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Looking around the world, we notice ways that imagery, style, and language are borrowed from other cultures and peoples. Some of these examples are thoughtful and respectful towards the cultures they pay tribute to, and others are much more problematic (i.e., just about any use of Native American headdresses not by Native Americans in ceremony). With the bombardment of media imagery to which students are subjected, how do we teach the ability to discern right from wrong? How can we encourage students to understand that this 'borrowing' can in fact be harmful to already oppressed and underrepresented groups?
What is Cultural Appropriation?
Let's start with a definition. I define this concept with my students as:
...the adoption or use of elements of one culture by members of another culture. It may be perceived as controversial or even harmful, notably, when the cultural property of a minority group is used by members of the dominant culture without consent.
Our world has been built on ideas that are being borrowed and continually exchanged. As an art teacher, I see the usage of images from other artists as a part of a healthy practice; examining and replicating ideas from other people, cultures, and spaces in the classroom is a great way to learn. When done in a respectful and thoughtful way, it can spread understanding and awareness, while reshaping misconceptions and stereotypes. But there is a point where this appropriation crosses the line into cultural insensitivity and commodification. Students have a tough time seeing that line and, as educators, it's our responsibility to have that conversation with them. It's not easy, and to be honest, there are times when it'll be a challenge because you yourself might not be certain about what feels okay and what is offensive. Does it cross the line? Without that challenging conversation, your students won't practice their ability to discern the acceptable from the unacceptable.

I'll speak primarily here to Cultural Appropriation in the arts classroom, but these ideas can be applied across all disciplines. The main concepts can work for all educators and have their basis in promoting inquiry and dialogue with students. It's just the vehicle for delivery of the lesson that differs.
Research and Educate!
Part of the issue with cultural appropriation is the lack of understanding around the importance that an image or concept can carry within a specific culture. This can be based on misinformation and cultural norms that have existed for decades, and perpetuated by mass-media. I mentioned Native American headdresses earlier because we see these sacred objects misused as accessories in everything from fashion shows to festivals. Examples also show up in costumes around this time of year, as students (and adults) start planning for Halloween. Students at Ohio State University created a great poster campaign to address the ways that costumes trivialize and simplify cultures.

Encourage students to do some research and to ask questions about the origin of objects and understand the value those items or costumes might hold for a group of people. Some questions they might consider:

Is this costume or image a stereotype of a group of people?

Does this object/image hold important cultural or traditional significance?

How does removing the context of this costume/object change its meaning?

Does my usage of the costume/object trivialize a culture or group of people?

Bring in Authentic Voices
It's important to find experts that know the history and background of objects and images to share with students. Having those voices be an integral part of the conversation provides valuable learning opportunities for students. While educators can impart knowledge in many areas, there is no replacement for someone's lived experience, which can truly flesh out the understandings of the cultures and traditions of specific peoples. Reach out to community centers or organizations that can provide resources and maybe even a speaker to address whatever artworks or images you decide to use in the classroom. You can also use interviews and stories to further round out the student learning. StoryCorps interviews are powerful and digestible bites of knowledge that can be particularly moving. This might be easier to do if you're in an urban area, but connecting with museums and history centers is easier than ever with technology today. I love checking out museum sites for more information on artwork like the Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
Cite Your Sources!
Make sure to cite where your artwork and imagery comes from! Giving credit matters. And folks who are interested in particular students' work might also be interested in learning more about what inspired students to create their pieces. Being able to go back to the source is so important and often overlooked.
Reflect on the Work
Maybe you've done all the research and the processing that you can with your students, and think that you've covered all your bases. Then the project or work goes out into the world and someone raises a concern that puts you on the defensive. Slow down for a second and consider how and where this response is coming from. How can you be reflective and appropriately address concerns raised to you? What ways can students take ownership for their learning and process, and also still learn from mistakes? The ability to take in feedback and critique and absorb the learning is an essential part of the creative process.

We are constantly borrowing from the world around us, and when we do so respectfully and genuinely, it can result in some really awesome learning. Showing genuine curiosity and a desire to grow and connect helps keep us away from potentially damaging and negative impacts. These are just a few of the steps and resources I access to make sure that I'm towing the right side of the line around Cultural Appropriation.

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cultural appropriation: what’s an educator’s role?

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Cultural Appropriation: What's an Educator's Role? | PBS Education

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Your source for teaching inspiration, blogs, and online professional events.

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A project which will focus specifically on the impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous populations has been bolstered by a $2 million donation.

The research led by Professor Adrian Miller, an Indigenous Health Researcher from Townsville's CQ University, will examine the unique challenges First Nations people face if COVID-19 breaks out in an isolated community.

The risk of infection and disease already runs high for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people which is believed to put them in the at-risk category when it comes to the novel coronavirus.

"We know from our research that influenza in general, let alone a special, novel virus like COVID-19 will have a huge impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities," Prof. Miller said.

Access to public health and public housing is another issue which puts remote communities on the back-foot during a pandemic.

"The other issues that Indigenous people face is that it's really hard to do social distancing when you've got limited housing options," Prof. Miller said.

Prof. Miller is hoping to find solutions to alleviate the impacts of COVID-19 in the event of an epidemic in a remote community.

He admits the research team is racing against the clock.

"We're hoping within weeks, we're going to meet weekly and come up with a set of priorities," he said.

There are currently no cases of COVID-19 north of Cairns.

The Cape and Torres Strait councils banned travel into their communities early in the pandemic to prevent COVID-19 being brought in.

The research money was given to the Australian Partnership for Preparedness Research on Infectious Disease Emergencies (APPRISE) COVID-19 team by the Paul Ramsay Foundation.

Prof. Miller has reached out to the National Health and Medical Research Council for further funding.

He has also approached other leading Indigenous academics around the country to help with the research.

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A project which will focus specifically on the impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous populations has been bolstered by a $2 million donation. The research led by Professor Adrian Miller, an Indigenous Health Researcher from Townsville's CQ University, will examine the unique challenges First Nations people face if COVID-19 breaks out in an isolated community.

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Handling misinformation amoung Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students

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Posted March 27, 2020 07:35:41

Indigenous youth workers are working to debunk an alarming myth being touted among young people in isolated areas of the Northern Territory that Aboriginal people don't get coronavirus.

Blair McFarland, the operations manager from the Central Australia Youth Link Up Service (CAYLUS), said there was misinformation circulating about the transmission of COVID-19.

"There's a few stories that I've already heard from youth workers where they are talking to kids about it and the kids say 'oh, no, it's OK. Aboriginal people don't get coronavirus," he said.

Mr McFarland said youth workers were in a position to challenge the misinformation but were also able to provide culturally appropriate and engaging material to get the message through.

"It's really great that the kids have got youth workers who are known by them and trusted by them," he said.

"There's a good history of that engagement and so those youth workers are really well positioned to give out information that people might trust, as opposed to the sort of stories that are circulating in remote communities now."

Given the communal way of life in many Indigenous communities, conveying the concept of social distancing could be challenging.

"One thing that we've done is develop a game which we call corona cricket, which is a game that teaches social distancing," Mr McFarland said.

"It's a sort of chasey game where there are two people on the basketball court with pool noodles, and the people run through from either side from squares marked on the sideline.

"But if they get caught on the way, they've got to stop and put their elbow over their mouth until they are rescued by getting a ball thrown to them by another runner."

Mr McFarland said using engaging games had more effect and meaning than relying on dry public service messaging.

Make your own message

Another tactic that CAYLUS was using was holding a dance and selfie challenge via Instagram and Facebook.

"Health messages that you receive passively are OK but to actually get involved and make one yourself is a way of really pulling that knowledge deeply into your mind and behaviour," Mr McFarland said.

"Often when we've got health messages, we get the kids in remote communities to sit down and make posters about it themselves because we talk about the issues in more detail and they have more of a personal investment in it."

Mr McFarland said they wanted the best examples of safe coronavirus messaging in selfie or video form.

"All people need to do is post a dance video about how to stay safe from coronavirus," he said.

Mr McFarland hoped that Territory and Federal Governments recognised the vital role youth workers played in community life by helping to facilitate and engage in health messaging.

"Youth programs in the 20 remote communities in our region should be viewed as essential services during the coming months, as they will be important vehicles for health messaging, hygiene, keeping kids out of trouble, and feeding people," he said.

All communities will be closed from March 27 to help curb the spread of coronavirus.

Topics: health, diseases-and-disorders, infectious-diseases-other, covid-19, community-and-society, indigenous-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander, alice-springs-0870

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Youth workers tackle coronavirus misinformation in Indigenous communities

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Posted March 27, 2020 07:35:41 Indigenous youth workers are working to debunk an alarming myth being touted among young people in isolated areas of the Northern Territory that Aboriginal people don't get coronavirus. Blair McFarland, the operations manager from the Central Australia Youth Link Up Service (CAYLUS), said there was misinformation circulating about the transmission of COVID-19.

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Aboriginal communities are at greater risk from Covid-19

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Aboriginal communities are at greater risk from Covid-19

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Coronavirus will devastate Aboriginal communities if we don't act now
Monday, 23rd March 2020 at 6:05 pm
Aboriginal people are at greater risk of severe illness from COVID-19 than non-Aboriginal people. But plans to protect remote communities and keep the virus out are progressing too slowly, write James Ward and Jason Agostino.
As the COVID-19 pandemic evolves, we need to ensure the most vulnerable people in our communities aren't left behind. This includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, especially those living in remote and very remote areas.

COVID-19 particularly impacts the elderly and those with underlying conditions such as cardiovascular (heart) disease and diabetes.

For Aboriginal Australians, COVID-19 has great potential to wreak havoc in our communities.

This overcrowding is worse in remote settings, which face significant challenges in containing and responding to the COVID-19 pandemic because:

health services are already at capacity

the workforce is already reliant on fly-in-fly-out staff, including many from New Zealand which has imposed quarantine restrictions

there is little access to testing for COVID-19, with long delays for results

little information is available, especially for those who speak English as a second, third or fourth language.

How can we mitigate the risk?

Our communities aren't sitting idle. They have put in place mitigation strategies and are awaiting further instructions, assistance and financial stimulus to help them through this pandemic.

Some regional groups - such as the Northern Land Council, the Anangu Pitjantjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands in South Australia) and the Torres Strait Islands and Papua New Guinea border cross regions - have stopped issuing new permits for visitors and cancelled all non-urgent travel and visits by government and non-government agencies.

