Words by Farrah Faust | Consulted with First Nations woman Aimee Joy prior to publication
You probably heard your instructors give a short speech at the beginning of your class/es this past week in honour of NAIDOC Week. For those who don’t know, NAIDOC Week is a week-long celebration of the history, culture, and achievements of the First Nations peoples of Australia, instituted by the National Aboriginies and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Usually, NAIDOC week is celebrated in the first week of July, but this year due to COVID-19 complicating everyone’s calendars, the celebration was moved to 8th – 15th November. This year’s theme was “Always was, always will be,” a sentiment that I think all of us – regardless of cultural identity and ethnographic background – can get behind.
As a descendant of European immigrants with no known indigenous heritage, I ummed and ahhhed over writing about a culture that I am only able to view from the outside. I was concerned that my writing could come across as appropriative, or even patronising. Eventually I resolved to write the piece with as much sensitivity as possible, and as I researched and learned more about indigenous arts and peoples I found myself deeply impressed by a rich and diverse culture full of performers of all kinds. In Australia we are very lucky to have such a strong history of determined and creative Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who’ve paved the way for other First Nations artists, as well as the trailblazing individuals who continue to do so, many of whom I learned identify as LGBTQIA+.
I hope you find as much enjoyment and enrichment in reading this piece and learning about an amazingly rich continuing tradition as I did in writing it.
Artwork by Charlotte Allingham
The First Nations peoples of Australia – Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders - are internationally recognised as the world’s oldest continually surviving culture. These peoples have been creating art through storytelling, dance, musicianship, and painting since time immemorial and they continue to do so today despite facing immense socio-economic adversity. Storytelling and performance art are intrinsic pieces of Australian indigenous culture, and this NAIDOC week felt to me like an appropriate time to celebrate some of the cultural achievements of indigenous performers in Australia, particularly those who identify as belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community, a community that Sky Sirens has supported since the studio’s very inception.
It is inherently difficult to make generalisations about First Nations traditions in Australia because one of the beautiful things about our indigenous people is that they come not from one homogenous culture but from many vastly varied traditions with differing beliefs, songlines, and social norms that must be taken into account. A Gadigal person from Eora Nation (Sydney) will not necessarily subscribe to the same creed as a Yolngu person from Arnhem Land, for example. That said, I will be making a few necessary generalisations below in regards to sex-specific religious ceremonies and gender roles often (but by no means always) adhered to among indigenous groups in Australia.
Religious and spiritual rites, often involving elements of song and dance, have always been part of indigenous culture Australia-wide and are frequently
divided along gendered lines.
While gender equity holds great importance among most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the concept of “women’s business” and “men’s business” remains significant. These phrases do not express a sexist division between the traditionally perceived gender binary, but rather the particular roles and sacred knowledge held exclusively by women and by men. In many indigenous cultures it has long been considered taboo for a person of one gender to become privy to the secret songs, sites, and ceremonies of the other, and harsh punishments have historically been enforced for crossing this cultural and spiritual boundary.
Which begs the question, what does an indigenous person in the modern, post-gender world who identifies as non-binary, or as a gender other than that assigned to them at birth, navigate the practices of their traditions and culture without committing taboo? Interestingly, many of the blazers of this difficult trail have used performance art and traditional forms of dance to interpret, negotiate with, and express their journey through gender diversity while still embracing their heritage. Many sistergirls and brotherboys (both indigenous terms used to describe First Nations trans and/or non-binary people) have taken up song, dance, physical theatre, and drag as tools to carve out their places in modern Australia, as well as within their own communities.
