Paper short abstract:

Aboriginal activists constantly call upon memories to further their social movement. These memories, whether individual, familial, or national, are deliberately performed in both public and private spaces. The performance of memories helps to create a movement history and, thus, identity.

Paper long abstract:

This paper will examine the performance of memories and the importance of history to Australian Aboriginal activists. During field work with Aboriginal activists in Townsville, North Queensland, I noticed the past was called upon regularly in both public and private spaces. Memories are visually and orally performed to make a statement to other activists and to the public. During rallies and protests, activists would remember previous decades of struggle; they recalled specific details of colonialism; and they referred to their own involvement over the years. Meetings and conversations had similar undercurrents, with more reliance on personal memories such as kinship ties to activists from earlier decades. The use of memory to legitimate a movement is not unique. Movements such as the gay movement or the environmental movement may be relatively young, but they constantly remind themselves and the public of the pre-cursors to their movements. A strong connection to history lends a sense of authority and importance to a social movement, and strong memories can be a powerful mobiliser. This paper will look at the ways in which activist performance of memory creates activist history, transforms Australian history, and cements movement identity.