Aboriginal Identity: Who is 'Aboriginal'?

It is not easy to define Aboriginal identity. People who identify themselves as 'Aboriginal' range from dark-skinned, broad-nosed to blonde-haired, blue-eyed people, very much to the surprise of non-Indigenous people.

Aboriginal people define Aboriginality not by skin colour but by relationships.

Ironically light-skinned Aboriginal people are being challenged on their Aboriginal identity, even though the official definition accepts anyone who identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and is accepted as such in their community.


Who is black and who is white? Many times our misconceptions make us assume we know when, in fact, we don't.

Who is 'Aboriginal'?

Ever since white people mixed with Aboriginal people they have struggled to define who is 'Aboriginal'.

Racist definitions of Aboriginal identity

Caste categories in an identity card used in the 1940s [4].
From 1910 to the 1940s white people classified Indigenous people into castes. They defined

a 'full-blood' as a person who had no white blood,
a 'half-caste' as someone with one white parent,
a 'quadroon' or 'quarter-caste' as someone with an Aboriginal grandfather or grandmother,
a 'octoroon' as someone whose great-grandfather or great-grandmother was Aboriginal.
These terms pervaded literature of that time. Today these words are considered offensive and racist.

Use of these terms stopped in the 1960s. Instead, authorities tried to find alternate definitions of Aboriginal identity, which, however, were still influenced by colonial thinking. Since legislation for Indigenous people was a state matter, each state found its own definition for 'Aboriginal'. Examples [1]:

Western Australia: a person with more than a quarter of Aboriginal blood.
Victoria: any person of Aboriginal descent.
The Commonwealth Parliament defined an Indigenous person as "a person who is a member of the Aboriginal race of Australia", a definition which was still in use in the early 1990s [2].

Read more on racist terms and racism against Aboriginal people.

Three-part definition of Aboriginal identity
It took a 'Report on a Review of the Administration of the Working Definition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders' in 1981 to propose a new definition (my emphasis):

"An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is a person

of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent
who identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and
is accepted as such by the community in which he (she) lives."
This was called the 'three-part' definition of Aboriginal identity and was soon adopted by all Commonwealth departments [2]. Variations of this definition were used later by legislative and government bodies. Many Indigenous persons carry 'certificates' from Indigenous organisations which state their Aboriginality.

However, the fact remains that a white authority defines who is an Indigenous person.

Proposals on genetic testing as a means of proving one's Aboriginality have been dismissed on the grounds that 'race' and 'ethnicity' are social, cultural and political constructs [2] which cannot be tested objectively.

Aboriginal people defining their Aboriginality
Prior to colonisation the First People of Australia identifed themselves by their nation. They would say "I'm a Dharawal man" or "I'm an Eora woman". Some country names around the greater Sydney area include Darug (near Katoomba, Blue Mountains), Gundungurra (near Goulburn, south-west of Sydney), Dharawal (Woolongong), Eora (Sydney).

Many Aboriginal people identify themselves as belonging to several nations for example as "Yuwaalaraay and Gamilaraay". This is because

their parents or grandparents come from these nations. Traditionally they would've come from the same nation, but contemporary relationships often involve partners from different Aboriginal nations;
they have lived in two places and identify themselves with each.
Another way Aboriginal people identify is by their boundary or state name.

Aboriginal boundary (state) names
State Name
New South Wales Koori, Goorie, Koorie, Coorie, Murri
Victoria Koorie
South Australia Nunga, Nyungar, Nyoongah
Western Australia Nyungar, Nyoongar
Northern Territory Yolngu (top end); Anangu (central)
Queensland Murri
Tasmania Palawa, Koori
Fact If Aboriginal people think highly of you, for example because you showed respect and have a deep understanding of their culture, you are an inverted coconut because you are white on the outside yet black on the inside.
Similarly, people who blend into Chinese culture are called an egg (which is a compliment) because they are white on the outside yet yellow on the inside.

Case study: Tim's struggle for identity

When Tim Eckersley was one week old he was adopted out to a white family. But all his younger years were a struggle to find his Aboriginal identity [24].

It led him to life on the streets when he was 13, and then in and out of boys' homes until 17.

"I was 17 when I went to jail and it was a long journey. I spent all of my 20s inside and I wasn't in the right frame of mind to be in society," Tim says.

"My [foster] family have always been supportive, they never gave up on me, but it was hard. I found it hard at school because I was alone and I didn't know who I was."

It was in jail where he reconnected with his culture, finding a brotherhood with other Indigenous prisoners. "In jail I experienced knowing about my culture, I learnt to paint and dance, and a lot about cultural issues. It was there that I really developed who I was, belonging to my culture and identifying who I was and where I fit into it, I felt proud."

In 2002, 31-year-old Tim finally got the chance to reunite with his Aboriginal family from Western Australia, but, sadly, his mother had already passed away.

"For me, reconnecting with your family is almost like revisiting your pain. It's not just painful for me, but for them also, so it is an ongoing journey that I will eventually get to reconnect with more of my family as I get a bit stronger."
Deconstructing myths about Aboriginal identity

Take the following identity test to see if you can find out which face belongs to a person who identifies as Aboriginal and which does not:

Which face belongs to an Aboriginal woman?


