Indigenous music festival brings dreaming to life in the Territory

A local men's song and dance group, known as Atetherr or 'budgerigar dreaming', has been revived at Tanami's most influential festival for school students in the Northern Territory, the MOB Fest.

More than 200 Indigenous students from five schools around the Tanami region have come together to celebrate the third annual MOB Fest Tanami music festival, funded by the Federal Government's $3 million Community Festivals for Education Engagement program.

School Education Minister Peter Garrett stated "senior elder, Paddy Jakamarra Willis, has enriched the experiences of the local children by reviving traditional dance and teaching the next generation of young Indigenous male students how to do it.

"This festival is a highly respected community event, attracting about 40 local Indigenous elders, who share the vision of local schools and the community to ensure that students are engaged in school, and that they will go on to lead happy and healthy lives.

"Some elders have come from as far as 250 kilometres north to share in the cultural experience of song and dance, which is a great way to inspire these kids to get them dreaming, believing and achieving.

"The festival promotes better educational outcomes for Indigenous students by encouraging them to stay in school and complete Year 12 and to develop positive, healthy lifestyles.

"Connecting culture to learning is a really important way of bringing young people together and keeping them interested in their education."

The four-day festival is taking place at Ti Tree School, offering the children the opportunity to attend interactive, creative workshops in the day and concerts at night.

Federal Minister for Indigenous Employment, Mark Arbib, said the program was part of the Australian Government's Closing the Gap strategy to tackle Indigenous disadvantage by 2020, adding "the Community Festivals are a key part of our commitment to engage Indigenous students, with the aim of halving the gap in reading, writing and numeracy and Year 12 attainment, between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students within the decade."

Willis said when the men first saw the local Indigenous women perform at the festival four years ago, they were so impressed that the next year he reintroduced the Atetherr dance back into the community. Until then, the dance had not been performed for 30 or 40 years.

Willis explained "it is really important to share our culture and our dreaming and songs at the festival so everyone can understand what the culture is and what the dreaming is."

Young people were engaged in creative activities at school in the lead-up to the festival, including song-writing and story-telling based on their own cultures, including in their own languages.

Students attending the festival will participate in a number of activities, including listening to inspirational talks by role models, participating in skills workshops, participating in creative arts activities, discovering future career pathways.

The Australian Government provides more than $3 million annually to the Community Festivals for Education Engagement program to support community festivals across the nation. The Tanami event received more than $310,000 from the program.

For more information visit www.DEEWR.gov.au/Communityfestivals