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cern in having the Jardiwarnpa ceremony ¤lmed as the documents attached to the fund-
raising prospectus make clear” (n.d., 12).
15. Regarding this ¤lm, Peterson writes: “Langton is critical of the Ngatjakula ¤lm
for having a voice of God narrative by myself and lacking any interviews with the par-
ticipants. By contrast, the ¤lm she was involved in has an Aboriginal voice of god and
includes limited direct translation of exegesis and conversation by Warlpiri people in-
volved in the ¤lm. . . . There is no evidence that the Warlpiri controlled the whole process
of the making of the ¤lm or that their comments make what is going on much more
transparent: indeed it could be the reverse” (n.d., 10–11).
16. In May 2004 John Howard abolished the Aboriginal and Torres Straits Islander
Commission (ATSIC), the main indigenously run bureaucracy through which most
funds have been distributed to indigenous communities and projects. Not surprisingly
this reversal of political sentiment has emanated largely from right-wing critics of hard-
won principles of Aboriginal autonomy articulated by indigenous activists since the
1960s, ideas that offer hope and a foundation for an Aboriginal future beyond the non-
choices of total assimilation or a frozen traditionalism.

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