But these measures are only the start of what is required.

evacuation procedures for people with COVID-19 and suspected cases

how to ramp up the workforce and health services in the case of an outbreak

how to get appropriate, clear and concise messaging out to communities.

regional COVID-19 testing services to be urgently implemented

support for existing Aboriginal health services to modify their structures and create respiratory clinics away from normal health services

urgent supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE, which includes gowns, masks and goggles) to be made available

urgent identification and sourcing of appropriate housing for suspected and confirmed cases

existing medication supplies not to be interrupted but rather prioritised across all settings

access to food and other essential items - such as sanitation supplies, cleaning products and soaps - not to be compromised as the pandemic progresses.

We can't wait long for action

The warnings from around the world are clear: the earlier these requirements are met, the better the outcomes will be.

The Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health services sector has mobilised and is leading an advisory group alongside governments and is meeting regularly to work on a management plan specific to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations.

In the coming days and weeks much more will be required to ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia have protocols in place to respond to the virus, contain it and eventually recover.

In the meantime, we must do all we can to protect our most vulnerable in our communities including our Elders, who are the keepers of knowledge and stories, and the backbones of our communities. If we don't, we should all hang our heads in shame.

About the authors: James Ward is director of the POCHE Centre for Indigenous Health at The University of Queensland.

Jason Agostino is a general practitioner at Gurriny Yealamucka Health Service and a lecturer and research fellow at Australian National University
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Coronavirus will devastate Aboriginal communities if we don't act now | PBA

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Coronavirus will devastate Aboriginal communities if we don't act now Monday, 23rd March 2020 at 6:05 pm Aboriginal people are at greater risk of severe illness from COVID-19 than non-Aboriginal people. But plans to protect remote communities and keep the virus out are progressing too slowly, write James Ward and Jason Agostino.

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For over a week, some of Australia's remote Aboriginal communities have been severely restricting visitors - to try to keep out the Covid-19 virus.

Now the government is using its Biosecurity Act to bring in these limitations to such places across the country.

Only medical and health staff will be allowed in, as well as police and educational services.

About 120,000 people live in remote communities. They are home to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people - often referred to as First Nation people or Indigenous Australians.

Predominantly in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland, some communities are several hours' drive from towns - partly down unpaved roads - and are about as isolated as you could imagine.

Has Covid-19 reached these areas?

So far, no. While confirmed Covid-19 cases are rising sharply in Australia, they have been concentrated in the metropolitan areas - with no reports of cases in remote communities.

This is probably not surprising given Australia is in the relatively early stages of the pandemic.

The bulk of Australian cases are imported by people travelling from overseas - and remote communities are rarely visited by outsiders.

Joe Martin-Jard, the chief executive of the Central Land Council - which represents Aboriginal people in central Australia - has called for "urgent and drastic action" to keep communities virus-free. The government's measures, announced on Friday, appear to be just that.

Put bluntly, people living there are vulnerable.

People with underlying medical conditions are known to be at greater risk from Covid-19 - and diabetes and renal failure are more prevalent among Indigenous Australians than the general population.

There are also much higher smoking rates - bad news when dealing with a respiratory condition.

"There is no way that existing medical services can cope if the virus gets into a remote community," says Indigenous rights campaigner Gerry Georgatos. "It's going to be disastrous."

Indigenous Australians already have lower life expectancy - the gap between Indigenous males and non-Indigenous males is 8.6 years, according to the latest Closing the Gap report. For females, it is 7.8 years.

"An entire generation of elders could be wiped out if we allowed the virus to enter their communities," warned Mr Martin-Jard.

"The death toll even among younger family members would be far higher than for the rest of the nation."

Most of these communities have limited if any medical care facilities. When people get sick they rely on visiting doctors, travelling by car to larger towns or, if very ill, being flown out by the services such as the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

Sending in doctors, resources and interim recovery facilities to every Indigenous remote community is essential, argues Megan Krakouer, a lawyer and Indigenous health and suicide prevention outreach worker.

And earlier this week, the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation said deploying the army should also be considered,

The problem of overcrowding

While being remote may be beneficial in avoiding the virus, that same set-up makes things difficult if and when it hits.

"The contagion effect will spread throughout the whole of the community within less than 48 hours as everyone is in walking distance proximity," says Ms Krakouer.

If somebody is confirmed as having Covid-19 but not especially unwell, they are told to self-isolate for 14 days.

The same applies for people with symptoms, or who have recently arrived from overseas.

But in small communities such isolation is near impossible given extreme overcrowding.

"Many have nowhere to isolate to," says Ms Krakouer. Many are homeless and rely on staying with friends and family, she says, with 10 or more people living in a house not uncommon.

"There needs to be a better understanding about the grim reality."

One of the oldest traditions of First Nations people is the gathering for funerals - known as "sorry business" - that can often attract crowds of 500 people or more, many travelling from larger towns or other remote communities.

Various state governments had already been urging communities to scale down such events, but that's likely to be a losing battle, says Ms Krakouer.

"Cultural practices and structures of kinship are very important. We will not disobey their cultural laws," she tells the BBC.

The new restrictions will make it impossible for outsiders to attend.

"Sadly, communities need to rethink attending funerals in large numbers at this point in time," says Ben Wyatt, the Aboriginal affairs minister in the Western Australian government.

People are often also tempted to leave their community for practical reasons such as shopping. Community stores do exist but can cost 50% more than supermarkets in larger locations.

What else has been announced?

The restrictions of who can go in and out is the strongest measure yet. Other policies already unveiled include measures to screen workers going into the remote areas.

The Western Australian government has said it has plans to evacuate people early should infections occur.

And it has promised mobile respiratory clinics to respond to outbreaks in places without hospitals or other health services.

A new service to offer phone and online consultations will be available to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders aged over 50 (as well as non-Indigenous Australians over 70).

But campaigners have pointed to poor communications as well as language issues that need to be overcome.

"There will undoubtedly be people in these communities who have not even heard of coronavirus," says Mr Georgatos. "That's the reality we're up against."

More on this story

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Coronavirus: Why are Australia's remote Aboriginal communities at risk?

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For over a week, some of Australia's remote Aboriginal communities have been severely restricting visitors - to try to keep out the Covid-19 virus. Now the government is using its Biosecurity Act to bring in these limitations to such places across the country.

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Here I am at 20 years old sitting in the backyard on a chair I've sat on many times before and contemplated many things throughout my life and find that I have continuously asked myself: "What does it mean to be Aboriginal?"

I've grown up in a western setting, right in the heart of Darwin. When I explain my mob I say it's like saltwater meeting freshwater, I walk in the best of two tribes.

I am a Larrakia and a Jawoyn woman that I inherited from my father, grandfather, grandmother and my ancestors. I am also English, my grandmother on my mother's side comes from the United Kingdom.

I have experienced the culture, the lifestyle and the white history of Australia my whole life but my cultural knowledge about my Aboriginal heritage is limited.
My art is a personal antidote for the effects of colonisation | Katie West for @IndigenousX
While I had been taught who my mob was, I didn't understand how special and empowering it was to be of Aboriginal heritage till I was 17. I had been chosen to go to an Indigenous Leadership Academy in Sydney and I thought, "If I am going to prove to these mob I am Aboriginal, I better learn everything there is because I don't technically look it". I immersed myself in any cultural opportunity that came by and in doing so, unlocked many questions as well as my curiosity.

Throughout my schooling life, I had not learned about the black history of Australia. I had briefly touched on the stolen generations because my class had to analyse the movie Rabbit Proof Fence but I never learned the reasoning of why it had happened. I never learned the effects this had on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mob of Australia.

Instead, I learned the history of other places. I spent a term learning about the Holocaust. I learned about the second world war. I learned the reasoning behind such a horrific event. I was taught about the trauma, the effects that it had on those people and how upsetting it still is for people of that heritage to speak of what happened in that era.

I taught myself about Australia's black history, at 17. I was curious and didn't understand why this wasn't something we learned at school. I learned that the stolen generations and many other events had heavy-hearted effects on my people. I started to understand why we have such loss of culture, why some of my Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander friends didn't know where their mob was from and why this is such a hard thing for my mob to talk about.

And I felt sad that my mob still suffer from the trauma of those days. I felt sad that my own grandmother, who is still with me today, had been part of one of Australia's darkest events regarding the First Nations people.

I started to feel and I started to want.

I wanted to know more about my people and I wanted to know more about myself and what it means to be Aboriginal. I wanted to find my identity.

I had always thought to be Aboriginal you had to look it. I thought you had to inherit certain features for others to recognise your background. Wrong.

I remember talking to my boss who is a proud Gabi Gabi man and another colleague of mine, who is a mixture of Aboriginal cultures from Melbourne. We were in mid-conversation and I said to my boss in a joking tone, not even thinking it was the wrong thing to say, "You wouldn't even know you were Aboriginal, you don't look it."

My boss, a proud Gabi Gabi man, is tall with orange hair, blue eyes and freckled skin. Who was I, another Aboriginal, to say "you don't look the part"? My colleague, who had previously been my mentor, said: "There is no certain way to look, if you are Aboriginal, you are Aboriginal."

It's almost been a year since that moment.

Since 17 years of age, my perspective on my Aboriginal heritage has changed rapidly and my knowledge of my heritage has grown into pride and a journey to find my own identity.

"Our stories, our way": each week, a new guest hosts the @IndigenousX Twitter account to discuss topics of interest to them as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people. In partnership with IndigenousX, we're inviting the weekly host to tell us about who they are, what they are passionate about, and what they have in store during their upcoming week as @IndigenousX

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I didn't understand how special it was to be Aboriginal until I was 17 | @IndigenousX

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Here I am at 20 years old sitting in the backyard on a chair I've sat on many times before and contemplated many things throughout my life and find that I have continuously asked myself: "What does it mean to be Aboriginal?" I've grown up in a western setting, right in the heart of Darwin.

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What Is It Like To Be Aboriginal? | Tui Raven | TEDxUWA

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They Have Come to Stay - This landmark series chronicles the birth of contemporary Australia as never told before, from the perspective of its first people. It explores what unfolds when the oldest living culture in the world is overrun by the world's greatest empire, and depicts the true stories of individuals - both black and white. The story begins in 1788 in Sydney with the friendship between an Englishmen, Governor Phillip, and a warrior, Bennelong. (Commissioned by SBS) (Documentary Series) (Rpt) PG CC

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First Australians S1 Ep1 - They Have Come To Stay

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They Have Come to Stay - This landmark series chronicles the birth of contemporary Australia as never told before, from the perspective of its first people. It explores what unfolds when the oldest living culture in the world is overrun by the world's greatest empire, and depicts the true stories of individuals - both black and white.

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I implore my non-Indigenous friends to give a genuine damn

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I implore my non-Indigenous friends to give a genuine damn

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As another Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras passes, the dust (or should I say glitter) settles on one of the most iconic symbols of protest, diversity and inclusion in the world.