Tell me!

Solution:

These women were posing for a calendar. All of them are proud Aboriginal women.

It is a common mistake by non-Indigenous people to judge a person's Aboriginality by their skin colour. Skin colour does not define an Aboriginal person, descent does.


Myth: All Aboriginal people have black skin colour

Aboriginal identity is not a black face. Bindi Cole (front) and light-skinned members of her family pose with black faces to challenge the stereotypical notion of what black identity should look like. The red headbands were traditionally worn by Indigenous elders. Photo: 'Wathaurung Mob', Bindi Cole
In a 2008 exhibition, Not Really Aboriginal, Aboriginal artist Bindi Cole explored what non-Indigenous people thought what an "Aboriginal identity" should look like [6].

She photographed members of her light-skinned family who had blackened their faces, an allusion to early movies where white actors had blackened their skin to play Aboriginal people.

Given her background you could imagine the hurt she must have felt when people, seeing her blonde hair and blue eyes, asked "What are you? But you're not really Aboriginal...!".

With remarks people try to define Bindi's identity for her, but they are utterly racist. And the fact remains that these remarks are still 'rampant throughout Australian society' [6].

It should be emphasised that Aboriginal identity no longer has anything to do with the colour of the skin.

What is Aboriginal? According to most white experts and the media, it's a black person who lives in a remote community, has social issues and claims benefits that are way above what they deserve. So being Aboriginal but white, fairly socially adjusted and living in an urban area, where do I fit in?
—Bindi Cole, Aboriginal artist

Aboriginal people are not a skin colour, we are a community and people by history, spirituality, locations, country, thinking, politics, treatment, laws, cultures and most importantly, our stories.
—David Towney, readers letter, Koori Mail [18]

Mark's story

Mark McMillan belongs to the group of fair-skinned Aboriginal people. In this extract [17] he tells you his perspective on Indigenous identity.


Marc McMillan, from the Wiradjuri people from Trangie, central NSW.
"I was a 'white' black man."
"I am a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, fair-skinned Aboriginal Australian. Every time I look in the mirror, that's what I see... As a child, I grew up expecting everyone to be like me, to look like me - with the blonde hair and blue eyes.

Clearly, my naive ideas about how Aboriginal people were 'supposed' to look were wrong. But being Aboriginal and fair and blonde was normal to me and I grew up in a world where I was treated 'normally'. Along the way however, I noticed that not everyone was receiving the same brand of treatment and that made me angry. It has taken a while to let go of that anger...

It has taken me a long time to realise that I am Aboriginal because of my family, my community and who I am in general. I know now that no one has the power to take that from me...

In our household, Aboriginality was never discussed as being something special or anything less than ordinary. It was just who we were, both as individuals and as a family. I never looked at my family members and thought, 'Wow, you look really Aboriginal.' Or, 'Gee, you look really white!'...

Impeding my growth from that young person into the adult I wanted to become was the profound issue of identity. I was a 'white' black man...

I grew up in a place where everyone knew I was Aboriginal and part of an Aboriginal family, but the moment I moved outside that environment, I found I had to constantly explain away that aspect of my identity...

How do you begin to explain to someone that you have started to question everything you ever believed about yourself because you are required to defend it so often?...

Over the years education has continued to unlock me for me. I am Mark McMillan and I am a lot more than just a 'white', black man. Although being Indigenous - or more importantly, a proud Wiradjuri man - is fundamental to my own sense of humanity, I am much more than that dimension."
Aboriginal people of mixed descent feel the double sword with which Australian society judges them. When they blend in or are successful it is their 'white identity', but they are Aboriginal if they go to jail, die early or suffer from alcoholism.

Read more about Aboriginal stereotypes.

"It's hip to be black"
To add injury to insult, some non-Indigenous Australians suggest that people who identify as Aboriginal do so out of self-obsession and "driven more by politics than by any racial reality" [20].

Andrew Bolt, journalist and blogger for the Sun Herald, lists at length Aboriginal people of mixed descent who he claims have "a racial identity you could not guess from [their] features". When he proposes to "go beyond racial pride, beyond black and white" he implies that these people not claim they are Aboriginal. But he fails to suggest what they should do instead.

Bolt's article reflects an attitude felt by some Australians that mixed-descent Aboriginal people identify so to claim benefits they would otherwise not be entitled to, taking away jobs from other 'more black' or – worse – white people.

Australians like Bolt seem to forget that we have a choice. Who but prejudiced people can stop you from identifying with one part of your heritage stronger than with another? I'm sure there are people out there who have also Aboriginal blood in their veins but don't mention it with a word.

We should also not forget that the first mixed-descent Australians came into existence not by choice but through crimes by white people. Just ask any member of the Stolen Generations.

Once we we were too black and now we are too white. We reject that. Black or white, we are and always will be Aboriginal because of our unique cultural experience and identity.
—Abigail Burchill, President Tarwirri Indigenous Law Students and Lawyers Association of Victoria [21]

For people who still judge Aboriginality after skin colour Abigail has these words:

Aboriginality is not a question of skin colour—it is about our cultural connection to our communities and our history, a history that is alive and thriving.
—Abigail Burchill [21]

Myth: Aboriginal people live in remote communities

Prof. Larissa Behrendt thinks that Aboriginal communities in urban areas are invisible to non-Indigenous people.
Young urban Aboriginal people complain about being told they are not 'real Aborigines' because they don't live in a remote community [9].

