Standing Watch for Wandjina: The Systematic Setbacks of Aboriginal Cultural Copyrighting
Arts
History of Art and Visual Culture 185
This paper will identify the shortcomings of copyright policy available to Aboriginal Australians to protect their cultural property from misuse. Through the case study of Northern Coastal rock paintings of Wandjina, outrageous examples of cultural property theft exhibit how non-Aboriginal artists and the Australian government are inclined to exploit Indigenous communities as a byproduct of colonialism. Legal negligence towards Aboriginal communities is presented through dissecting the available copyright protections available to Australian artists, revealing a necessity for reform that does not align with western ideas of property. As a solution, Aboriginal communities may be able to re-appropriate other legal protection methods in Australia and claim Wandjina and similar imagery as insignia or coats of arms.