I've never understood why I care so much about diversity, inclusion and visibility when so many people seem to live their lives and carry on with their everyday business. I guess most people aren't Aboriginal and gay and don't struggle to see themselves in the world they are surrounded by.

Despite pride in my Aboriginality being instilled by my Mum, identity and visibility has been part of my own personal struggle to be accepted and my heritage respected.
My art is cute and colourful, but I aim to arm mob with the tools to proclaim their pride | Jessica Johnson for IndigenousX
The importance of visibility and inclusion is often lost on people who have never had to struggle for it. Most First Nations people today still aren't able to turn a TV on and see families, people, stories or language that is relative to them. Or to see people from similar backgrounds in positions of power across workplaces that they could hope to aspire to.

It can be frustrating when you see a lack of cultural considerations, competency and compassion in aspects of your everyday life - the workplace, the sporting field, education, health services and the community you live in.

That's not to say I haven't seen progress in my 34 years. In the past 15 years I feel like I've witnessed a very slow and small change in Australia. Schools and workplaces are sharing and acknowledging First Nations culture. First Nations representation and inclusion within the media has taken some positive steps for visibility (and some spectacular fails), and representation is a powerful tool for young people to see themselves reflected, but it will take structural reforms like a treaty, constitutional recognition, and First Nations leadership on Indigenous affairs to see shifts in the statistics that can come to define our lives in this country.

Trying to do something about visibility can be frustrating. After seven years of working in First Nations-specific communications and stakeholder roles I felt burnt out from being on the front line. I looked to engage my skills outside of the sphere but have found myself, again, playing the role of cultural adviser. This is the double-edged sword that those of us who are First Nations, queer - or both - face.

It's not as if it's always expected of us, but often feels like if we aren't involved, it won't be done right. History already shows that if we don't help control the narrative then the stereotypes will continue to permeate. People feeling they're culturally competent after one cultural awareness training, acknowledgements becoming so business as usual that they are rushed and read insincerely off the back of cards, with no heart.

Putting ourselves on the line often feels like the only way we can create the world we want to see. Some spaces can feel culturally so uncomfortable that time with our own people is the only safe option. Balance can be hard to find but is key in order to remain resilient, especially when our cultural knowledge can be asked to be shared so often.
My music is a declaration of survival | Nathan Bird for IndigenousX
This Mardi Gras I turned down the opportunity to be on the First Nations float to instead be one of two First Nations people on my rugby team's float. It was a decision I didn't take lightly as acts of solidarity are important - especially in Mardi Gras - because they can highlight the racism within the wider queer community. So with the resources and privileges I have, I felt I could have more impact creating change within my rugby community. I want to be seen in every other area of community too and our next generations deserve to see that they can exist and thrive wherever they want to be.

With my red, black and yellow earrings on, I felt proud to march with my rugby brothers, a team who helped me settle into Sydney and also challenge the stereotypes that are pervasive in the queer community, stereotypes that prescribe ideals about body shape, masculinity and gender roles.

There's so much to be done, and I implore my non-Indigenous friends to give a genuine damn and not just because their workplace makes them feel like they have to. Our history and culture is your history and culture too, a shared rich and nuanced culture to be embraced.

While there is a shift in First Nations representation in the media landscape, there is a need to shift in everyday interactions; in our workplaces, our sporting clubs, and the queer community. That's where I see myself and so many other queer mob. We're rewriting the narrative on what it means to be First Nations, and I think that's something to be proud of.

* Will Cooper is a proud gay Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta communications, marketing and engagement professional and founder/former head of the ACT Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQI network. Born and raised on Wiradjuri country, former long-term Ngunnawal country resident and now calling Gadigal country home.

* Comments on this piece are premoderated to ensure discussion remains on topics raised by the writer. Please be aware there may be a short delay in comments appearing.
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I implore my non-Indigenous friends to give a genuine damn | Will Cooper for IndigenousX

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As another Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras passes, the dust (or should I say glitter) settles on one of the most iconic symbols of protest, diversity and inclusion in the world. I've never understood why I care so much about diversity, inclusion and visibility when so many people seem to live their lives and carry on with their everyday business.

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Rugby league star Latrell Mitchell has hit back after Karl Stefanovic criticised his appearance in the NRL's new ad for season 2020 by saying it was "divisive" to show the Rabbitohs recruit standing alone with an Aboriginal flag draped over his back.

The TV ad drew a mixed response when it was unveiled on Monday night, as some footy fans claimed the code was trying to be too politically correct by touching on issues like racism, diversity and same-sex relationships.
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Today co-host Stefanovic was among those to hit out, saying on his Channel 9 program the ad doesn't actually promote inclusion within the game.

"How do you unite the game when you have a picture of Latrell Mitchell on his own with the Aboriginal flag around him?" Stefanovic said on Tuesday.

"That's not unifying, that's divisive.

"It's putting him on his own.

"Rugby league is about indigenous (people) and everyone else coming together for the sport, not putting anyone on their own."

Plenty took exception to Stefanovic's hot take, voicing their disagreement on social media. On Wednesday, Mitchell used his personal Instagram account to post screenshots of people hitting back at the TV personality.

One of the posts shared by Mitchell said: "A week after indigenous All Stars and they back going after @iamlm01. It's disgusting. This man does more for the community and sport than a lot of people know."

Mitchell spruiked another post suggesting Stefanovic was being hypocritical by only targeting the Bunnies' new fullback when there were other players in the ad shown on their own.

"This ad shows (Charnze) Nicoll-Klokstad by himself, shows (Tyson) Frizell by himself. Yet Karl picks out Latrell standing by himself with the Aboriginal flag as 'divisive'," the post read.

"Once again blackfullas can't be proud of our culture without a whiter person's approval.

"Once again people must shut up and play footy, so that we can avoid offending the racists of our country."

Mitchell shared more posts showing support for him in the wake of the backlash.
RELATED: Shot that 'utterly destroyed' new NRL ad
Stefanovic was far from the only figure to have a passionate response to the ad, which features the NRL's current superstars being turned on to the game by Tina Turner's iconic tune "Simply the Best", which was rugby league's anthem in 1989.

The Daily Telegraph's Paul Kent said the ad "looks like it was put together by committees and interest groups".

"In attempting to be courageous and visionary the NRL's new ad has failed miserably. It is neither courageous nor visionary," he wrote.

"Instead the new ad is stale and cliched and, if you wanted to insult high schoolers, nothing better than ninth graders could trot out in film class."

Sky News host Rowan Dean also took issue with Mitchell's cameo.

"It's a great ad and it does all the right things in harking back to ... an era that was great for the game, which was the best ad they ever did - and their research groups would have said 'why can't you just run that ad again?' and they would have thought 'how do we do it?'," Dean said.

"Someone's had a very clever idea ... their copyrighter or art director has gone 'let's show the kids watching (the ad) and then they grow up and play the game'.

"Fantastic. That was the idea. But then, someone else around the committee room has said 'ooh, but we've got to get in the aboriginal thing, and we've got to get in the sheilas, and we've got to get in this, and we've got to get in that'.

"And to me they've utterly destroyed it with that ridiculous shot of the flag on the back ... Why bring politics into something like this, at a time when politics is dividing the game? When you've had talkback radio going berserk. When you've had people say 'we're not going to sing the anthem'."

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Latrell hits back at Karl in footy furore

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Rugby league star Latrell Mitchell has hit back after Karl Stefanovic criticised his appearance in the NRL's new ad for season 2020 by saying it was "divisive" to show the Rabbitohs recruit standing alone with an Aboriginal flag draped over his back.

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The next chapter of Indigenous representation in video games

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The next chapter of Indigenous representation in video games

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Carl Petersen is a member of the Oohe Nunpa (or Two Kettles) band of Lakota - a tribe indigenous to the North American Great Plains - and a 21-year-old self-proclaimed "Gen-Z/Millennial." But his childhood wasn't the always-online one you might expect. His first dial-up connection was to Rapid City, South Dakota, a town 180 miles from his home near the city of Eagle Butte on the Cheyenne River Reservation. After realizing that a month of "just checking his email" cost almost $2,000, Petersen's dad canceled the service.

That isn't to say that his life was devoid of the web - he's an avid gamer, and has logged 6,000 hours in World of Warcraft, despite not having a good connection at home until he was 16. "I'd play on a 600-millisecond latency," he says, then "lug my PC into town to download the newest patch."

The towns on the Cheyenne River Reservation are a far cry from your typical American communities: Despite the reservation being nearly twice the size of Delaware, there are more than 100 miles between Eagle Butte and the closest Starbucks or McDonald's. That isolation is typical of many reservations in the U.S. (and of reserves, their Canadian equivalents) - and the result of centuries of government policies that stripped Indigenous people of their cultural heritage and restricted many aspects of their lives.

Now a senior at Dakota State University, Petersen is developing a game of his own, (Tipi Builder), with the help of a $10,000 Dreamstarter grant. The grant is awarded annually to help young Indigenous Americans pursue dream projects, with Petersen's being to "create video games to ensure the survival of the Lakota language."

In practice, this means he's using the grant to launch Northern Plains Games - a video game studio located on the Cheyenne River Reservation - with the intent to develop games made by, about, and for Indigenous people. Tipi Kaga is the studio's first game, and is designed to teach conversational Lakota by having players build a traditional Lakota tipi in real time, with instructions spoken in Lakota.

"In video games, you can put every medium you can think of on a screen in an interactive manner at the same time"

Petersen learned Lakota in school, but like about 95% of the roughly 115,000 Lakota members in the U.S. today, he isn't fluent - his last family member who spoke it fluently died 14 years before he was born. This is largely the result of the boarding and residential school systems that the governments of the U.S. and Canada, respectively, forced Indigenous youth to attend starting in the 1870s, in an attempt to assimilate them into white society.

In addition to the schools' legacy of rampant physical and sexual abuse, they also stripped children of ties to their Indigenous heritage. Policies included giving children English names, requiring them to wear European-American clothes, cutting their long hair - which holds deep significance for many tribes - making them attend Christian churches, and giving corporal punishment to students who didn't speak English (or French, in some Canadian schools).

The last one closed in 1996.

Petersen, like Meagan Byrne, Elizabeth LaPensée, Maize Longboat, and others, is part of a new generation of Indigenous video game creators using games to address this history and as a powerful educational tool.

Petersen believes video games are an ideal way to not only teach Lakota, but revitalize it. "In video games, you can put every medium you can think of on a screen in an interactive manner at the same time," he says. He intends to immerse players in "the experience of being in a culture where that language is alive, and not just history."

While Tipi Kaga is mostly geared toward those with some grasp of Lakota, Petersen wants to make sure that everyone can play - and benefit from - the game regardless of their level of knowledge, so that even without speaking the language, you can still be immersed in the "cultural feel" of it.

