David Clark

27/06/2019

To Regain Our Pride: Revel Cooper

In 1968, one of the best known Carrolup artists, Revel Cooper, wrote a seminal article in the Aboriginal Quarterly whilst he was serving time in H.M. Training Prison in Geelong in Victoria. In this article, Revel emphasises the importance of pride to Aboriginal people. In To Regain Our […]
25/06/2019

Meet Cheryle Jones, Whose Mother Was At Carrolup

The story of Carrolup is one that needs to be told in full detail. We must not just relate the story of the Carrolup children and the people with whom they interacted with at that time, but also tell the stories of the impact that the children and their achievements had […]
20/06/2019

The Nature of Healing: Voices of We Al-li

I have written about Judy Atkinson on a number of occasions in my blogs. Her book Trauma Trails: Recreational Song Lines – The Transgenerational Effects of Trauma in Indigenous Australia inspired me into this field. I have learnt so much from her about the healing of trauma and its consequences. […]
17/06/2019

The Carrolup Story: Our 100th Blog Posting

This is the 100th blog posting that John and I have written for our Story Blog (65 so far) and Healing Blog (34). We thought we would celebrate the occasion by showing you the most viewed blog postings since we launched the website in November 2018. Here’s the […]
13/06/2019

Impact of substance use problems on the family

Some people use drugs or alcohol to numb the pain arising from trauma which has resulted from adverse experiences in earlier life (e.g. abuse as a child, war experiences, car accident). Some of these people go on to develop an addiction to the substance. The drug concerned may […]
11/06/2019

Carrolup Drawings Return to Katanning: A Story of Stories

The blogs that John and I write for the website are stories that form part of the fabric of the story of Carrolup, past and present. In our early days of development, John wrote a number of blogs about the ‘rediscovery’ of Mrs Rutter’s collection of Carrolup drawings […]
06/06/2019

An Extraordinary Human Being: Jan James R.I.P.

I am still struggling to come to terms with the fact that my close friend Jan James is physically not with us anymore. Jan passed away last Friday night, the 31st May 2019. She was one of the most extraordinary people I have ever known. Here is a […]
06/06/2019

Aboriginal healing practices for loss and trauma: Bruce Perry

Examination of the known beliefs, rituals, and healing practices for loss and trauma that remain from Aboriginal cultures reveal some remarkable principles. Healing rituals from a wide range of geographically separate, culturally disconnected groups converge into a set of core elements related to adaption and healing following trauma. […]
04/06/2019

Silencing the Doubters

In June 1948, three of the Carrolup boys caused a sensation in the south coast town of Albany. Here is what happened, as described in our forthcoming book The Aboriginal Child Artists of Carrolup. “Education Inspector Charles ‘Sammy’ Crabbe organises a Convention of Departmental Teachers in Albany in […]
30/05/2019

Describing Healing: Helen Milroy

I came across a beautiful description of healing by Helen Milroy in the Forward of the fascinating book Traditional Healers of Central Australia: Ngangkari. I quote this description here, although I have made the paragraphs shorter for online reading. ‘Healing is part of life and continues through death and […]
28/05/2019

Noelene White’s Memories: Life at Carrolup

I’ve included two sections so far that focus on the memories of Noelene White – daughter of Noel and Lily White – as described in our forthcoming book The Aboriginal Child Artists of Carrolup. You can find those blogs here and here. I now include some further memories, related […]
23/05/2019

Healing Trauma: Overlooking Fundamental Truths

Over the past fifty years, psychiatric medications have become a mainstay in our culture, with dubious consequences.  The theory that mental illness is caused primarily by chemical imbalances in the brain that can be corrected by specific drugs has become accepted by psychiatrists, doctors, the media and the […]
22/05/2019

Story and Community Engagement: Healing Trauma

As John reported in yesterday’s blog, he and I gave presentations at the Centre of Native Title Anthropology (CNTA) Workshop at St. Catherine’s College, The University of Western Australia, on 8th May this year. This is the first time we have spoken together about our Carrolup project. Here […]
13/05/2019

The Healing Forest

Here are some wise words from someone I hold in very high regard, Don Coyhis. Don, who grew up on a Mohican reservation in Wisconsin in the US, spent over 25 years developing The Wellbriety Movement and White Bison, spreading a healing message amongst Native Indian communities, based on cultural principles, laws […]
10/05/2019

The Carrolup Story: Six-Month Anniversary

It’s hard to believe that six months have passed since John and I officially launched The Carrolup Story website on the 10th November 2018, the 85th birthday of Noelene White, daughter of Carrolup School teachers Noel and Lily White. Looking back, we feel that we’ve achieved a good deal of […]
09/05/2019

Community Building

Here’s an article on asset-based community development (ABCD) which I wrote some time ago for the Kinship Connections WA website. This approach can facilitate healing in a community. “Mental health is not a product of pharmacology or a service that can be singularly provided by an institution: it is […]
07/05/2019

Carrolup Art Reaches Europe

Just a reminder that you can find links to a summary of the Carrolup Story in 12 parts here. These summaries start with the impact of colonisation on Aboriginal people and end with the ‘missing’ Mrs Rutter collection of Carrolup art being permanently returned to Noongar Boodja (Country) […]
01/05/2019

The Healing Power of Story: Lewis Mehl-Madrona

Lewis Mehl-Madrona is a man I greatly admire and his book Healing the Mind Through the Power of Story is well worth a read. Here is an interesting section from the book: ‘The narrative movement in psychiatry is concerned with understanding the stories of pain and suffering told […]
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