And many urban non-Indigenous people have no idea how many Aboriginal people live in the big cities.

I am often asked, 'How often do you visit Aboriginal communities?' And I reply, 'Every day, when I go home'.
—Prof. Larissa Behrendt, Aboriginal lawyer [11]

Only 25 per cent of Aboriginal people live in remote areas.

While the vibrant life of urban Aboriginal communities goes mostly unnoticed, the national eyes turn willingly to reports of violence, criminal activities or antisocial behaviour (such as drinking) which then shape the perception of urban Aboriginal identity.

Too many Australian government policies are about Aboriginal people who live in remote areas, almost as though if that's not where you live you can't be a real Aboriginal person.
—Nyoongar Prof Colleen Hayward, Edith Cowan University, Perth [19]

Myth: Aboriginal people are beautiful and healthy

A stereotypical image to promote Australian tourism. The Victorian Aboriginal Tourism brochure shows an image of a young Aboriginal boy painted with ochre. Hundreds of images like these are used to promote Australias's tourism industry.
You don't need to venture out far to find images of beautiful young Aboriginal children or adolescents promoting Australia, mainly for tourism.

But the stories behind these images can be surprisingly different. When Qantas published a similar picture of a young 18-year-old Aboriginal girl unter its 'The Spirit of Australia' slogan it forgot to mention that the girl acutally lived in a mission dormitory which she shared with more than a dozen in-laws, family and dogs. Her community suffered from diabetes, heart disease and obesity, and had poor access to essential services [11].

These beautiful and glamorous images about Indigenous Australia often belie the reality of these people.
—Linda Burney, chairwoman NSW State Reconciliation Committee [11]

Myth: You can pick Aboriginal people by their name
Many people try to tell if a person is of Aboriginal identity by reading their names. This technique can fail easily. Take the following test:

Which name belongs to an Aboriginal person?

David Wang
Sir Douglas Nicholls
Elsie Gertrude Hill
Emily Kngwarreye
Jimmy Pike
Peter Yu
Shannon McGuire
William Ferguson
Vernon Ah Kee
Sermsah Bin Saad
Tell me!

Solution:

People whose identity is Aboriginal are bold, non-Indigenous people are italicised.

David Wang (1920-78) was an Australian-Chinese businessman and community leader and the first Chinese-born Melbourne City councillor.
Sir Douglas Nicholls (1906-1988) was born in Cumeroogunga, near the Murray River in New South Wales, and was Australia's first Aboriginal state governor [15].
Elsie Gertrude Hill is the Kamilaroi mother of Aboriginal singer LJ Hill [12].
Emily Kngwarreye is a famous Aboriginal painter (1910 - 1996) from the Utopia community, near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory.
Jimmy Pike (1940 - 2002) is a Walmajarri Aboriginal painter from the remote Great Sandy Desert area in north Western Australia.
Peter Yu is a Yawuru man from Broome who headed the review of the Howard government's controversial intervention into Northern Territory Indigenous communities. He's also chair of the Halls Creek Project Management Committee and a former director of the Kimberley Land Council [13].
Shannon McGuire is an Indigenous model and girlfriend of West Coast Eagles star David Wirrpanda [16]. Her picture is the second image in the test above.
William Ferguson (1882-1950) was a trade unionist and Aboriginal politician of the Australian Labor Party [14].
Vernon Ah Kee hails from Innisfail, Queensland and is an Aboriginal photographer.
Sermsah Bin Saad, a Nyoongar man from Western Australia, was awarded Dancer of the Year in 2008 for his performances on So You Think You Can Dance. "I'm black and I'm beautiful!" he says.
Myth: Aboriginal people cannot be successful
Another white misconception is about success of Aboriginal people. Malcolm Tulloch, former Holroyd City Council Mayor, says white people "see you as a 'blackfella' first, and whatever I have achieved, it is perceived that someone has given it to me because of my black background." [10] Hence he finds himself not making his Indigenous identity known as much as he might want to.

Challenge yourself: Do you know of someone who identifies as 'Australian' but actually has migrated to Australia? Like Melbourne's Lord Mayor John So who was born in Hong Kong. We have to be careful when we define identity because our first definition might be utterly wrong.

Apparently we're disadvantaged by being born Aboriginal. I don't accept that.
—Alison Page, Aboriginal designer and TV personality [22]

What does it mean to be 'Aboriginal'?