Once completed, the game will be shared with schools for students to play, and - unlike games that have educational elements with "a checkpoint where you have to do a couple of math problems before you keep playing again" - Petersen intends to integrate the educational components into the gameplay in a more holistic way, he says. The game is currently in the final stages of development with a tentative 2020 release date, and features voice acting by Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe elder Carl Buffalo, art from Yankton Dakota artist Meagan Zephier, and programming and level design by Moni Garr from the Akwesasne Indian Reservation No. 59. The choice to work with these particular creators was a deliberate one, because Petersen - alongside a contingent of his fellow Indigenous developers - has a broader goal: to improve opportunities for Indigenous people to tell their own stories through video games.

When Rivers Were Trails

In 1997 - seven years before WoW's release, and a year before Petersen was born - Ultima Online went on sale, and it quickly becamethe first MMORPG to reach 100,000 subscribers. Growing up in Oregon with Anishinaabe, Métis, and settler-Irish heritage, Elizabeth LaPensée says she struggled to find characters she identified with, until she started playing as an Orc in the game's Shadowclan player community.

"Ironically, playing as an Orc felt like the most accurate experience," she says, "because we were constantly defending land against extreme odds." She recalls a favorite moment: In a massive, player-coordinated event, she snuck into an enemy castle and, thanks to her poison-crafting skill, successfully assassinated the enemy king. That she'd succeed, she says, was so unexpected that "they spent the rest of the season trying to undo that storyline, which only occurred because they had so underestimated my character's intelligence."

Today, LaPensée is a designer, developer, and assistant professor at the Media & Information Department of Michigan State University. From her start running a text-based RPG community on AOL in exchange for free internet, through to getting into game modding by editing Super Mario Bros. and playing in BioWare's Aurora toolset, she has sought out ways to create stories and characters of her own.

"I often have to defend Indigenous collaborators, and feel like I'm fighting to get their voices respected by developers or institutions who just wanted to use all of us to do what they already planned to do before we were all involved"

Since 2007, LaPensée has designed, written, and/or developed over a dozen video and board games, with an emphasis on Indigenous self-determination and reclamation of narratives. "Video games uniquely weave together design, code, art, and sound, making for an incredibly dynamic form of expression for Indigenous creatives that can engage players in many different ways," she says, echoing Petersen's belief that games can share experiences in ways no other medium can.

Her game credits range from , a card game about "language, and how it dies," to designing Thunderbird Strike, a 2D side-scroller swapping the usual spaceship combat with "a thunderbird protecting Turtle Island" from "the snake" - an oil pipeline - "that threatens to swallow the lands and waters whole." Her latest, When Rivers Were Trails, addresses her childhood desire to see more identifiable, recognizable characters in classic games. And what's a more classic childhood game than the now nearly 50-year-old Oregon Trail series?

Like many millennials, LaPensée recalls schooldays spent fording rivers, hunting bison, and dying of dysentery, but she's often wanted to design an Indigenous interpretation. Despite its status as an educational series, Oregon Trail has been criticized for its cartoonish and inaccurate depictions of Indigenous people, and for promoting westward expansion, in which settlers killed and dispossessed millions of Indigenous people.

Created in collaboration with the Indian Land Tenure Foundation, When Rivers Were Trails followsan Anishinaabe person in the 1890s who is displaced from their traditional territory in Minnesota and heads west to California because of allotment acts, which claimed almost two-thirds of Indigenous land for settlers. The protagonist faces Indian agents, meets people from different nations, and hunts, fishes, and canoes while attempting to balance their well-being along the way.

Using cross-country travel mechanics to bring the player on an approximately 2,000-mile journey, the game also takes on the widespread misconception that all Indigenous people look the same, or that all tribes have the same styles of traditional clothing and hair (the war bonnet or headdress, for example, is only worn by leaders of a small handful of Plains tribes).

To incorporate so many different Indigenous cultures, LaPensée didn't write everything herself. She used the premise as an opportunity to enlist over 20 Indigenous writers, including Carl Petersen, from tribes and nations located along the narrative's route, to tell the stories of those tribes and nations themselves. Similarly, she ensured that Indigenous people were directly involved in the game's design, which also features music by Michael Charette and Apsáalooke rapper Supaman, and art by Tongva illustrator Weshoyot Alvitre.

LaPensée's goal isn't just to facilitate Indigenous representation - she also wants to facilitate Indigenous self-determination. This means not just getting Indigenous people involved in games, but giving them meaningful control. Her commitment to direct and extensive Indigenous involvement in development stems in part from her experiences with companies who have brought her on board as a designer and intermediary between the studio and Indigenous creators, only to reveal that what they really want is an Indigenous rubber stamp. "I often have to defend Indigenous collaborators," she says, "and feel like I'm fighting to get their voices respected by developers or institutions who just wanted to use all of us to do what they already planned to do before we were all involved."

Hill Agency: BARK & byte

"What would an Indigenous sovereign nation look like?"

When building the cyberpunk world for her latest game, Hill Agency: BARK & byte, this was Meagan Byrne's guiding question. In it, you play as Meeygun Hill, a P.I. working in "the slums of one of the last major cities in North America," who is charged with solving the murder of a woman's sister. It's the first game out of Byrne's studio, Achimostawinan Games, which she co-founded with Maliseet animator Tara Miller.

Using the distant future, Byrne says, makes it easier to talk about contemporary issues, like "the deep divide in classes," the draining of natural resources, and - in the vein of cyberpunk classic Neuromancer - "what happens when the 1 percenters get so removed from nature that it twists their thinking and behavior," practically beyond human recognition. It also gives creators the room to explore potential futures, like a liberated Indigenous nation.

"I was really surprised that the emotional reaction that I wanted people to have was the one they were having"

Rather than focus on a utopian future - one where, Byrne says, "It's like, 'Oh, we've just solved racism! And we've solved colonialism!'" - Byrne and co-creator Miller wanted to set Hill Agency in the moment right before that freedom, as an exploration of what an Indigenous sovereign nation would look like when it's on the edge of - but hasn't yet achieved - total freedom from colonial oppression.

Byrne is Âpihtawikosisân (Métis) and is descended from Swampy/James Bay/Moose Cree. A self-proclaimed "'90s kid" who frequented arcades and played a lot of Diablo, Byrne grew up in Hamilton, Ontario. She played video games, but didn't consider a career as a developer until her 20s, when - after layoffs, underemployment, and unemployment, she read in Canada's economic forecast that game designers and programmers were in demand.

She applied to the game design program at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario, and "just kind of took to it," she says. As she "started building and working in games," she realized she could tell a story and elicit an emotional reaction, and "was really surprised that the emotional reaction that I wanted people to have was the one they were having."

So Byrne started using her stories to tell Indigenous ones. The lack of Indigenous representation and understanding of Indigenous culture was a constant obstacle, as she says:

"I had a character creation class, and I decided I was going to make a Cree hero and and Métis-Cree villain and I put it up in class. I was all proud of it.

"And the professor was like: 'So, just some feedback ... What makes them native?'

"And I was like, '... well, because I based her outfit sort of on, like, Fancy Shawl dancers, and the pattern on her smock was based on Christi Belcourt's art ...' And I was trying to explain this and he's like, " Mhm mhm mhm ... Look, I might suggest, I find going with' - I was like, dontsayitdontsayit' - 'buckskin, or something more ... natural?' And I was like, nooo! I was just like, 'Sir, are you being accidentally racist at me?'"

Fighting this alienation and isolation, especially as it's felt by Indigenous peoples, is part of why Byrne gravitates toward roles where she can help other (especially young) Indigenous people find and create communities and stories in digital spaces. She does this both as a member of the Indigenous Routes collective and as the digital and interactive coordinator for ImagineNative. Both organizations work to combat poor representation of Indigenous people in media by helping Indigenous creators shape narratives directly. ImagineNative does this through a combination of public education initiatives, professional development, and the world's largest Indigenous film festival, while Indigenous Routes focuses on new media training for Indigenous youth and funding projects members couldn't otherwise do.

Especially in more remote Canadian reserve communities, where kids have to travel far from home and face potentially deadly circumstances just to get a high school education, it's hard to pursue a career like game development. Byrne says that communities can be very cautious about the careers young people pursue, and skeptical of something without many visible models of success. In addition, as Petersen experienced, communities also often have difficulty - and face high costs - getting internet access.

Given these barriers, Byrne's work outside her own game development focuses on the importance of giving people - especially young people - a place to create that's entirely their own, both by helping kids learn to create games without having to travel, and by providing opportunities to build digital spaces where they are empowered to tell their own stories.

Terra Nova

Like Elizabeth LaPensée, Maize Longboat is a lifelong gamer who had trouble relating to characters until playing a fantasy MMO - in his case, World of Warcraft. Longboat describes the minotaur-esque Tauren race as "essentially the classic, stereotypical Plains Native American trope, but skinned as a cow race. They roam the Plains, have totem poles, and worship a god called the Earth Mother." But, "trope-y" depictions aside, when he first came across the Taurens as an 11-year-old, he says, "I was really excited to play as them because I identified with some of the values that they were able to communicate. I just thought it was cool to play as an Indigenous person for once."

But Longboat also points out that this reliance on cultural tropes in the game's depiction of the Tauren - which isn't an isolated incident for Blizzard - is the product of centuries of misinformation about Indigenous people that perpetuates damaging stereotypes that have been in Western media "for forever." "Some colonizers came to North America and started writing about the people here to their interpretation," he says, "and that's just been continuous for over 500 years. And this is what we get 500 years later: the [Tauren] race in this video game. And I'd say it's not a particularly good thing."

Since then, Longboat, who is Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk) from Six Nations of the Grand River (a reserve community in southern Ontario) on his father's side, and French Canadian and Finnish on his mother's, has seen some small improvements in games' depictions of Indigenous peoples, but they've been rare. He says that while Ratonhnhaké:ton (or Connor) in Assassin's Creed 3 is a more "authentic" depiction of an Indigenous person, the character "still relies on a 'bloodthirsty savage' trope."

"In a lot of ways, colonization couldn't have happened without the generosity and facilitation of Indigenous people in the territory"

But while the general landscape tends to rely on these tropes and stereotypes, Longboat says that doesn't mean that it's completely devoid of well-done portrayals of Indigenous peoples. He was particularly impressed by the 2014 puzzle-platformer Never Alone / Kisima Inŋitchuŋa, which features the Iñupiat language, and for which the publisher, E-Line Media, collaborated and consulted heavily with Iñupiat people. "It was the first time I've actually heard real Indigenous languages being spoken in video games," Longboat says. He was so impacted by the game that it inspired his masters thesis at Concordia University in Montreal: studying the process and practice, from development to production, of making video games as an Indigenous person.

