In My Blood It Runs - Exploring Identity and Perspectives

In My Blood It Runs is an intimate and compassionate observational documentary from the perspective of a 10-year-old Aboriginal boy in Mparntwe (Alice Springs), Australia, who is faced with the challenge of balancing his Arrernte/Garrwa upbringing with state education. 

When Dujuan cannot run nor fight alone, he faces the history that runs straight into him and realises that not only has he inherited the intergenerational trauma and dispossession of his land, but also the resilience and resistance of many generations of his people.

Dujuan is a child-healer, a good hunter and speaks three languages. As he shares his wisdom of history and the complex world around him we see his spark and intelligence. Yet Dujuan is failing in school and facing increasing scrutiny from welfare and the police. As he travels perilously close to incarceration, his family fight to give him a strong Arrernte education alongside his western education lest he becomes another statistic. We walk with him as he grapples with these pressures, shares his truths and somewhere in-between finds space to dream, imagine and hope for his future self.

We recommend that before you teach this unit, that you access the free professional learning resource, which has been co-developed by Reconciliation Australia’s Narragunnawali team. Before you watch the film with your class please ensure you have taught one or both of the first lessons in the sequence (Identity and Diverse Perspectives).

Cool Australia would like to thank the In My Blood It Runs Advisory Committee who supported the writing of this resource. Special thanks to Alanna Raymond, Tessa Keenan, Stephanie Woerde, Esma Livermore and Julie Bover from Reconciliation Australia, Alex Shain from Shark Island, Maria Katsabanis from Australian Human Rights Commission, Renee Phillips from National Indigenous Youth Education Coalition, and Keren Shlezinger.\