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Archaeology and Indigenous Peoples KARRIKADJURREN ART, COMMUNITY, AND IDENTITY IN WESTERN ARNHEM LAND Sally K. May Karrikadjurren Presenting a story of art and artists in Gunbalanya, western Arnhem Land between the years 2001 and 2005, this book explores the artistic community surrounding the primary place of art creation and sale in the region, Injalak Arts, an art centre established in the remote Aboriginal community of Gunbalanya. Using a variety of disciplinary approaches including archaeological analysis and material culture studies, anthropology, historical research, oral histories, and reflexive ethnography, the social context of art creation is explored. May argues that Injalak Arts as a place activates and draws together particular social groupings to form a sense of identity and community. It is the nature of this community, or “Karrikadjurren” in the local dialect, that is the primary focus of this book, with the artworks painted during this period providing unique insights into art, identity, community, and innovation. This book will be of most interest to those working in or studying archaeology, material culture studies, museum studies, anthropology, sociology, Aboriginal studies, art history, Australian studies, rock art, and development studies. More specifically, this book will appeal to scholars with an interest in the archaeology or anthropology of art, ethnoarchaeology, and the nature and politics of community archaeology. Dr. Sally K. May is an Associate Professor of archaeology and museum studies in the School of Humanities at the University of Adelaide, Australia. Her interdisciplinary research focuses on relationships between people, landscapes, material culture and imagery, with inspiration drawn primarily from fieldwork in northern Australia. Sally is the author of “Collecting Cultures: Myth, Politics, and Collaboration in the 1948 Arnhem Land Expedition” (Altamira, 2009) and co-author of “The Bible in Buffalo Country: Oenpelli mission 1925–1931” (ANU Press, 2020). Archaeology and Indigenous Peoples Series editors: H Martin Wobst, Sonya Atalay, T. J. Ferguson, Claire Smith, Joe Watkins, and Larry Zimmerman Maritime Heritage in Crisis Indigenous Landscapes and Global Ecological Breakdown Richard M. Hutchings Memory and Cultural Landscape at the Khami World Heritage Site, Zimbabwe Ashton Sinamai Aboriginal Maritime Landscapes in South Australia The Balance Ground Madeline E. Fowler Incorporating Nonbinary Gender into Inuit Archaeology Oral Testimony and Material Inroads Meghan Walley Cultural Heritage Management and Indigenous People in the North of Colombia Back to the Ancestor’s Landscape Wilhelm Londoño Díaz Karrikadjurren Aboriginal Art, Community, and Identity in Western Arnhem Land Sally K. May For more information about this series, please visit: https://www.routledge.com/ Archaeology--Indigenous-Peoples/book-series/AIP Karrikadjurren Art, Community, and Identity in Western Arnhem Land Sally K. May First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Sally K. May The right of Sally K. May to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978-0-367-33776-6 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-27117-0 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-32183-2 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9780429321832 Typeset in Times New Roman by MPS Limited, Dehradun Cautionary Note The author has worked closely with and been guided by local Aboriginal people throughout the fieldwork and the writing stages of this book. Permission was sought to take the photographs included in this book and to reproduce them in this document. This book does, however, contain the names and photographs of some artists who have since died. While permission was granted from their family members to use these names in this book, care should be taken not to mention these names to Aboriginal people in western Arnhem Land as they may cause distress to relatives. Similar care should be taken with photographs of people who are deceased or may die after the completion of this book. This book is dedicated to Thompson Narrongolkgi Yulidjirri, artist and educator c.1930–2009. Figure 0.1 Thompson Yulidjirri, 2005 (photo: Paul S.C. Taçon). Contents List of Figures xi List of Tables xix Foreword xx Preface xxiv Acknowledgements xxvi A Note on Orthography xxviii A Note on Captions xxix 1 Community Archaeology, Interdisciplinarity, and an Artistic Community 1 2 Contemplating Community 13 3 Embodied Reflexive Ethnography 33 4 Histories of Art and Community in Gunbalanya (Oenpelli) 45 5 Histories of Art in the Mission Era and Beyond 67 6 The Australian Art Centre Movement 94 7 Navigating Protocols in a New Era 118 8 People, Place, and Community 163 9 A Cultural House 185 10 Community and Social Context 205