A friend of mine [3] put it this way:

"To be Aboriginal is many things and different to all. But at this moment, to me, it includes:

to follow a path to those who journeyed before you, similar but different,
to hear the secret and loving stories of the land with understanding,
to be independent,
to hear and see with feeling that which can not be seen with open eyes,
be part of a group,
be as natural as the land,
to be hospitable and enjoy hospitality."
To me, Aboriginality is about that shared experience, that shared culture and that shared pride.
—Amy McQuire, Aboriginal journalist, Koori Mail [6]

I tell my grandchildren you might not want to go to an Aboriginal dance and you might not want to talk our language, but the whitefella still calls you Aboriginal, I don't care how you act like the whitefella. You are still Aboriginal, you can't change that.
—Joyce Injie, Aboriginal woman, Yinhawangka tribe [23]

Being Aboriginal is about relationships
Being Aboriginal is a lot about relationships. Here's an extract from a Welcome to Country given by Rob Welsh, Chairman of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council in Sydney, which illustrates in a humorous way what this means in practice:

This is a bit of wisdom that comes from one of my elders in Redfern. I was walking along Redfern Street, and an elder came up to me. And he said to me: 'Rob, as a leader in this community, there's something you gotta know. And what I'm going to tell ya affects the Aboriginal people in Redfern and right around Australia. But it also affects the people from right around the world, every culture.' He looked at me and said: 'Rob, where there's a will, there's a relative!'
—Rob Welsh [5]

Peace and Aboriginality
Patrick Dodson, a respected Aboriginal elder and leader, received the 2008 Sydney Peace Prize. In his thank you speech he described what peace means to him, revealing his notion of Aboriginal identity at the same time, in an almost poetic manner [8]:

Peace from the drunks, the alcohol abuse, the violence, and the molestation that takes place...

Peace from the harassment from police, peace from discrimination and racism, that people experience when they try to get a flat or a house or seek to get a job.

Peace from the gazing eyes of the public as you enter a room because of the colour of your skin.

Peace because of the unsettled nature of our relationship with this country, which was once ours and has since been taken over...

And a peace that comes from knowing that you have to justify who you are every day of the week just because you are an Aboriginal person.

Sick of Aboriginal identity?
One would assume that Aboriginal people are always proud of their Aboriginal identity. Surprisingly some Indigenous women choose to marry outside their race as a way to escape their impoverished lifestyle [7]. Sick of their disadvantaged circumstances, which they assume would continue if they marry within their own race, they hope a white partner is the quickest way to owning a home outside the Aboriginal ghettos.

These women give up their Aboriginal identity and become white in their thinking and lifestyle. But some then face unexpected domestic violence from their white partner. Others have to deal with open or subtle racism from their partner's family even if their relationship is a loving one.

57%
Percentage of all couples involving an Indigenous person in 1991 where only one partner was Aboriginal [7].
64%
The same percentage in 1996.
55%
Percentage of mixed partnerships in 1996 where the woman was of Indigenous identity.
Resources


In Hey Mum What's a Half-Caste? Lorraine McGee-Sippel finds out that she is not of Afro-American descent but part-Indigenous. A search for identity follows.

ED's NOTE

For all the comments of " they cant be black, cause they're white.
Indigenous by heritage & culture, not by the colour of your skin

Racism in Aboriginal Australia

Racism in Aboriginal Australia

Scratch an Australian to find a racist. It's easy to use racist terms without meaning to.

Racism exists at all levels of Australian society but Australians are in denial.

Are Australians truly as open-minded and open-hearted as the world perceives them? Or does a multicultural mentality hide racism?

Read on to discover that racism in Australia is alive, it's only hidden behind a friendly mask.

I do not accept that there is underlying racism in this country.
—John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia (1996-2007) in 2005 [17]

I do not believe that racism is at work in Australia.
—Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia (2007-) in 2010 [33]

Racism is still alive and evil in this country, I can assure you.
—Colin Markham, former NSW parliamentary secretary for Indigenous affairs

A study by the Australian National University published [in 2009] found clear evidence of racism in Australia.
—Sydney Morning Herald [33]

35%
Percentage of applications job seekers with Indigenous-sounding names had to submit to get the same number of interviews as an Anglo-Australian applicant with equivalent experience and qualifications in a study in 2009 [33].
70%
Percentage of surveyed Australians who thought India's media was wrong to brand Australians as being racist toward Indians, after several attacks on students [33].
5%
Overall percentage of surveyed Australians opposing multiculturalism [33].
20%
Percentage of surveyed Australians opposing multiculturalism in the urban fringes where most overseas arrivals settle first [33].

How can you tell someone is racist?


"Racism is still alive and evil." Racist graffiti painted on the gate of a Canberra Aboriginal youth organisation. Photo: Koori Mail [7]
I believe you're hearing a racist person if they make general, derogative remarks about a group of people based on their race. Upon close inspection of their claims, most of them are incorrect.

Racism and racist remarks serve to bond with people who have the same opinion. Many people who have racist opinions somehow know that these are not accepted in mainstream society so they join political groups who share their racist views.

Pauline Hanson's One Nation
One of these political parties was the One Nation party, founded by Pauline Hanson in April 1997. Let's have a brief look at some excerpts from her maiden speech to parliament in September 1996, [4] and why they are racist.

I have done research on benefits available only to Aboriginals and challenge anyone to tell me how Aboriginals are disadvantaged when they can obtain 3 and 5% housing loans denied to non-Aboriginals.

Racist statements like this show a lack of information and balance. If Hanson had done her research properly she would have found out that Aboriginal housing conditions were nowhere near what the average Australian enjoyed. At the time Hanson spoke, more than 9% of the Indigenous population in rural areas lived in "caravans, shacks and improvised accommodation" and 9% of Aboriginal people's rural homes did not have a toilet [3].

