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Dast Echoes is one way that we are bringing everyone back to the same campf ire - black and white. We are telling our stories to you in a way you can understand, to help you see, hear and know. And we are telling these stories to ourselves, so that we will always remember, with pride, who we are.
- Tom E. Lewis, Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation
Curriculum Box
These online stories provide inspiring and creative opportunities in Media Studies, Media Literacy, Literacy, English, Music, Visual Arts, Drama, Dance, Aboriginal Studies and many other curriculum areas.
DUST Echoes was created through a collaboration between ABC Innovation, the Djilpin Arts Aboriginal Corporation and the Wugularr community. It is an outstanding multi-platform, interactive animation series that presents twelve Dreamtime stories at <http://www.abc.net.au/ dustechoes/>. Animators, musicians, artists, writers and actors have joined forces to interpret the stories and produce animations each of about five minutes duration.
This article brings together content from a variety of sources to explore the multimedia texts that comprise Dust Echoes. It also provides background information about the development of Dust Echoes and some general classroom activities and questions.
LISTENING TO THE LAND: DUST ECHOES
The twelve animations from Arnhem Land tell stories of love, loyalty, duty to land and Aboriginal custom and law. The stories in Dust Echoes come from the Beswick community in Australia's Northern Territory. The first four animations were produced in 2005 and eight were produced in 2007. Dusf Echoes has been acknowledged with film festival screenings and awards both in Australia and internationally, with the second batch of animations receiving accolades even before the new web site went live in 2007.
While authentically Indigenous, Dust Echoes cleverly engages young audiences by offering a modern, youthful creativity and spirit that brings new voices to ancient Dreamtime storytelling. Each story features a stirring original music soundtrack. The music in Dusf Echoes combines the traditional didgeridoo, clapsticks, voice - with contemporary instruments, rhythms and harmonies. Music teachers will find plenty of interesting music tracks to explore and enjoy with students and encourage them to create their own.
The Dust Echoes web site provides an interactive experience to help contextualize the animations. Authences, or users, can explore the narratives and even create...