To understand not just on-screen representations, but also the structures and systems that go into producing them, Longboat is studying video game development from an Indigenous perspective. For the practical component of his thesis, he made a game of his own.

Developed with technical director Mehrdad Dehdashti, Mi'kmaq artist and animator Ray Caplin, and sound designer Beatrix Moersch, and released in October 2019, is a two-player cooperative platformer exploring first contact between Indigenous and settler peoples in a distant future setting. You choose to play as either Terra, an Earth-born landkeeper, or Nova, a young star-born inventor. Both players explore their respective environments, unaware of one another's existence until the moment that their worlds collide and the formal cooperative game begins.

First contact is one of the most common premises in science fiction. But for Indigenous people, the idea of an alien race mounting a brutal invasion that decimates their own population and way of life isn't speculative fiction - it's history. "You see it in things like War of the World s, where there's this antagonistic population of aliens that come down [to Earth], and we don't understand what they want, except that they want us to 'be no more,'" Longboat says, which is "reflective of what colonial nations did to Indigenous nations." He believes that the reason these "narratives of aliens coming from elsewhere and doing us harm" are so common is that they're born out of a fear of "others doing unto us what we have done already to others."

Even in actual historical narratives, says Longboat, "we usually only get one interpretation of the first contact - the 'white male explorer' figure who's writing the historical record," so "we don't get to see the perspective of whoever they're making contact with." First contact is treated as something that happened to Indigenous people, who are viewed almost like nonplayer characters who only exist to further the protagonist's quest to conquer a foreign land.

However, he says, "In a lot of ways, colonization couldn't have happened without the generosity and facilitation of Indigenous people in the territory. How were they supposed to know what was to come next? That they were going to get sick from welcoming a new people?"

"Oftentimes," Longboat adds, "Indigenous people are even coming from positions of power in relation to these explorers, who are aliens in a specific place with no idea how to live or survive off of the Indigenous flora and fauna or the land."

Terra Nova 's story and gameplay mechanics are meant to give players "a first contact experience where they don't really know what the outcome could be," using science fiction to cut through the endless misconceptions, stereotypes, and distorted history tied to the concept of first contact in popular culture, and let players experience it in a new, more accurate way.

Next steps

For all four of the developers featured in this story, video games offer a chance to create autonomy and sovereignty in ways that Indigenous people haven't seen or had in centuries. "I see these digital spaces," says Byrne, "as one of the few things where Indigenous people can make something, where they can express themselves, and know that no one's going to be able to go in and spray-paint all over this. And if they do, who cares, there's another copy."

Through the unique immersive interactivity it offers, gaming enables Indigenous people to share and reflect on their experiences in a culture that generally distorts or silences them. "In terms of communicating Indigenous scenarios," Longboat says, "video games can be a great way for people to not embody Indigenous experience, but to experience Indigenous experiences - in a way that's not appropriative."

Byrne agrees. "The thing about game mechanics that I love," she says, "is that you can explain or express something with a mechanic that you may not be able to articulate using words, or even sound or visuals. It's very hard for somebody to pull apart a feeling the way they can pull apart a visual or a sentence - I think it bypasses that resistance to listening." Still, she cautions, there's too often a tendency for this work to turn into "pain tourism" - where real stories of suffering are billed as entertainment, and the reaction from consumers is one she sums up as, "Oh, it's so sad! 10 out of 10."

"In a lot of major studios, there's a heavy reliance on quote-unquote cultural advisers, and very little active engagement from the ground up"

Each developer must choose their own way to approach this. LaPensée, for example, doesn't mind if her games don't always "compute" for non-Indigenous players, because, she says, "My audience first and foremost is Indigenous players." And no matter if their games are explicitly educational, or implicitly so through what they depict, all four developers want to prioritize games and game creation that actively seeks to hire, educate, and/or fund other Indigenous developers and artists.

This is because they all believe that ultimately, on-screen representation is only as helpful as who puts it there. "To me, it's less about content and more about who's behind the wheel," Byrne says. "In a lot of major studios, there's a heavy reliance on quote-unquote cultural advisers, and very little active engagement from the ground up," which means that it's rare for studios to build real relationships with the Indigenous people being represented, or to seek out and enable Indigenous work rather than looking for Indigenous spokespeople to rubber-stamp projects that studios have already decided to pursue.

Byrne also says that non-Indigenous studios - especially larger ones - can help improve representation in the industry by actively looking for, funding, and supporting Indigenous projects and creatives, rather than deciding for themselves which stories to tell. "There are already Indigenous people out there doing great work," she says. "Why not just put out a call saying, 'Hey, we're looking to support this sort of work under our banner - to take on a producer role or publisher role, and to help make the industry more accessible to you'?"

Too often, LaPensée says, studios bring Indigenous people onboard with the stated aim of improving representation, but fail because they don't give them a meaningful say. She says the solution is to hire team s of Indigenous creatives - "not just one token per game" - and to "give Indigenous creatives space to inform design and also credit them, not just give them a consultant title."

They've all thought about what they could pursue with bigger budgets and more AAA-type support. For Longboat, it's a shooter that is true to Indigenous perspectives, and experiments with nonviolence without losing the fun, competitive elements. For Byrne, it's the Métis-Cree RPG she designed characters for in school. LaPensée says she'd make a commercial game about " rougarou [a werewolf-esque mythical creature] in space," where outer space-dwelling rougarou use "sonar weapons and teleportation to defend their territories from colonizing space settlers." And Petersen wants to take the mission of Tipi Kaga - and his love of MMORPGs - even further, with an MMO where Indigenous people across the world can connect with each other through Indigenous storylines and worlds, and where chatrooms let players speak to each other in their native languages.

Indigenous gamers, creators, and characters have been under- or misrepresented since the early days of the industry. Calls for improved overall diversity in gaming are increasingly common from consumers and creators alike - and while some studios have started to respond to those calls, there remains a concern that those responses have, so far, been insufficient. But for studios and developers seeking meaningful Indigenous representation - both on-screen and behind it - developers like Longboat point out that the solution isn't complicated: "Oftentimes," he says, "the best way to do that is just to hand off the decision-making power to the folks whose story you're trying to tell."
[Ed. note: Many of the terms used to refer to Indigenous peoples - both in general as well as when discussing specific tribes and nations - were determined by settlers and colonists. There isn't a consensus about the "correct" terminology, but because of the criticisms surrounding the terms "Indian" and "Native American" in particular, this article uses "Indigenous" as a general descriptor. References to the tribal affiliation of individuals in this piece use their preferred terminology wherever possible.]

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The next chapter of Indigenous representation in video games

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Carl Petersen is a member of the Oohe Nunpa (or Two Kettles) band of Lakota - a tribe indigenous to the North American Great Plains - and a 21-year-old self-proclaimed "Gen-Z/Millennial." But his childhood wasn't the always-online one you might expect.

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Historical injustice

Colonial attitudes and actions set in motion a series of events that continue to impact Indigenous Australians today, despite Indigenous people's efforts to resist and overcome the effects of colonisation. The social and economic impact of invasion, dispossession, marginalisation and control of Indigenous people has accumulated across generations, and has been amplified by policies and practices that have systematically disadvantaged Indigenous people. In many instances, this has resulted in the transmission of poverty, poor health and other forms of disadvantage from generation to generation.

Australia is the only Commonwealth nation where a treaty doesn't exist between the colonisers and Indigenous people. The absence of a treaty is at the very heart of the historical injustice in Australia. The continued lack of treaty with Indigenous Australians shows an ongoing denial of the prior occupation and dispossession of Indigenous people in Australia and a general disregard for a dispossessed people. It's a reminder that disrespectful colonial attitudes still haven't been addressed.

What's institutional injustice?

Institutional injustice is when government policies marginalise some people. This clearly occurred at the beginning of colonisation when Indigenous people were "legally" dispossessed and exploited. However, the formal structures and institutions of the time set up a legacy of discrimination against Indigenous people.

This is now played out in the current social statistics such as incarceration rates, NAPLAN results and employment rates. Some improvements have been made with the granting of certain rights in the 1960's and recognition of Native Title in 1993. However, these changes haven't been enough to reverse the negative impact past policies continue to have on Indigenous Australians.

Culture, identity and belonging

To understand the full extent of the challenges Indigenous people face today, it's vital to understand how the impact of colonisation on Indigenous culture has affected people. This is because Indigenous identity is inextricably linked to land and family. When Indigenous people were dispossessed of their land, they were dispossessed of a major part of their identity. The enormous impact of this was heightened when people were also separated from their families. This is a major underlying cause of many challenges Indigenous people face.

Social injustice

Indigenous Australians experience some of the worst discrimination in the country. This includes unfair and negative stereotypes such as being lazy, violent and alcoholic. Many Australians also presume that 'real' Indigenous people only live in the desert, when in fact a third of all Indigenous Australians live in major cities.

Instead of simply accepting what the media and society say, it's important to listen to Indigenous people about their identity as Indigenous Australians and what this means for them personally. Whilst being Indigenous means different things to different people, for many Indigenous people, it's about being connected to Country, community and culture. It has nothing to do with many of the myths and stereotypes about Indigenous Australians which perpetuate discrimination.

A shared wound, a shared solution

The colonial system not only affected Indigenous Australians, it also brutalised many of the early British convicts, who were removed from their land and families and subject to control, severe punishment, forced labour, abuse and harsh living conditions. However, since that time, many non-Indigenous Australians have accumulated significant socio-economic advantages as a result of colonisation, and these benefits have come at enormous cost to Indigenous people.

The injustice experienced by many Indigenous people is at odds with our national values, the things that make us proud to be Australian. It affects everyone living on this land. Because of intolerance, mainstream Australian culture has missed many opportunities to inherit aspects of rich Indigenous cultures and deep knowledge of the land we all live on.

Despite our disturbing history, there's significant good will in Australia. While considerable effort has been made to set things right, many attempts to address injustice and disadvantage are simply not working. That's why Australians Together focuses on respectful relationships and connections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.

We're passionate about addressing the wound in our nation by changing the way we understand one another. We know that coming together respectfully has the power to change everything, to address the wound in our nation and create a better shared future for Australians.

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Colonial attitudes and actions set in motion a series of events that continue to impact Indigenous Australians today, despite Indigenous people's efforts to resist and overcome the effects of colonisation. The social and economic impact of invasion, dispossession, marginalisation and control of Indigenous people has accumulated across generations, and has been amplified by policies and practices that have systematically disadvantaged Indigenous people.

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Dubbo council racist email controversy prompts call for greater local government diversity

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Dubbo council racist email controversy prompts call for greater local government diversity

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More women and Aboriginal people on councils would improve democracy and make local government more diverse and effective, say female and Indigenous leaders.