20% of Aboriginal people lived in "dwellings which had eight or more residents" [3]. Compare that to the total Australian population where less than 1% had to live in such overcrowding houses.

I draw the line when told I must pay and continue paying for something that happened over 200 years ago.

This comment shows a lack of empathy and compassion for other people's situation.


Anti-racism poster. ANTaR invited visitors with this poster to test if they were racist.
Many opponents of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's apology to the Stolen Generations thought likewise. 'Why me?' they asked. But this misses the point entirely. Rudd didn't apologise because he was guilty personally, he apologised because he felt sorry for what these people had to endure and how they suffered. For Aboriginal people this was a giant leap forward towards healing.

Racist people have trouble putting themselves into the shoes of others. When talking about land rights for Aboriginal people, Hanson said, "Well, where the hell do I go? I was born here." She doesn't even try to understand where Aboriginal people come from, what land means to them. Racism and egotism walk hand in hand.

One of the great things about free speech is that when racists can say what they really think, the public realise how disgusting they are. It's when the law makes them clean up their act that they appear more reasonable and electable.
—Geoffrey Robertson, human rights lawyer [27]

Institutional racism
Many people experience racism by another person. If companies or government bodies act in a racist way this is called institutional racism.

For example, when the South Australian government refused to fund Aboriginal legal aid the head of the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement Inc called the government's refusal institutional racism [29].

The media is another culprit. Many journalists fail to properly research stories and end up reinforcing existing racial stereotypes.

In fact, the worst offender of institutionalised discrimination and marginalisation of Aboriginal people is the government.
—Neil Gillespie, head of the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement Inc, South Australia [29]

Example of institutionalised racism

Racist stereotypes continue to persist in Australian's minds, even if they are magistrates, as the following story shows [30].

A man struck a woman with his car while she was lying on the ground in a parking lot. He was told by bystanders that she was drunk and would be okay.

The man proceeded his journey with the woman left on the pavement where she later died.

In the Magistrate's Court the man received a A$400 fine and was allowed to keep his driver's license.

In sentencing, the magistrate said: "It's clearly the case that an Aboriginal person in the dark on the bitumen or other places is extremely hard to see... It's easy to imagine how such an accident could happen."

The magistrate obviously had no notion about the diversity of Aboriginal people's identity.
Poll


Is this cheese name racist? "COON is Australia's best known cheese brand," says the company's website.


Read more about if the term 'Coon' is racist


Australia's politicians fail on racism

If you haven't already done so read the two quotes by successive Australian prime ministers at the top of this page. They are tale-telling proof that politicians have lost touch with reality.

Both politicians and Australian police commonly argue that many of the assaults on people of different ethnicity are 'opportunistic' rather than racist [33].

Australia hasn't had a multicultural policy for 15 years. The Race Discrimination Commissioner is part time, his other responsibility is as the Disability Discrimination Commissioner.

"Our politicians are fixed in denial… Politicians believe there are electoral costs and no benefits to acknowledging racism," says Prof Kevin Dunn, an expert in human geography and race and ethnic studies at the University of Western Sydney. Dunn collected the "most comprehensive data on racism in Australia" [33].

Look at how [politicians] responded to the global financial crisis [in 2008/9] or any other problem… they find the problem and tackle it. But not with racism. It seems we [Australians] can be broke, we can be fat, we can be anything. We just cant' be racist.
—Dr Yin Paradies, senior research fellow, University of Melbourne [33]

Avoid racist terms


Anti-racism campaign of the City of Sydney and the AIDS Council of New South Wales in May 2008 (detail). Click the image for a larger version.
What do you think are suitable expressions to address Australia's first people?

Aborigine
Aboriginal
Black
Aboriginal person
Indigenous person
Black person

With all of the above terms we have to bear in mind that although they are commonly used now they are the legacy of colonisation. Aboriginal people do not agree on a 'preferred' label but some labels find the support of many.

Remember also that prior to colonisation the First People of Australia identified themselves by their language group. They would say "I'm a Dharawal man!" or "I'm an Wiradjuri woman." Some country names around the greater Sydney area include Darug (near Katoomba, Blue Mountains), Gundungurra (near Goulburn, south-west of Sydney), Dharawal (Woolongong), Eora (Sydney; although this name is disputed), and many more.

Others still might prefer to call themselves a Koori or a Murri, but these refer to areas within Australia, e.g. Koori is used by people living in New South Wales and Victoria (the latter sometimes using 'Koorie'), while Murri is used for Queensland and far northern NSW.

Aborigine is the noun describing an Aboriginal person, but many Aboriginal people consider this use of it racist.

Aboriginal is an adjective and used to describe 'Aboriginal people' or 'Aboriginal children' or an 'Aboriginal viewpoint'. Some sources use it as a noun which I and many other people think is wrong.

When Aboriginal people write about themselves (for example in the Koori Mail newspaper) they mostly use 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people' which also expresses that they make a difference if they come from Australia's mainland ('Aboriginal people') or from the islands of the Torres Strait.

Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are opposed to the term Indigenous being used as it generalises both cultures.

A guide how to address Aboriginal people
The Aboriginal-owned newspaper Koori Mail tries to be as specific as possible when writing about Aboriginal people. This means that you should use the following hierarchy in descending order of preference.