Beau James is a gender diverse Mununjali person of the Yugambeh Nation (South-eastern Queensland), and one of Australia’s foremost indigenous physical theatre performers. In a 2017 interview with Rhoda Roberts for the podcast Deadly Voices From the House (produced by the Sydney Opera House) James stated, “My performances were like therapy. I was working through my self and my feelings.” Until recently, Beau was known as Donna Carstens and much of their art has been informed by the emotional challenges of transition as an indigenous person. This, along with other, separate traumatic life experiences, culminated in the creation of their character “Solid Gold” in the 1980s, an irreverent but affectionate drag king caricature of a male pole dancer oozing with masculine braggadocio. In the same interview, James also addressed exploring not just their sexuality and gender identity on stage but also their ethnicity, saying -
“30 Years in a Suitcase was one of the first shows I did and that also brought into it my Aboriginality, y’know it’s about not being black, not being white...”
Along those lines, in 2019 James appeared in the Sydney Opera House’s cabaret show Natives Go Wild, a tongue-in-cheek examination of the historical treatment of indigenous peoples by white circus entertainers during which they performed a poignant act of escapology from a straitjacket while the racist and oppressive legislation of the 1800s & 1900s which regulated the lives of indigenous peoples was read out over their performance. They are currently the Manager of Indigenous Programs at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Eora Nation and they have spent many years working in arts communities across Australia. In the Deadly Voices podcast, James tells a beautiful story of acceptance wherein they met with some Elders from One Arm Point in WA for an exhibition with the Museum. Having already been questioned about their gender by the Elders and having explained, “Well, I’m a bit of both,” James chose to let it go until later on during the tour when the group divided along gender lines in order to discuss traditional lore.
In James’s own words, “The men looked at Helen [Anu, James’s colleague at the Museum] and said ‘Helen, you’ll have to leave the room now, but you can stay,’ as they pointed at me. And for me, that was an amazing experience of acceptance. They saw me through their eyes, what they were seeing, and that’s what they were happy to support. So that was a big thing.” Alongside this very worthy work, James is an outspoken advocate for trans rights within the indigenous community and has collaborated with a number of support programs aimed at sistergirls and brotherboys in remote areas of Australia, including Sisters & Brothers NT - an indigenous advocacy group supporting sexually diverse individuals in the community - making them a true blue champion of non-binary indigenous people and performers in Australia.
Pole dancer, actor, beautician, and qualified nurse Matty Shields was born in the small outback town of Walgett and catapulted himself into the public eye on Australia’s Got Talent in 2011 to huge national acclaim. As a child, Shields performed in traditional cultural dance ceremonies and then learnt contemporary dance as he grew older, before discovering pole dance after moving to Eora (Sydney) to pursue his education. This prodigy was not only doing a flag after only 8 months of pole training (yikes!) but also smashing gender stereotypes. His innate strength, along with his infectious smile and humility got him all the way through to the semi-finals. His personal pole style fuses traditional indigenous dance steps alongside more standard pole moves; in Shields’s own words, “I like to incorporate an indigenous dance fusion with pole. I put contemporary Aboriginal dancing into it.” Since the competition, Shields has been on stage representing the Sydney Festival, the Australia Day Council, the 2011 Deadly Awards, and NAIDOC Week itself. With his pole dancing partner Michelle Shimmy, he also took out third place in the Doubles category of the World Pole Sport Fitness Championships in 2011. On an episode of ABC’s Message Stick in 2012 called “Pole Position”, Shimmy proudly says of Shields -
“It is unusual but I think thanks to Matty, awareness of male pole dancing is definitely growing. It’s no longer seen as something very strange, which it used to be […] He’s really put it on the map for male pole dancers.”
His international performances have not only broken gender norms in a female-dominated industry, but on top of this achievement, his celebrity has advanced First Nations people on the world stage. Shields states on the same episode of Message Stick, “I feel like I’ve promoted Aboriginal culture in the sense that I incorporate the elements into the pole, y’know. I’ve brought it to the world and showed the pole dancing world, ‘Hey, this is where I’m from’. I’m Aboriginal, I’m an Aboriginal Australian man and we’re amazing!” Along with being a pole champion representing his culture and a breaker of gendered typecasting on a global stage, Shields is also a fearless advocate for the acceptance and advancement of Aboriginal peoples within the queer community. Having personally experienced much racism throughout his life - even in queer spaces – he is a true survivor, fighter, and representative of Aboriginal Australia who deserves to be recognised as a national icon not only due to his athletic and dance achievements, but also for his advocacy work in changing cultural and traditional masculine-feminine stereotypes.
