, b, 2011; Borthwick, 2011; Pearson, 2011) Laura Aboriginal Dance Festival (Thompson and Connolly, 2006; Henry, 2000a, 2002, 2010; Slater, 2010a; Finch, 2011), The Dreaming Festival (Hanna, 2000; Slater 2007) and the Yalukit Willam Ngargee People Place Gathering in Melbourne (Svoronos, 2010). Case studies then focus on new urban Indigenous festivals attended by the author in Queensland, Australia: the Cairns Indigenous Art Fair (2009, 2010 & 2011) in Cairns; The Torres Strait Islands: A Celebration (2011), and the Reconciliation Beats Concert (2011) both in the capital city of Brisbane. The objectives, sponsorship, cultural program and social or economic outcomes are compared for each urban Indigenous festival. This chapter analyses how these Indigenous festivals contribute to the process of re-territorialisation (Elias-Varotsis, 2006) of Indigenous culture in their original homelands or in new urban locations. The authenticity and sustainability of Indigenous cultural festivals in these new spaces and contexts is also examined.