The person's language group, e.g. 'Wiradjuri'.
The area the person comes from, e.g. 'Murri'.
'Aboriginal' if they come from mainland Australia, 'Torres Strait Islander' if they're from there.
'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander' to be generic.
'Indigenous' thereafter.
On this site I've chosen to use 'Aboriginal people' and 'Indigenous people' interchangeably without any intent to offend.

For more on this topic read the article about Aboriginal identity.

An ABO is an Australian Born Original person.
—reader's letter, Koori Mail [26]

"Toxic labels"
Unfortunately many Aboriginal people begin to identify with, and behave in accord with the 'toxic labels' Australian society defines for them [10]. It is easier to act as mainstream Australia perceives an Aboriginal person than to challenge that cliché and overcome a continued negativity attributed to the Aboriginal stereotype.

According to senior Aboriginal academics even terms such as 'urban', 'traditional' or 'of Indigenous descent' are seen as racist when defining or categorising Aboriginal people [10].

Further suggested appropriate terms to use [10]:

Dreaming rather than 'Dreamtime' (for more on this see Aboriginal spirituality)
Family groups instead of 'clan'
Language groups, not 'clans'
Traditional over 'tribal'
Through my time with the Nyoongar people, I got to see first-hand the ingrained systematic racism in town and it made me sick to see such backward behaviour still existing in what was then the 20th century.
—John Butler, musician

Is 'Coon' a racist term?
'Coon' is an insulting term for Aboriginal people and is believed to come from the 1850s Portuguese term 'barracoons' which describes a place of temporary confinement (usually a cage) for slaves or convicts in which they had to wait before being sent away to the places they were due to work.

It could also have meaning as a shortening of 'raccoon', a Washer Bear native to North America. The black eye masks and noctural habits of raccoons along with their tendency to steal paralleled the characteristics of typical robbers and thiefs.
No matter how you answered my poll above, results often depend on how you ask the question. I tried to be as neutral as possible, just asking if the cheese name was racist. The Herald Sun in its online site asked "Is a call for Coon cheese to change its name political correctness gone mad?"

Is a call for Coon cheese to change its name political correctness
gone mad?2,390 votes

Yes, people need to get over it, it's just a name93% No, there's a reason we can't use words like that any more6% source: www.news.com.au/heraldsun, October 2008
Note how there's no mention of the name being racist. No mention of Aboriginal people being offended by the name. The Herald Sun asks if it is overly political correct to ask for a name change. From this angle many people might agree, given the fact that the brand has been around for quite some time.

Note again how the options given to the users of the poll suggest that one should 'get over it' and move on and doesn't explain what the reason is why we cannot use 'words like that' anymore. For the passing surfer this poll is totally useless in the absence of context to the question.

At the moment we have a group of non-Aboriginal youth getting around calling themselves the KAC (Kill All Coons).
—Jacinta Ferguson, Wodonga, Victoria [25]

Racism in the arts—a window into the past

In 1957 Rolf Harris, then 27, wrote the song 'Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport' which became a number one hit in Australia. The song was originally made of seven verses and the chorus. The sixth verse went as follows [20]:

Let me Abos go loose, Lou,
Let me Abos go loose.
They're of no further use, Lou,
So let me Abos go loose.
Altogether now!

'Abo' is a derogatory term for Aboriginal people. In the context of the song the above verse becomes even more racist because almost all other verses are about animals which are to be let lose after the drover's death the song is about.

Because of the racist term used the song was banned in Singapore. In some versions 'Abo' got replaced with 'emu' [19].

Racism is not in the past. It stares us in the face every day.
—Phill Moncrieff, reader letter, Koori Mail [28]

Harris' lyrics, as innocently as they might have been conceived, offer us an insight into the horrific practices of bush men in the 1920s. Xavier Herbert, born in 1901, reveals them in an interview he gave in 1984 [24]. Note the racist use of expressions like 'gin spree':

We used to go up to Broome for our holidays and I knew, all through Western Australia, black velvet was the thing. It's changed a lot in recent years but the perfect mate for the bushman was the black girl...

The pearling industry was established in Broome and the pearlers used to go up into the Kimberley country and steal the young [Aboriginal] gins to work as pearl divers. Of course, they used to rape them, too, and when they got too pregnant they'd chuck them overboard.

Stockmen used to go out for a 'gin spree', too. They'd run the blacks down and take the young girls [who'd] sit down and fill their fannies with sand.

Recommended movie

Tip The movie Spinning into Butter (USA, 2009) is one of the rare works to pick up racism as a topic for a feature film.

It's a powerful film about a series of racist incidents on a campus which shake the community out of their equal opportunity sleep. The film shows how difficult it is to adress racism on both a personal and community level, but also that there are no easy solutions.

Racist place names changed

When settlers named places in Australia they sometimes used names we consider racist today. Most of these placenames have quietly been changed to less offensive ones, however, some can still be found today and some Aboriginal people campaign against them.

E.S. 'Nigger' Brown Stand
Stephen Hagan fought for almost 9 years for a rugby league stand's name to be changed. It read E.S. 'Nigger' Brown Stand.

Stephen Hagan took his case to the Federal Court (where he lost) and finally to the United Nations, where the Council for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) agreed that the sign should be taken down [22].

