Assoc Prof John Bradley - Researcher Profile

John Bradley

Address

Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies
Faculty of Arts, Clayton

Biography

Animating knowledge

Thousands of years of Australian history are dangerously close to disappearing as Indigenous languages across the country face extinction. Now, Dr John Bradley of the Monash Indigenous Centre and a group of Monash computer animators are working with Indigenous communities to preserve this fragile heritage though a combination of ancient wisdom and hi-tech know-how.

John has worked alongside Indigenous communities in the southwest Gulf of Carpentaria, in the Northern Territory, for more than 30 years. In that time he has developed a close bond with the local Yanyuwa people, and is now among a tiny minority of people who speak Yanyuwa fluently.

Less than 40 years ago there were 260 speakers of Yanyuwa. Now there are four. It is a phenomenon repeated across Australia's Indigenous communities. Of the 250 languages that were once spoken in Australia, less than 100 are now with us, and only about 20 are considered strong.

"To watch a language die is one of the saddest things I’ve ever experienced," John says.

"Because incredibly intimate knowledge about Australia just disappears and if you haven’t reclaimed it, then it’s gone forever. It is silenced.

"The vast and critical knowledge that Indigenous people have gained in their country for millennia is encoded in their language. In those languages are the treasures, in those languages are the details that we might otherwise miss out on. They provide a deep well of environmental and social knowledge."

John has teamed with animators from the Monash Faculty of Information Technology to preserve the heritage of the Yanyuwa people and save the critical knowledge. The community have produced a series of traditional dreaming stories using 3D computer animation.

Narrated in Yanyuwa, the animations form a living cultural archive, a will and testament to future generations. John and his team are guided by the Yanyuwa in selecting and bringing to life the stories, and the animations remain in community ownership.

Known as the Monash Country Lines Archive, this use of Western media to capture the essence of an intangible Australian heritage has been warmly welcomed by the Yanyuwa, and is helping bridge a generational divide that is crucial to the preservation of their language, song and story telling methods.

"Through the animations the older generation are finding a space to actually teach young people who are captivated by a technology that they are so used to, but now the technology is actually speaking about something that belongs to them, and that’s been the critical point," John says.

Aided by a transformational gift from the Alan and Elizabeth Finkel Foundation, John and his colleagues are working to make their animation technology available to indigenous communities across Australia, and overseas. 

"In 10 years time I would like to have many, many more animations done of as many languages as possible in Australia, and know that they are not only serving a purpose in the Indigenous community to whom the knowledge belongs, but that we find avenues to bring them out into the wider Australian community and see them as serious narratives about this country that we all call home."

Qualifications

DIP. OF TEACHING (SOCIAL SCIENCE & ANTHROPOLOGY)
Institution: Bendigo College of Advanced Education
Year awarded: 2007
PHD IN ANTHROPLOGY
Institution: Northern Territory University
Year awarded: 1997

Publications

Books

Bradley, J., 2010, Singing Saltwater Country: Journey to the Songlines of Carpentaria, Allen & Unwin, Sydney, Australia.

Bradley, J.J., 2005, Barni-wardimantha Awara (Don't spoil the Country) Saltwater country: Belief, Understandings, Issues, Planning and Perceptions amongst the Yanyuwa people of the Sir Edward Pellew Islands and adjacent coast lands NT, National Oceans Office, Hobart Tas Australia.

Bradley, J.J., 2003, 'Forget About Flinders' A Yanyuwa atlas of the south west Gulf of Carpentaria, Yanyuwa families, John Bradley and Nona Cameron, Qld Australia.

Bradley, J.J., 2000, Songs from a plastic water rat: An Intoduction to the musical traditions of the Yanyuwa Community of the South West Gulf of Carpentaria NT, University of Queensland, Qld Australia.

Book Chapters

Bradley, J., 2011, "Whitefellas have to learn about country, it is not just land": how landscape becomes country and not an "imagined" place, in The Place of Landscape: Concepts, Contexts, Studies, eds Jeff Malpas, MIT Press, Cambridge USA, pp. 45-64.

Bradley, J., Devlin-Glass, F., 2010, Affect and narrative encoding: The problematics of representing and teaching Yanyuwa narratives in cyberspace, in Teaching Literature at a Distance: Open, Online and Blended Learning, eds Takis Kayalis and Anastasia Natsina, Continuum International, London UK, New York US, pp. 183-194.