At the last round of local government elections, the typical candidate was an English speaking male aged 60-69 years

No mayors in NSW have identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander since 2012

Only 32 per cent of elected representatives in local government are women

Wiradjuri elder and former deputy mayor of Dubbo Regional Council Rod Towney said having greater Indigenous representation on local council would also help tackle racism.

Mr Towney's comments follow the widespread condemnation of Dubbo councillor Kevin Parker, who was last week caught sending out a racist email with derogatory comments about Aboriginal Australians.

Mr Towney is calling on his people to "step up and be counted" ahead of September's New South Wales local government elections.

"When you're on council you're there for everyone, but when issues do come up, like the email, you can talk on behalf of Aboriginal people and nip issues right in the bud," Mr Towney said.

Mr Parker's email alluded to the children's tale Snow White where the seven dwarves' character names were replaced with offensive stereotypes about Indigenous employment, productivity and crime.

He has since been stood down from his workplace, The Bank of Queensland, but has retained his position on Dubbo Regional Council.

Mr Towney said his people defied the stereotypes portrayed in Mr Parker's 'joke'.

"There are Aboriginal people here who are very well educated, have degrees, have worked in public life, and they can get up and debate with the best of people," he said.

"We need to stand up and be counted as best we can."

No Indigenous mayors in NSW

Data from the NSW Office of Local Government shows that in the last round of NSW local government elections, the typical candidate was an English speaking male aged 60-69 years with a professional occupation.

None of them identified as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander or as having a disability and had not served as a councillor before.

Also, since 2012, there hasn't been a single mayor in NSW that has identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

Dubbo Regional Council's deputy mayor Stephen Lawrence said it was time things changed.

"Local government is the grassroots level of government and Aboriginal people are entitled to participate and be represented," Mr Lawrence said.

Despite Aboriginal people making up 14 per cent of Dubbo's population, there were no Aboriginal people elected to the city's regional council.

Nationally, Indigenous people make up 3.3 per cent of the population.

"It is not at all unreasonable to think that we, as a council, would have three Aboriginal councillors," he said.

"I certainly hope this event [the email scandal] acts as a catalyst for Aboriginal people standing for council."

But Mr Towney said if non-Aboriginal councillors were serious about increasing candidate diversity, they should consider stepping aside to make way for them.

"Calls from councillors to better support Aboriginal people are nothing new, this has been happening for years," he said.

'Everyone needs support'

With the next round of local government elections in NSW taking place on September 12, all candidates must nominate by August 12.

The Australian Local Government Women's Association president Marianne Saliba said it was critical more women put their hands up.

In NSW, there are three councils that don't have any female councillors: Berrigan, Blayney and Wingecarribee.

"We do have a significant gender imbalance in NSW when only 32 per cent of elected representatives in local government are women. In fact, female representation on councils is below fifty percent across all jurisdiction in Australia," Ms Saliba said.

She said women were helping make politics a better place.

"We know when women are at the table it changes the tone of the debate. Arguments turn to discussions and agreements and it becomes less personal."

Ms Saliba, who is also the mayor of Shellharbour Council in NSW, understood the pressures of balancing family and professional commitments, but said "everyone needs support".

"It can be done," she said

All male at Wingecarribee

According to mayor of Wingecarribee Shire Council, Duncan Gair, running for local government takes confidence and commitment.

His council of elected representatives does not include any women, nor Indigenous members, nor any councillors whose first language is something other than English.

It's made up of himself and eight other men.

"At the end of the day it's up to members of the community to put their hand up for election," Mr Gair said.

Mr Gair, who has been on council for 25 years, said he would like to see a greater diversity of councillors at the next election.

One way to achieve this, he said, was to stop candidates aligning with political parties.

"Once you're nominated by a political party you are virtually guaranteed a position on council, regardless of your ability and qualifications," he said.

"I think it would make it a much more democratic process and would give us a more diverse representation of the community."

He supported calls for law reform to pay councillors superannuation - something he agreed would encourage more women to nominate.

"The allowance per councillor is about $20,000 a year, so for people to do community service at this rate for a four year term is significant. That's why, I believe, you often get an aged group of people running for council."

The Office of Local Government has issued a discussion paper to seek the views of councils and their local communities on whether councillors should receive superannuation.

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Racist email scandal sparks calls for more female and Indigenous councillors

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More women and Aboriginal people on councils would improve democracy and make local government more diverse and effective, say female and Indigenous leaders.

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What is a stereotype?

Before we discuss stereotypes we need to know what a stereotype is.

Definition: Stereotype

The Wikipedia defines a stereotype as

a generalised perception of first impressions,

judging with the eyes/criticising ones outer appearance,

a conventional and oversimplified conception, opinion, or image,

forms of social consensus rather than individual judgements.

The word 'stereotype' comes from the Greek 'stereo' and 'typos' = 'solid impression'.

Stereotypes surface when you are with a group of people and you hear them affirming that, for example, "all Aboriginals are lazy". If you asked that person you would probably find out that they actually have never met an Aboriginal person which would have allowed them to reach an informed opinion.

Stereotypes are dangerous and can lead to prejudice and racism.

Stereotypes are incomplete and inaccurate beliefs that some people hold about groups of other people .

Example: Aboriginal Associate Professor Karen Martin teaches university students in Queensland. She found that of the 600 students in her classes, fewer than one third had ever had a conversation with an Aboriginal person. "And yet most had a strongly held opinion or belief about Aboriginal people-generally negative," she says .

Scientists found that our brain responds more strongly to information about groups who are portrayed unfavourably , which is often the case with Aboriginal people in the media. The negative groups then become treated as more and more negative.

When we cluster people into groups with a variety of expected traits we are less overwhelmed by information. But negative stereotypes are more difficult to reverse, and if you haven't been brought up in a liberal family you might have more difficulties unlearning prejudice.

I once received an email asking for "information on this wonderful history" of Aboriginal people in Australia. Had the author known more about Aboriginal history they wouldn't have used the word "wonderful".

Test: Do you hold stereotypes?

Many reduce their perception of Aboriginal people to either be disadvantaged or talented exceptions. Is the following all you do?

You celebrate individuals such as Rover Thomas, the Bangarra Dance Theatre or Cathy Freeman.

You admire dot paintings on lounge room walls.

You condemn endemic violence and out-of-sight Third World conditions.

You hope the Australian government will do something, anything, about it.

You ignore the drunks on the street and avoid walking the streets of Redfern.

I'm Aboriginal, But I'm Not...

Listen to Aboriginal people who don't fit the common stereotype:

Homework: How would you respond to these statements?

Unfortunately a large portion of the majority - that is, white Australians - accept a certain level of prejudice. You can tell when you listen carefully:

"I don't have a problem with [insert minority group], provided they come the right way / assimilate..."

"Aboriginal people need to get over the past and get on with things..."

"I don't have a problem with racism, I just don't like [insert minority group], that's different..."

"Don't be so politically correct, it's all in good fun [usually said after racist remark]..."

"I'm not racist, my [insert friend, colleague etc] is [insert race reference]..."

Write a response you could give to each of these statements.

What could your response trigger in the other person? Could you improve your response?

Stereotypes about Aboriginal Australians

Research has found "entrenched negative stereotypes" of Aboriginal people in Australia .

Stereotypes can take many forms and shapes. Some of the more common ones say that Aboriginal people...

are primitive and nomadic,

lack complex laws and social organisation,

are drunks,

are violent,

live in the outback,

are un-educated no hopers,

are involved in too much crime,

receive too much from welfare,

get more than the whites,

eat the wrong foods (white sugar, flour, McDonalds, etc.),

don't have a religion, have sinned and need to pray for forgiveness,

don't use the land they get for free,

get treated too leniently by police and courts,

do not want to work and are lazy,

must fit the image of a dark-skinned, wide-nosed person (i.e. a 'full-blood'),

live a traditional tribal/ancient lifestyle,

are not really attached to their land because they live on the fringe of towns and cities,

are like leeches and drain away each others' resources,

are problems ('the Aboriginal problem') and Aboriginal people have problems.

Deconstructing stereotypes

If I asked you to name three symbols of Aboriginal culture, you wouldn't disagree with dot-paintings, boomerangs and didgeridoos, right?

While the tourist industry wants to make us believe these are items that represent Australian Aboriginal culture, they actually don't.

First we need to remember that there is no single Aboriginal culture. Australia is home to many Aboriginal nations who are as diverse as other groups of nations, for example Europe.

All three symbols come from specific areas of Australia because they won't work elsewhere or wouldn't be available in other places.

Dot-painting is an art form that emerged when a European art teacher worked with an Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory in the 1970s. They were a result of abstracting sacred patterns.

Boomerangs need wide, open spaces to be able to fly the typical arcs that bring them back to their thrower. This would be impossible in any of the forested areas of Australia.

Didgeridoos are made from wood that has been hollowed by termites. But the inside of trees is only one of five habitats of termites because many termite species don't eat wood. Since these drywood termites obtain all their moisture from the wood they need high humidity to survive. This limits the areas where artists can find hollow wood.

Spot the stereotype!

In a parody of One Direction's song What Makes You Beautiful, Frankie Jackson takes to comedy to portray some of the stereotypes about Aboriginal people. How many can you find in this clip?

Stereotypes are myths we copied from others without inquisitive verification. But you'll be surprised that most of the myths about Aboriginal culture are not true.

Besides individuals who readily believe those stereotypes, the mainstream media's focus on negative Aboriginal issues creates much hurt when it presents the problems of individual Aboriginal people as problems of all Indigenous Australians.

The education system also contributes to stereotypes when students learn of the negative aspects of Aboriginal history rather than contemporary Aboriginal studies which can be very positive, especially with regard to sporting (such as Rugby League) and educational achievements.

Further, many Australians believe that 'we are not responsible for the past' and don't owe Aboriginal people anything, a view advocated for many years by former Prime Minister John Howard.

The racist stereotyping is alive and well in Australian culture. Never mind that these stereotypes can be shown for the lies that they are, racists never let truth or facts hold them back. I'm Aboriginal and I am aware of the crap every freakin' day!
- wotzthepoint? on Yahoo Answers

Homework: Spot the stereotypes!

The following text is a comment from Creative Spirits' Facebook page in response to a post about the Western Australian government considering shutting down Aboriginal communities.

Examine the comment carefully:

"Has anyone considered that leaving these communities open is continuing to keep the aboriginal community out of site [sic] and out of mind. By all means keep your cultural heritage which is vital for any race, but let's get real. A community that has no chance of a sustainable income producing industry, no chance of continuing employment and small family populations is going no where [sic]. What about the children in these communities who never learn to speak english and have trouble putting a sentance [sic] together. What chance are they going to have in the real world."