His campaign came at an enormous cost for him and his family. Not only did he have to invest a lot of money, but he was also personally assaulted and threatened. In September 2008 however, the stand was torn down and the mayor promised not to name the new building with the same name. Hagan's wife Rhonda directed a film about her husband's fight called Nigger Lovers.

Racist Victorian placenames
For decades a mountain in north-east Victoria, called Mt Niggerhead, fuelled a heated debate about its name. In December 2008 the landmark was renamed to Mt Jaithmathangs after one of the traditional languages of the area [21].

This renaming, however, is not without controversy with one of the Aboriginal groups involved claiming that part of the mountain belongs to their country and its new name was offensive.

Racist placenames in Queensland
In Queensland's Alton Downs, near Rockhampton, people are debating if they should rename Black Gin Creek Road. White Australians used to call an Aboriginal woman a 'gin', often implying that they were used for sexual services by the white men. Another 'Black Gin Creek Road' is near Bambaroo, 60kms north-west of Townsville, Queensland. Nigger Creek near Wondecla, QLD, is yet another example.

The reason that people so ferociously advocate for keeping these racist beacons of Queensland's past has a lot to do with the fact that many non-Indigenous Australians do not know what it feels like to be called a 'gin' or a 'nigger' or a 'coon'.
—Amy McQuire, Aboriginal journalist [22]


Renamed due to racism. The 'Endeavour Avenue' in Sydney's suburb La Perouse was originally called 'Aborigine Avenue' but later renamed after Captain Cook's ship "following agitation from non-Aboriginal residents" [23].

Its former name is much more appropriate since La Perouse once was an Aboriginal mission and today is home to many Aboriginal families.
Contemporary racism

A subscriber to an Australian newsletter made the following observations [32]:

"If you want to find out about Australia put a sticker supporting Aboriginal causes on your car. Young blokes are usually the main problem as far as abuse goes. The reconciliation stickers seemed to be OK, but anything stronger than that eg Treaty or Land Rights causes a hostile reaction. I have even been abused for having a sticker advertising radio staion Triple A Murri Country on my car."

"There's an extremely strong undercurrent of racism in Australia, although, on the evidence, mainstream rather than undercurrent is probably more accurate."

"The fact that politicians , police etc are afraid to call it what it is, suggests that a majority of Australians do not class this behaviour as racist and will vote anyone out who calls it racism."

"If you want to be a person of influence in this country you steer well clear of issues like Australian racism." —which confirms the quotes from the beginning of the page.

Last Australia Day I had both the Australian flag and the Aboriginal flag on my car aerial, with the Aboriginal flag first—my aerial was snapped off.
—A subscriber of the Recoznet2 newsletter [32]

"Every Indigenous Australian has a story of racism," observes Amy McQuire from the National Indigenous Times [17]. She argues that "most non-Indigenous Australians have a story in which racist thoughts were uttered or acts occurred."

And she is right. Read the following examples.

Racist examples
These are just three examples showing how racism permeates everyday life, from an ordinary fan, to police, to federal ministers. Sadly, I could quote many more.

"Don't worry love, these things happen."
During a rugby league game a fan racially abused Aboriginal players and supporters, calling them 'monkeys' and 'blacks'.

When an Aboriginal witness asked for the manager she was told "Don't worry about it, it's football, these things happen."

However, in this instance the fan was tracked down and banned for life. [11]

"I'm of a large build. Not fat and black."
An Aboriginal health worker was pulled over for a traffic offence. In internal police documents which were used to prepare the court brief the worker was described as 'fat and black' [12], words which were also included in drop-down menus of internal document templates [14].

Queensland Police commissioner Bob Atkinson later apologised to the victim.

Showcasing Aboriginal people
In July 2006 as part of an employment scheme then Aboriginal Affairs minister, Mal Brough, proposed 'showcasing' Aboriginal people for tourists in five-star hotels by having them work 'front of house' on reception [13].

People... would attack my Aboriginality and they'd call me a black bitch. All my life I've been criticised because I'm Aboriginal.
—Joan Winch, Nyoongar Elder and Professor at Curtin University [15]

Racist terms in the press

Racist headline in The Australian. Aboriginal people believe this newspaper does not support their interests and uses the term 'blacks' in a derogative manner.
A lack of positive Aboriginal stories is prevalent throughout Australian newspapers.
'Black' in general is deemed racist. Which does not mean we cannot find it nowadays. Check out the newspaper article in the image which is taken from The Australian newspaper of May 17, 2006. This headline offends Aboriginal people. I've talked to one and he confirmed it to me. I found this headline in an online search in less than three minutes. Five minutes of searching The Sydney Morning Herald did not turn up any similar headline.

Another example of the extent of prejudice is the intolerance of Australians to foreign languages being kept and used by the new immigrants. Too often we hear white Australians talking amongst themselves that when people come to this country they should speak English and leave their own mother tongue back in the country from which they come.
—Michael Anderson, Aboriginal Elder [31]

Carelessness leads to racism outrage

Racist term used in a profile of a car forum member. The man was 25 years old and lived in Western Australia where also the car race incident occurred.
"I didn't realise it would be so bad," a careless white man said after he had sparked an outrage in Western Australia's Kalgoorlie [5].