Bradley, J.J., 2009, Manankurra What's in a name? Placenames and emotional geographies, in Aboriginal Placenames Naming and Re-naming the Australian Landscapes, eds Luise Hercus and Harold Koch, ANU ePress, Canberra, Australia, pp. 1-484.

Bradley, J.J., 2009, Not to generalise: The 'sacred' in Yanyuwa Country, in Sacred Australia Post-Secular Considerations, eds Makarand Paranjape, Clouds of Magellan, Melbourne, Australia, pp. 65-84.

Bradley, J.J., 2008, Singing through the sea: songs, sea and emotions, in Deep blue, eds Sylvie Shaw and Andrew Francis, Equinox Publishing, London, pp. 17-33.

Bradley, J.J., 2008, When a stone tool is a dingo, in Handbook of Landscape Archaeology, eds Bruno David and Julian Thomas, Left Coast Press, Walnut Creek, California, USA, pp. 633-637.

Kearney, A.J., Bradley, J.J., 2006, Landscapes with shadows of once-living people: the kundawira challenge, in The Social Archaeology of Australian Indigenous Societies, eds Bruno David, Bryce Barker, Ian J McNiven, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra ACT Australia, pp. 182-203.

Bradley, J.J., 2006, The social, economic and historical construction of cycad palms among the Yanyuwa, in The Social Archaeology of Australian Indigenous Societies, eds Bruno David, Bryce Barker and Ian J McNiven, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra ACT Australia, pp. 161-181.

Bradley, J.J., Tamisari, F., 2005, Place and Event, in Animal Names, eds A Minelli, G Ortalli & G Sanga, Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti, Venice.

Bradley, J.J., Seton, K., 2005, Self-determination or 'Deep Colonising': land claims, colonial authority and indigenous representation, in Unfinished Constitutional Business? Rethinking Indigenous Self-determination, eds Barbara Ann Hocking, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra ACT Australia, pp. 32-46.

Journal Articles

Kearney, A., Bradley, J.J., McKee, B.D., Chandler, T.T., 2012, Representing indigenous cultural expressions through animation: The Yanyuwa animation project, Animation Journal [P], vol 20, AJ Press, Santa Clarita USA, pp. 4-29.

Bradley, J., Friday, G., Kearney, A., Norman, L., 2011, "These are the choices we make": animating Saltwater Country, Screening the Past [P], vol 31, LaTrobe University, Australia, pp. 1-17.

Casey, M., Bradley, J., 2011, Aeroplane Dance: Whose story?, Screening the Past [P], vol 31, La Trobe University, Melbourne Vic Australia, pp. 1-7.

Bradley, J., Kearney, A., 2011, 'He painted the law': William Westall, 'stone monuments' and remembrance of things past in the Sir Edward Pellew Islands, Journal of Material Culture [P], vol 16, issue 1, SAGE, Los Angeles USA, pp. 25-45.

Woinarski, J., Ward, S., Mahney, T., Bradley, J., Brennan, K., Ziembicki, M., Fisher, A., 2011, The mammal fauna of the Sir Edward Pellew island group, Northern Territory, Australia: refuge and death-trap, Wildlife Research [P], vol 38, issue 4, CSIRO Publishing, Australia, pp. 307-322.

Bradley, J.J., Kearney, A.J., 2009, 'Too strong to ever not be there': Place names and emotional geographies, Social & Cultural Geography [P], vol 10, issue 1, Routledge - Taylor & Francis Group, UK, pp. 77-94.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Adumu - sharks, rays and sawfish, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 47-48.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Arlku - fish (other than sharks, rays and sawfish), Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 49-54.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Conclusion, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 113-116.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Introduction: all kinds of things from country, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 1-4.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Julaki - birds, bats and flying Foxes, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 81-94.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Learning about the living things, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 5-8.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Lhuwa - reptiles and amphibians, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 65-72.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Miriyi - dolphins and yulangu - whales, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 45-46.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Na-yirrnyi - shellfish, shells and shell-like creatures, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 57-64.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Ngabaya - spirits, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 111-112.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Nyinga/jikuyu - crabs, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 55-56.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Wakaku - dogs and dingoes, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 77-80.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Walya - dugong and sea turtles, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 31-44.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Wunala - terrestrial mammals/game animals, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 73-76.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Yanyuwa biological classification, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 9-30.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Yanyuwa classification of floral species, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 99-110.