Questions

How many stereotypes are in the text above?

Which ones are they?

Story: They call you...

They call you Boong, they call you Abo, they call you Coon. They see your skin and think it's dirty.

When you smile they say 'they're a happy one'. They see you work hard and say 'they must be one of the good ones'.

They congratulate you not for what you have done, but just that you were able to do it... 'they have potential'. When you argue with your intellect, they are surprised by your intelligence... 'they're smart for one of them'.

They don't see your culture, they don't see your pride, they don't see that you are a person in your own right. Yes, you are a good black man. But you are also a good man.

They say you are smart for a black woman. This discounts your intelligence; you are a smart woman. We call you strong, we call you proud, we call you black.

We see your skin as a coat of armour, protecting your spirit and your Dreaming.

You smile because your spirit is strong. You smile because they cannot harm you with their hurtful words.

You work hard, not for their accolades, but for your own and you work for your family. This, they do not understand... but they have potential.

Intellectually you are beyond their par, for you know their world and your own. They only know their way... but they are smart for one of them.

Every day you carry your culture, every day you carry your humanity, every day you carry with you your Dreaming. This makes you a strong black person.

Yes, you are a good man. And I feel strong that you never lose sight of the fact you are a good black man.

You are a smart woman. And I am proud to say you are an intelligent and inspirational black woman.

They call you names. All but your own.

I will call to them, and say 'these may be your words' but he is my brother, she is my sister, and today your hurtful words mean nothing.

Resource

Susans Birthday Party is a short 5-minute film about a six-year-old Aboriginal girl with red hair and fair skin who's teased at school as she is not the stereotypical Aboriginal.

Written and directed by Maureen Logan, the film is available through Keeaira Press.

An old stereotype is in your wallet

Did you know that an old stereotype about Aboriginal Australians is in your wallet? Take out one coin each for five cents, ten cents, twenty cents, one dollar and two dollars, then see what you get.

Australia's coins as shown above represent Australia's fauna-or do they? Which coin is the odd one out?

Most coins were designed and introduced in February 1966 , more than a year before Aboriginal people were counted as citizens in their own country. It was a time when they were still thought to 'die out' eventually and politics of the Stolen Generations would be carried on for at least another ten years.

The series of coins suggests that Aboriginal people were seen as part of the landscape. Ironically the 'native tree' shown next to the head of the Aboriginal man used to be called 'blackboy', a reference to Indigenous people not only because the grass tree, as it is now known, has a black stem after a bushfire, but also because it develops a spear-like shoot which holds the flower and can be up to two metres in height.

You see, this is where we fit into the white scheme of things, as fauna, part of the animal kingdom, part of the landscape.
- 'Craig', an Aboriginal character in John Damalis' book 'Riding the Black Cockatoo'

One might argue that the one dollar and two dollars coins are not really part of the others because they were designed and added in 1983 and 1987. The fact remains, however, that Aboriginal people might be offended and think otherwise.

Where do stereotypes come from?

The definition of a stereotype above implies that people who communicate them rely on unverified first impressions and oversimplified concepts. Because they don't want to or cannot find out the truth they rely on views readily available to them.

The media is a prime supplier of these simplified views and itself prone to, and a distributor of, stereotypes.

How many times did you read about a dysfunctional, violent Aboriginal community or drunk Aboriginal people getting into trouble?

And how many times did you read a success story about an Aboriginal person, in health, sport or business?

This is where the media forms and reinforces Aboriginal stereotypes. Racial stereotyping in the media is institutional and results from news values and editorial policies .

For Aboriginal artist Bindi Cole this leads to a disconnection between the broader community and the Aboriginal community. "People don't even understand that in urban areas there [once] were Aboriginal people. They see what they see on TV and think 'that's what Aboriginal people are' and, if you don't fit into that, you're not Aboriginal. They think there can't have been any evolution of Aboriginal people in the last 200 years."

Politicians who fail to visit a broad range of Aboriginal communities to discuss matters with people first hand are susceptible to stereotypes which then influence their politics. John Howard's first visit to an Aboriginal community came in February 1998, two years after he took office, and during his 12 years as Prime Minister he never visited any communities other than in far north Queensland and the Northern Territory .

People stereotype the Aboriginal race,
But theirs I never do disgrace.
Drugs, no school, drinkers that's all they know
Of a people with so much more to show.
I hold my head up so high
For my race I would die...

Poem by Salote Bovoro, a 14-year-old girl.

Aboriginal youth become the stereotypes they see

A dangerous thing about stereotypes is that they can influence a young Aboriginal person growing up. As they realise their different heritage and start searching for their identity, they are vulnerable to internalising the beliefs and misconceptions their fellow Australians hold about them.

"If this is what people think that being Aboriginal is, then maybe that's what I'm supposed to be," says young Aboriginal woman Belinda Huntress from northern NSW about this identity-searching time in her life. "So what I started doing was colluding to these stereotypes."

Watch her full speech on TEDxYouth:

How can I avoid stereotyping?

It is not easy to detect that you are holding stereotypes when you are on autopilot. Follow these steps to change:

1. Become aware that you hold stereotypes. We are all human and hold stereotypes of some kind. The first step is to raise your awareness that you do without judging yourself for it. Realise that you copied certain beliefs from others without verification (this is much easier anyway).

2. Question statements. With your sharpened awareness you can now detect generalising statements like "All Aboriginal people are lazy". Start questioning them by asking "Why do you think so?" Question not only people, but also any media you consume.

3. Inform yourself. Well done for reading Creative Spirits. Information is the best cure to stereotypes. Start investigating, 'Are Aboriginal people really lazy?' Check out publications from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. It is vital that you go to trustworthy, authoritative sources as others might just offer a different stereotype.

4. Help disproving them. Armed with knowledge you can now offer the real view and say 'I disagree, the ABS found that in the last decade the number of Aboriginal students in higher education grew by 20%'.

After experiencing Aboriginal culture first-hand for 4 weeks during the series First Contact, Bo-dene Stieler realised her false beliefs:

"Before the journey, I would never have thought that my biggest life inspiration would come from Aboriginal people. Looking back, I can't believe the ignorance I showed and the disrespect I showed by not even taking the pro-active approach to find out more and just believing everything that I had been told."

I never realised that I would share so many connections with Aboriginal people. I always thought that there was some huge divide that could never be crossed. But I was wrong.
- Bo-dene Stieler, participant in First Contact

'Good' stereotypes: Australia's tourism industry

Stereotypes don't need to be bad. The tourism industry of Australia relies heavily on the stereotype of an ancient and mythical Aboriginal Australia to sell its products.

In the history section the website stops to tell about Aboriginal people beyond the 1967 Referendum. The 'Culture' section refers to the Bangarra Dance Theatre's style as 'traditional' whereas it is, in fact, also very contemporary.

The tourism industry has perfected the art of creating the good stereotype in the minds of readers of their promotional material without saying anything that's untrue.

Read the following extract of a text by Tourism Australia which appeared in a German newsletter about Australia :

The Aborigines of Australia are the keepers of one of the oldest existing cultures. They are proud of their culture and traditions. They love to share their traditional music, ritual dances and knowledge about their land. Tourists who let themselves into meeting Aborigines during a tour into the outback can visit unique places, sense the spirituality of ancient customs, experience the spectacular nature or get close to how these people live during a stay in an Aboriginal community.

You meet Aboriginal art and culture everywhere in Australia. If along the coast, in the heart of Australia or even at Circular Quay in Sydney or the Botanic Gardens of Melbourne - Aboriginal art and culture is present in the entire country. Tourists have many options to experience it. In urban regions, for example, galleries and exhibitions offer views into contemporary Aboriginal Australia.

View the original German text

Show

Die Ureinwohner Australiens sind die Hüter einer der ältesten noch bestehenden Kulturen. Die Aborigines sind stolz auf ihre Kultur und Traditionen. Ihre überlieferte Musik, ihre rituellen Tänze und ihr Wissen über ihr Land teilen sie gerne mit Besuchern. Touristen, die sich auf die Begegnung einlassen, sehen bei Touren im Outback einmalige Plätze in Australien, spüren die Spiritualität der uralten Bräuche, erleben die spektakuläre Natur oder erfahren bei einem Aufenthalt in einer Aborigine Gemeinde hautnah die Lebensweise der Menschen.

Auf die Kunst und Kultur der Aborigines trifft man überall in Australien. Ob entlang der Küste, mitten im Herzen Australiens oder sogar am Hafen von Sydney oder in den Botanischen Gärten Melbournes - die Kunst und Kultur der Ureinwohner ist im ganzen Land präsent. Touristen haben viele verschiedene Möglichkeiten, sie zu erleben. In urbanen Regionen etwa bieten Galerien und Ausstellungen Einblicke in das zeitgenössische aboriginale Australien.

Wouldn't you agree that you just saw a fur-clad Aboriginal person holding a spear and boomerang?

Analysing the text we find words and attributes such as 'keepers', 'oldest', 'traditions', 'ritual' and 'ancient'. The text serves the stereotype of Aboriginal people 'living a traditional tribal/ancient lifestyle' mentioned earlier. It's all in the words. 'Contemporary' is only mentioned in conjunction with galleries and exhibitions.

95% of Australian tourists want to experience Aboriginal culture during their trip and that's why Tourism Australia has chosen to feature the image of an Aboriginal tour guide prominently on their website (see image above). But I have to disappoint you.

Many Aboriginal people struggle to get jobs, even in the tourism industry. Some Aboriginal people might not even know about their own culture, have lost their family ties or don't practise any traditional customs at all.

We don't practise our Aboriginal culture much because my nanna was stolen when she was eight years old and put in a dormitory and required to work for a white couple, so we're missing a part of our ancestry.
- Stephen Pitt, Sunshine Coast, QLD

Stephen's nanna was 'stolen' because she is a member of the Stolen Generations, Aboriginal people who were taken away by the Australian governments "for their better" and to be trained as domestic servants or workers.

Here is another example for a 'good stereotype', also by Tourism Australia:

What tourist advertising does not tell

Australian tourists want to be served the good stereotypes of Aboriginal Australia. Imagine what would happen if we told them the truth about the contemporary situation Indigenous people are in:

The text on the left hand side is taken from Tourism Australia's website australia.com in 2008 . Next to it I've put my version, written with the background of more than a year's study of Aboriginal affairs by reading the National Indigenous Times and Koori Mail. I don't want to discredit australia.com, but show how different a picture you can get if you read elsewhere.
Sidenote: On 10 January 2011, the Supreme Court of Australia dismissed an appeal against a $500 fine imposed on the company who had built the drop toilet on sacred ground in November 2007. Under Northern Territory Intervention laws, evidence should have been presented citing the "detrimental effect of the desecration". The sacred site is considered ceremonially significant to many clans in the region of Arnhem Land, and is used several times during the year by local Aboriginal men and women.

