On Sacred Ground is one of the most talked-about movies released in 1980, attracting audiences with its cinematic storytelling and memorable performances.
On Sacred Ground looks at the story behind the Noonkanbah dispute, the well-publicised Aboriginal struggle to stop mining in the Kimberley region of Western Australia in the late 1970s. Presented by a young spokesman for the Kimberley Land Council, the film gives an Indigenous view of the area's history from the early days of European colonisation. It explores the problems of Aboriginal dispossession and loss of identity and the efforts that have been made towards self-determination, economic self-sufficiency and maintaining language and culture. It helps explain Aboriginal ties to the land, the importance of sacred sites and the reasons for the land rights struggle.