Artwork by Charlotte Allingham
There are of course many hundreds of other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia representing every niche on the gender and sexuality spectrums who perform circus acts, comedy, burlesque, cabaret, theatre, performance art, dance, and music, as well as those who straddle the increasingly blurred boundaries between exotic art and sex work. I wish I could go into depth with each and every one of their inspiring stories, but I would encourage any reader whose curiosity has been piqued by this piece to engage directly with indigenous voices telling their own stories and there are many ways to do so. From reaching out online to an admired First Nations performer or artist and offering them support and encouragement, to attending indigenous performances and exhibitions at theatres and galleries which fund their work, to giving either your time as a volunteer or financial support (if this is available to you) to the many charitable organisations that do incredible work alongside Australia’s indigenous communities.
So as we continue to live and learn on what is stolen Gadigal land belonging to the people of the Eora Nation, we must acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded and do our best to make reparations both for the wrongdoings of our ancestors and the continued systemic marginalisation of First Nations peoples that our government and society perpetuate, particularly those who fall under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella. This week, and every week, we must acknowledge the Elders past, present, and emerging, as well as the indigenous artists of all disciplines who continue to weave the stories of their people, culture, and Country. As my own personal way of “paying the rent” for the land that I live on, I’m going to go out and support some of this country’s incredible indigenous performers, and have an amazing time doing it.
If you would like to support indigenous LGBTQIA+ people, indigenous performers and involvement in the arts, or indigenous sex workers, this is by no means an exhaustive list but it’s a good place to start:
First Nations Rainbow is an organisation established in 2017 aimed at supporting, celebrating, and raising awareness of queer and trans First Nations peoples, including sistergirls and brotherboys, as well as all other indigenous persons who identify as belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community.
Aboriginal Dance Theatre, Redfern is a non-profit company that offers courses in indigenous dance techniques and also runs youth outreach programs.
NAISDA Dance College (NSW) was the first tertiary dance college established in NSW and the first to cater to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander performers. They were also instrumental in the establishment of Bangarra Dance Theatre which tours internationally to massive acclaim for their contemporary take on traditional dance forms, as well as engaging in outreach projects and educational workshops aimed at inspiring emerging indigenous dancers.
Moogahlin Performing Arts Inc. (NSW) is a First Nations theatre company founded in 2007 in memory of the now-defunct National Black Theatre (closed 1977). They are based in Redfern, and are also the resident dance company at Carriageworks.
SWOP (the Sex Workers Outreach Program) is a non-profit organisation in NSW that supports sex workers regardless of gender, gender expression, sexuality, or ethnicity, including offering active support for workers of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander heritage.
References:
Rhoda Roberts for The Sydney Opera House; recorded 16th November 2017; Deadly Voices From the House, episode Transitioning; audio podcast: https://www.stitcher.com/show/deadly-voices-from-the-house/episode/beau-james-transitioning-52266824
ABC iView; filmed 2017; Art Bites: Unboxed, episode Beau; https://iview.abc.net.au/video/AC1706S002S00
ABC News; published 21st October 2019; accessed 12 November 2020; https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-21/sydney-opera-house-cabaret-natives-go-wild-first-nations-talent/11442984
The Guardian; published 23rd October 2019; accessed 12 November 2020; https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/oct/23/natives-go-wild-review-first-nations-circus-is-a-potent-mix-of-defiance-and-triumph
Message Stick series 14, episode 1; recorded 2012; Pole Position; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dpdL9evhj0
ABC Local; published 30 May 2011; accessed 12th November 2020; https://www.abc.net.au/local/audio/2011/05/30/3230368.htm
Matty Shields; published 5th October 2011; accessed 12th November 2020; https://websitewizards.wixsite.com/mattyshields/media-c23gn