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Stereotypes & prejudice of 'Aboriginal Australia'

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Don't believe everything you read about Aboriginal Australian people. We expose the common "good" stereotypes used in the tourist industry.

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Massacre Map

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The killing times: a massacre map of Australia’s frontier wars

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This interactive tells the stories that have long been kept out of our history books. It shows evidence of mass killings from 1788 until 1928: a sustained and systematic process of conflict and expansion

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Watch for free on ABC iView until March 24th

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The remarkable story of Indigenous AFL legend Adam Goodes. Through the backdrop of Goodes' journey, the feature documentary explores race, identity and belonging in Australia today.

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Adam Goodes: ‘Instead of masking racism, we need to deal with it day-to-day’

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Adam Goodes walked away from his stellar AFL career due to the abuse he constantly suffered and is now the subject of a powerful new film

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Colonisation of Australia

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Prior to British settlement, more than 500 First Nations groups inhabited the continent we now call Australia, approximately 750,000 people in total. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures developed over 60,000 years, making First Nations Peoples the custodians of the world's oldest living culture. Each group lived in close relationship with the land and had custodianship of their Country.

Are you a teacher looking for curriculum resources?

Easy-to-use, ready-made resources that will help your students understand First Nations stories, experiences and perspectives. They include teacher guides, student handouts, activities and more.

Captain Cook claims possession for England

In 1770, during his first Pacific voyage, Lieutenant James Cook claimed possession of the east coast of Australia for the British Crown. Upon his return to Britain, Cook's reports inspired the authorities to establish a penal colony in the newly claimed territory. The new colony was intended to alleviate overcrowding in British prisons, expand the British Empire, assert Britain's claim to the territory against other colonial powers, and establish a British base in the global South.

Disease, dispossession and direct conflict

In 1788, Captain Arthur Phillip and 1,500 convicts, crew, marines and civilians arrived at what is now called Sydney Cove. In the 10 years that followed, it's estimated that the First Nations population was reduced by 90%. Three main reasons for this dramatic population decline were the:

introduction of new diseases

acquisition of First Nations lands by colonisers

direct and violent conflict with colonisers.

The most immediate consequence of colonisation was a wave of epidemic diseases including smallpox, measles and influenza, which spread ahead of the frontier and annihilated many First Nations communities. Governor Phillip reported that smallpox had killed half of the First Nations people in the Sydney region within 14 months of the arrival of the First Fleet. The sexual abuse and exploitation of First Nations girls and women also introduced venereal disease to First Nations people in epidemic proportions.

"The Government is fast disposing of the land occupied by the natives from time immemorial. In addition to which settlers under the sanction of government may establish themselves in any part of this extensive territory and since the introduction of the numerous flocks and herds ... a serious loss has been sustained by the natives without an equivalent being rendered. Their territory is not only invaded, but their game is driven back, their marnong and other valuable roots are eaten by the white man's sheep and their deprivation, abuse and miseries are daily increasing."
Francis Tuckfield, Wesleyan Missionary, 1837

The expansion of British colonies, including the establishments in Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania), Adelaide, Moreton Bay (Brisbane) and Port Phillip (Melbourne), resulted in competition over land and resources, and quickly resulted in violence. Levels of frontier violence are hotly debated (see Reynolds and Windshuttle), but historical records document numerous occasions on which First Nations people were hunted and brutally murdered.

Massacres of First Nations people often took the form of mass shootings or driving groups of people off cliffs. There are also numerous accounts of colonists offering First Nations people food laced with arsenic and other poisons.

"In less than twenty years we have nearly swept them off the face of the earth. We have shot them down like dogs. In the guise of friendship we have issued corrosive sublimate in their damper and consigned whole tribes to the agonies of an excruciating death. We have made them drunkards, and infected them with diseases which have rotted the bones of their adults, and made such few children as are born amongst them a sorrow and a torture from the very instant of their birth. We have made them outcasts on their own land, and are rapidly consigning them to entire annihilation."
Edward Wilson (Editor), The Argus, 17 March 1856

It's important to recognise that from the beginning of colonisation, First Nations people continually resisted the violation of their right to land, and its impact on First Nations cultures and communities. It's estimated that at least 20,000 Aboriginal people were killed as a direct result of colonial violence during this era of Australian history. Between 2,000 and 2,500 European deaths resulted from frontier conflict during the same period.

F-Y10 Curriculum resources to help unpack the complexities surrounding Australia Day

With teacher guides, student handouts, activities and more, they're designed to help you put together a thought-provoking and engaging lesson.

Stop and think: how important is your way of life?

Imagine how you'd feel if you welcomed strangers into your home and they never left. In fact, what would it be like if they took control of your house and made you relocate far away? What if they abused you physically, sexually and financially, and spread disease throughout your community? Can you imagine how this would affect your children and grandchildren's views of these strangers for generations to come?

Consider what it would be like to see a previously unknown disease, with a 50% fatality rate, sweep through your community, affecting your family and friends. How would it make you feel to know that so much of your culture had been permanently devastated, with no way to fully rediscover it in all its richness?

The reality of the collision of cultures between First Nations Peoples and the British colonials has gone unacknowledged for most of our shared history. Many First Nations people have wrestled with defining their identity when so much of their pre-contact culture has been lost, and at the same time their relationship with mainstream Australian culture is complicated by its role in the deterioration of First Nations cultures.

References

1. Behrendt L (2012) Indigenous Australia for Dummies®, Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd, Milton, Queensland, p. 94, accessed 8 November 2021.

2. Harris J (2003) 'Hiding the bodies: the myth of the humane colonisation of Aboriginal Australia', Aboriginal History Journal, vol. 27, pp. 79-104, accessed 8 November 2021.

3. Bladen FM, Britton A and Cook J (1892) Historical records of New South Wales, vol. 1, Part 2 (1783-1792), Government Printer, Sydney, accessed 8 November 2021.

4. Harris J (2013) One blood: 200 years of Aboriginal encounter with Christianity, (Kindle edn) p. 27, accessed 8 November 2021.

5. Tuckfield F (1837) The Journal of Francis Tuckfield, missionary to Port Phillip, Southern Australia, 1837-ca. 1842, (manuscript), State Library of Victoria, accessed 8 November 2021.

6. Behrendt L (2012) Indigenous Australia for Dummies®, Wiley Publishing Australia Pty Ltd, Milton, Queensland, p. 274, accessed 8 November 2021.

7. Harris J (2013) One blood: 200 years of Aboriginal encounter with Christianity, (Kindle edn) p. 209, accessed 8 November 2021.

8. Reynolds H (2006) The other side of the Frontier: Aboriginal resistance to the European invasion of Australia, p. 126, University of New South Wales Press.

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Colonisation | History Of When Australia Was Colonised

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Prior to British settlement, more than 500 First Nations groups inhabited the continent we now call Australia, approximately 750,000 people in total. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures developed over 60,000 years, making First Nations Peoples the custodians of the world's oldest living culture.

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Map of Indigenious Australia

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'What was before Lord Vestey born and I born? It was blackfella country.' Vincent Lingiari (Wattie Creek 1966)

Australia's First Peoples have been living on the Australian continent for millenia.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia is made up of many different and distinct groups, each with their own culture, customs, language and laws. They are the world's oldest surviving culture; cultures that continue to be expressed in dynamic and contemporary ways.

The AIATSIS map serves as a visual reminder of the richness and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia. It was created in 1996 as part of the Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia project and attempts to show language, social or nation groups based on published sources available up to 1994.

The map shows only the general locations of larger groups of people which may include smaller groups. There are also variations in the way that some language or group names are spelt. You can view some of these alternate spellings on the list of alternate spellings for names on the AIATSIS map of Indigenous Australia below.

Note that the borders between groups are purposefully represented as slightly blurred and are not meant to be exact. Some of the information shown on the map is contested and may not be agreed to by some traditional custodians - the map isn't suitable for native title or other land claims.

The map isn't the only source of information; if you would like more information about Australian Indigenous languages please see our Austlang database. The National Native Title Tribunal also produces maps that show native title claims determinations.

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The AIATSIS map serves as a visual reminder of the richness and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia.

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Acknowledgement of Country Significance- ABC Kids

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Acknowledgement of Country Significance- ABC Kids

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Every day on ABC KIDS listen at midday you'll hear an Acknowledgement of Country. You can also listen to it anytime here.

It goes as follows:

ABC KIDS listen acknowledges Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the Traditional Custodians of lands, waterways and skies across Australia.

We thank you for sharing and caring for the land we learn and play on.

We pay our respects to Elders, and we share our friendship and kindness.

An Acknowledgement of Country is a way of showing respect to the Traditional Owners of the land. Playing a daily Acknowledgement of Country is important because it encourages children to engage with diversity and respect.

The Early Years Learning Framework which is the national standard of education for pre-schoolers advocates for all children to be meaningfully connected with and contribute to their world, to not only have a positive sense of self-identity, but also to experience respectful and responsive relationships with other people and places alike.

Our Acknowledgement of Country was developed in consultation with Reconciliation Australia, a non government organisation that promotes and facilitates respect, trust and positive relationships between the wider Australian community and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Reconciliation in Australia can be thought of through five dimensions:race relations, equality and equity, unity, institutional integrity and historical acceptance. Every School and Early Learning Service in Australia can develop their own Reconciliation Action Plan through the Narragunnawali platform.

Stephanie Woerde Educator and member of Reconciliation Australia's Narragunnawali team states that "Acknowledging Country, and acknowledging those Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Custodians of the lands, waterways and skies among which one lives and learns, strengthens children's connectedness to their life-world and local community, and also serves as an important act of reconciliation from the earliest age. It is wonderful to hear some of the youngest voices on ABC Kids Radio acknowledging Country on a daily basis".

On ABC KIDS listen we aim to offer a variety of programming which celebrates the diversity of multicultural Australia. We recognise Australia is home to the world's oldest continuous cultures. We value Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, languages and histories.

We seek to promote a greater understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander 'ways of knowing and being' as part of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF).

From ABC KIDS listen children can learn about a variety of music, stories, cultures and languages. Our listeners are encouraged to make and create, go on adventures, explore their world, expand their knowledge and extend their imaginations.

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Every day on ABC KIDS listen at midday you'll hear an Acknowledgement of Country. You can also listen to it anytime here. It goes as follows: ABC KIDS listen acknowledges Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the Traditional Custodians of lands, waterways and skies across Australia.