Descendants

Descendants brings black and white Australians together in a reckoning with our nation’s violent past.

The wounds of Australia’s Frontier Wars cannot heal until our nation confronts the trauma caused by the invasion, the bloodshed and massacres. From both sides.

Courageously exploring the harrowing legacy of Australia, Descendants connects the traumas of dispossession with ongoing systemic racism and segregation faced by First Nations peoples today. Refusal to recognise violent histories denies the pain and trauma of the past, causing further violence in the present. Bringing together perpetrators and victims of colonial violence will radically change our understanding of history as Descendants transports us back to Country to explore the landscapes that have acted as silent witnesses of difficult truths.

Unearthing the horrors of the past will connect black and white Australians as they find deep human connection across often insurmountable divides, begin to heal intergenerational trauma and understand the value of truth-telling to facilitate social change.

By disrupting the denial of the past, Descendants reveals the continuing effects of colonial conquest on victims and perpetrators, leading to a series of truth-telling community interventions celebrating the strength and resilience of First Nation’s Australians.