Bradley, J.J., Holmes, M., Marrngawi, D.N., Karrakayn, A.I., Wuwarlu, J.M., Ninganga, I., 2006, Yumbulyumbulmantha - all kinds of things, Yumbulyumbulmantha ki-Awarawu All Kinds of Things from Country: Yanyuwa Ethnobiological Classification. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit Research Report Series, vol 6, University of Queensland, Brisbane Qld Australia, pp. 95-98.

Bradley, J.J., 2004, 'When you have no Law you are nothing' Cane Toads, Social Consequences and Management Issues, The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, vol 5, issue 3, pp. 205-225.

Conference Proceedings

Tamisari, F., Bradley, J.J., 2005, To have and to give the law. Animal names, place and event, Animal Names, 2 October 2003 to 4 October 2003, Instituto Veneto di Scienze, Lettere ed Arti, Venice Italy, pp. 419-438.

Other

Marsh, H., Bradley, J., Parra, G., Grech, A., Whiting, S., Beasley, I., Johnson, S., Barrett, D., Fitzpatrick, N., Friday, G., Johnston, A., Keighran, F., Miller, R., Norman, L., Norman, L., Pracy, D., 2010, Yarrbanthawu ki-Miriyiyu: Looking for Dolphins, Project report based on research with indigenous rangers, James Cook University, Townsville Qld Australia.

Bradley, J., 2009, Case Studies: Borroloola, Gulf of Carpenteria Region, Northern Territory, Expert comentary of issues, Federal Government, Australia, Canberra, Australia.

Bradley, J.J., Chandler, T.T., Kearney, A.J., McKee, B.D., Ung, C., 2008, Manankurra, animated song lines, Drought exhibition, Federation Square, Melbourne, Aust.

Postgraduate Research Supervisions

Current Supervision

Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
A place of not knowing: the history that forgot us and the lost generations.
Supervisors:
Russell, L (Main), Bradley, J (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Aboriginal Visual Histories: Photographing Indigenous Australians.
Supervisors:
Bradley, J (Main), Casey, M (Associate), Russell, L (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Alien vegetation and indigenous perspectives: considering a pluralistic approach to the management of non-native plant species.
Supervisors:
Rangan, H (Main), Bradley, J (Associate), Kull, C (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Being Yanyuwa: Continuity via rapid Discontinuity,An Ethnography of Loss, Suffering and Resilience .
Supervisors:
Bradley, J (Main), Brady, L (Associate), Standfield, R (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
First Australians Dancing: How Past Moves into Present.
Supervisors:
Bradley, J (Main), Standfield, R (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
History, silence and memory on Yorta Yorta country.
Supervisors:
Bradley, J (Main).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Still 'the same corroboree'? Culture, Identity and Politics in Australian Aboriginal Hip Hop .
Supervisors:
Bradley, J (Main).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Talking histories: an exploration of reported speech - an experimental text.
Supervisors:
Casey, M (Main), Bradley, J (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Tangled up in Black: a study of the activist strategies of the Black Power movement through the life of Gary Foley .
Supervisors:
Bradley, J (Main), Hocking, J (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
The co-production of cultural knowledge in the Anmatyerr region.
Supervisors:
Bradley, J (Main), Russell, L (Associate), Brady, L (Associate), Standfield, R (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
The contribution of choir singing and choir music towards reconciliation in Australia.
Supervisors:
Bradley, J (Main), Casey, M (Associate).

Completed Supervision

Student:
Bailey, A.
Program of Study:
Understanding the role of connections between people and place at CERES (Centre for Education and Research in Environmental Strategies) in wellbeing. (PHD) 2011.
Supervisors:
Bradley, J (Main), Tomlinson, M (Associate).
Student:
Miyazaki, Y.
Program of Study:
Structure, Agency and Transformation in Zen Buddhism. (Masters) 2012.
Supervisors:
Tomlinson, M (Main), Bradley, J (Associate).
Student:
Oley, E.
Program of Study:
Dyeing for life: intermediaries, artisans and the natural-dye revival in historical context in India and Bangladesh. (PHD) 2011.
Supervisors:
Graham, P (Main), Bradley, J (Associate).
Student:
Voloder, L.
Program of Study:
Questions of belonging: tracing the contours of citizenship with Bosnian migrants in Australia. (PHD) 2008.
Supervisors:
Graham, P (Joint-Co), Bradley, J (Joint).