"Verbal learning, although it may seem straightforward, is often opaque to

the newcomer. On my third day in Yarralin, Old Tim Yilngayarri told me a

story: ‘There was a man who shot dogs and he’s dead now.’ As I

subsequently came to understand, for a Yarralin audience at that time this

story spoke volumes. To me, however, it said nothing. Realising that I was

incapable of making sense of it, Old Time went on to give me a fuller

account of how a European stockman had been mustering in an area that

is important to dingo life, how he had been warned not to shoot dingos,

and had ignored the advice Aboriginal people gave him. His shots were

followed by a loud booming noise which signalled something out of the

ordinary, and he later died.

Old Tim told me this story just three days after the manager of VRD had

arranged for dingo bait to be dropped by plane throughout the area. The

plane flew low over Yarralin, dropping poison there as well. Old Tim is an

owner of country rich with Dingo Dreamings; he is a ‘dog man’ par

excellence, with an intimate concern for, and understanding of, dingos and

dogs. His life is connected to dingo life and he has assumed a special

responsibility for canines. European use of poison was specifically

intended to be detrimental to dingos, and Old Tim took it upon himself to

show a continuity between past and present. His story demonstrated that

arrogant European actions are not confined to the past, and hinted at

retribution. For people whose lived experience is marked by so many

injustices, including having had their dogs shot by police and by station

personnel, the briefest story, told in the right context, resonates with

memory and understanding.

.....I went to Yarralin with questions. Frequently I was told stories. Although

I was initially unable to perceive many of the subtleties, it became clear

that Yarralin people’s stories bring past and present, specific and general,

individual and collective into a shared matrix. Stories are told by people

who have particular interests with respect to the issues involved; they

draw on shared memories and construct continuities between past,

present, and future, and between the specific and general. There is no

collective Yarralin position articulated by a single spokesperson. There are

stories: many voices joining together. Often the voices are in agreement,

but consensus is by no means a necessary condition to a story . (Deborah

Rose Bird)

YEAR 11 SOR Indigenous Spirituality Revision Task

READ the passage carefully.

Underline the words/ phrases that refer to Old Tim’s spirituality.

Using the knowledge and skills gained in your study, write 200 words explaining to a non-Aboriginal person why Dingo baits should not be used on this land: