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Indigenous Connections Committee

Objectives and responsibilities

The NFSA established the Indigenous Connections Committee in May 2017 as an advisory committee to the NFSA Board to provide advice on the development and management of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander policy, projects and other strategic matters.

Key objectives of the Indigenous Connections Committee are to:

provide advice on, and support the development of, the NFSA Indigenous Strategy
provide a forum to discuss and progress issues relating to the NFSA’s Indigenous collection, programs and exhibitions
connect the NFSA with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, artists and practitioners.

The principal responsibilities of the Committee are to advise the Board on:

the development and implementation of the NFSA Indigenous Strategy
showcasing the stories and work of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, both nationally and internationally
identifying concrete actions within the NFSA that build respectful relationships and create opportunities for Indigenous Australians.

The Committee also represents Indigenous perspectives and advises on Indigenous policy, programs and projects through the role of cultural advisor to the following NFSA working groups:

NFSA Collection – Indigenous
NFSA Programs and Exhibitions – Indigenous
NFSA People and Culture – Indigenous
NFSA Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and Indigenous Strategy.

The Committee is responsible for providing support to the Senior Manager, Indigenous Connections. This support includes:

providing and facilitating professional and Indigenous community level advice on specific NFSA initiatives
creating contacts with Indigenous communities to obtain advice on, and support for, specific NFSA initiatives
devising and sharing ideas in relation to the NFSA’s progressive cultural competence program
engaging with NFSA programs and initiatives.

The Committee is directly responsible and accountable to the Board for the exercise of its responsibilities.

The membership of the Committee comprises up to 8 members which includes up to 3 members of the NFSA Board:

Committee members are appointed by the Chair of the NFSA Board at the request of the Chair of the Indigenous Connections Committee
Most of the Committee must be comprised of people that identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and consist of a balanced mix of gender diversity
Members are appointed for a period of 2 years, with the opportunity for extensions.

The Committee meets a minimum of 3 times per year and the Chair of the Committee reports to the Board on behalf of the Committee. The minutes of committee meetings are provided to the NFSA Board at the next possible Board meeting following the Committee meeting.

Committee Members

Kylie Bracknell

Chair, NFSA Indigenous Connections Committee

Upper body shot of NFSA Indigenous Connections Committee member, journalist Karina Carvalho — Kylie Bracknell

Mrs Kylie Bracknell is an accomplished Noongar writer, director and actor and brings a variety of experience across the theatre, film and television industries.

Recent acting credits include Amiya in the award-winning Australian feature film I Met a Girl, and Piper in the television miniseries Irreverent for Peacock TV (US) and Netflix (AUS/NZ).

Mrs Bracknell is a strong advocate for the preservation and celebration of Indigenous languages and frequently consults on Indigenous arts projects in Australia. She is highly respected for her award-winning stage adaptation, co-translation and direction of Hecate – a reimagining of Shakespeare’s Macbeth in the Noongar language.

Mrs Bracknell has previously held the position of Program Manager, Indigenous at the Australian Film Television and Radio School.

Jodie Bell

CEO, Goolarri Media Enterprises

Jodie is a First Nations descendant of the Butchella and Jagera people of South East Queensland and is CEO and producer at Ramu Productions, a community-owned production company in Broome, WA.

Jodie has produced numerous short films including the CinefestOZ 2020 Indigenous Short Film winner Doug the Human; the Cinewest WA Short Film winner at CinefestOZ 2021, The Lost Crystals of Jessica’s Room; and the award-winning short documentaries Naji, Marrimarrigun and Saving Seagrass.

Jodie has also produced a number of short documentary series for NITV. Jodie was co-producer on the CinefestOZ 2015 film of the year, feature documentary Putuparri and the Rainmakers, and in 2019 she joined the CinefestOZ team as the Indigenous Film Manager. Jodie is about to start production on her first feature film, Ginderella, as well as her first web series, Yokai. She has a robust development slate of projects including two feature films, two TV series and a web series.

Aaron Fa’Aoso

Director, producer, writer and actor

Aaron is a stage and screen actor, writer, director and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 with his performance in the SBS mini-series RAN: Remote Area Nurse, and is best known for his appearances in the ABC’s Black Comedy. Aaron’s other acting credits include East West 101, City Homicide, Sea Patrol and Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms.

Aaron has also been active behind the camera, writing and directing the VR documentary Every King Tide, which was selected by the Cannes Film Festival and the Sheffield Film Festival. In 2012, Aaron associate produced and starred in the ABC crime drama, The Straits, and in 2016, his production company Lone Star, along with Bunya Productions, produced a drama documentary series on the history of the Torres Strait Islands, Blue Water Empire. He is the producer on Straight out of the Straits.

Aaron has also trained young Torres Strait Islanders in filmmaking as part of a TAFE-accredited My Pathways program.

Tasha James

Manager, Indigenous Unit, ABC Archives

Tasha James is a Wiradjuri woman who grew up in Dubbo, Central West NSW. Her homelands cross the region of the lower Bogan River of Wiradjuri Country.

In June 2021 Tasha took on a newly created role leading the Indigenous Unit of the ABC Archive. Previously, she was the Manager of Indigenous Connections at the NFSA. Tasha has over 10 years’ experience working with Indigenous communities and Indigenous collections that include audiovisual and material culture.

Throughout her career, Tasha has had held a number of roles in major cultural institutions such as the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and the Australian Museum, where she worked closely with Indigenous communities by facilitating access to collections to reconnect them with their cultural heritage. She has also worked within Indigenous public programs and outreach which focused on sharing and educating others about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

Tasha has extensive experience in Indigenous policy having developed several key policies within her past workplaces relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and Indigenous collections.

Tasha is passionate about empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in managing and practicing their culture along with caring for and controlling their own cultural collections on country.

Dr Lyndon Ormond-Parker

Visiting Fellow, Australian National University

Associate Professor Lyndon Ormond-Parker is an Aboriginal man of Alyawarr descent from the Barkly Tableland region of the Northern Territory. He is an ARC Research Fellow with the Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies, Australian National University. He is also engaged as a Principal Research Fellow with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society, RMIT University on a project entitled 'Mapping digital inclusion for informed decision-making in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities'. The project will generate a detailed account of the distribution of digital inclusion across Indigenous communities.

Dr Ormond-Parker has been involved in advocacy, policy development, research and negotiations at the local, national, and international level focused on Indigenous communities and information technology, digital inclusion, cultural heritage, materials conservation, and repatriation. He was an Indigenous expert member of the Australian Heritage Council (2015 to 2021), and is a member of the Advisory Committee for Indigenous Repatriation, Office for the Arts, Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications (since 2015).