The movie delves beneath surface appearances to reveal a strong resistance to assimilation and loss of identity, as the late Essie Coffey, a Murrawarri woman, takes us into the Aboriginal struggle for survival.

My Survival As An Aboriginal rocked Australia and the world with its presentation of atrocities and hardships committed against Aboriginal people. The movie delves beneath surface appearances to reveal a strong resistance to assimilation and loss of identity, as the late Essie Coffey, a Murrawarri woman, takes us into the Aboriginal struggle for survival. She documents the effect of dispossession, the chronic depression, alcoholism, deaths in custody and poverty that were so much a part of life for Aboriginal people. Essie, also affectionately known as the Bush Queen, was a singer and activist from the far northwest of New South Wales. This film will have interest and relevance for teachers and students at secondary and tertiary levels. Curriculum links include: Indigenous Studies, Australian History, SOSE, Legal Studies, Media Studies and English. Looks in particular at the lives of the Murruwarri people of northwestern New South Wales.—Paul Gerard Kennedy