The man had participated in a car race and named his car 'Foul Coon' because "we have always called Falcon cars 'foul coons'". What he considered to be "just a saying" deeply angered and offended local Aboriginal people. To add insult to injury some other team members had painted themselves black and wore red headbands, traditionally worn by senior and respected initiated Aboriginal men.

'Foul Coon' is used colloquially in car forums around Australia. The forum profile shown here seems to confirm what the CEO of the Goldfields Land and Sea Council, Brian Wyatt, told newspapers: "They think that beer and naked girls behind the bar... are the way of life around here, and saying and doing whatever you like when you like."

Aboriginal people allege hotel racism
A group of Aboriginal people took the former owners of the Newcastle 'Sydney Junction Hotel' (NSW) to court for allegedly denying them access to the hotel because they're Aboriginal.

The issue was if the hotel had a 'no coons' policy and which person of the hotel's staff and security personnel was responsible for implementing this policy [2]. The pub operator and security firm were ordered to pay AUD 90,000 to the victims [16].

In a similar incident in March 2008 a group of Aboriginal women were asked to leave the Haven Backpackers in Alice Springs [6]. The group attended a lifesaving training and were told that they were "unsuitable" guests and were asked to leave shortly after checking in, because Japanese tourists were "afraid of Aboriginal people".

Once a person's a racist, it's difficult to change them.
—Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner [8]

Effects of racism

Anyone who is exposed to continuous racism suffers, no matter if this racism occurs at a young age at school or later in adult life.

93% of the people who took part in a three-year study of the Flinders University's Southgate Institute in South Australia reported experiencing racism, particularly within the justice and education systems [29]. Experienced regularly racism leads to poor health the study found.

"We found that Aboriginal people do not primarily have a higher rate of illness because they lack knowledge of what behaviours are good for their health," the study's chief investigator, Dr Anna Ziersch says.

"Compared with the general population, twice as many Aboriginal people did not drink and most exercised regularly—and yet they had worse physical and mental health."

Ongoing racism can have the following effects on a person's health [9,18]:

heart disease,
premature birth,
hypertension,
mental illness,
physical illness,
suicide.
Three out of four Indigenous Australians experience racism in their everyday lives.
—Gary Highland, ANTaR National Director [9]

Genocide comparable to the Holocaust

If a people has done an historical wrong it remains in the national conscience and is passed on to future generations. Germans pass on their feelings about the crimes of the Third Reich to their children, more than 60% of whom still feel guilt and even more a huge responsibility for what was done in their country's name. But Australians generally deny any responsibility for the crimes against the country's Indigenous peoples. Comparison with the Third Reich is not far fetched, with many Australian writers comparing Australia's missions and government reserves with Nazi concentration camps.

A guilty conscience can have two effects: For one, the government tries to educate people to prevent such crimes ever happening again. For another, by the time German teenagers graduate from high school they will have been taught thoroughly about the Nazis in history lessons. The danger there can be that they no longer want to hear about it.

In the Australian context, read the following comment posted on a blog in response to an entry about the 2007 Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards where Rolf de Heer's Ten Canoes had won the Best Film category [1]:

Recipe for award-winning Australian film:
Start with the message: White people are bad, black people are good. Add: Aboriginal cast. Stir. Watch the critics swoon and the awards rain down!
—posted by 'Sick of P.C.'

The author of this post is clearly tired of hearing that black people are good because white people did them wrong. Repeat something too often and you lose its impact. We shut down because what is taught is true and hits a raw nerve. We don't want to face our responsibility and turn away.

I assume 'Sick of P.C.' belongs to this younger generation. Older generations invert the reasoning: It is the black people who are bad and the white people who are right. This is because they grew up in the society which committed the crimes. They were exposed to government efforts to explain that what they did was 'right'. Australians deny any guilt because they were on 'the right side'. Older generations of Germans, for example, find something good in Hitler's actions (e.g. full employment).

I was preparing for the opening ceremony of Australia Day, a public holiday in Australia which celebrates the start of the colony. Volunteers handed out flags, and I was after an Aboriginal flag. A senior volunteer only had Australian flags and said: 'Take this one, this is the right one!'
—personal experience

The quotes reveal Australia's hidden racism. More often than not it is expressed by what people do not do rather than what they do or say. The Third Reich could only pick up its genocidal momentum because Germans failed to oppose Hitler's mass murder of the Jews. Similarly, few Australians will speak up for Indigenous Australians for fear of being marginalised just as they are. This website is my personal contribution in an effort to break the silence.

ED'S NOTE

White Australian denial, only creates a movement against it, then we are called terrorist, not activist

Racism in Australia facts

Racism takes many different forms. It can range from abusive language or discriminatory treatment to genocide, simply on the basis of someone's 'race' or colour.

Every day, science proves more clearly that humanity, although diverse, is one family and one people. Sadly our common experience also shows that racism, hatred or dislike of others simply because of their origin or culture is a common human failing.

The definition of racial discrimination is contained in Article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to which Australia is a party:

"The term "racial discrimination" shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life".

Myths and stereotypes are a key component of racism:

• they reduce a range of differences in people to simplistic categorisations
• transform assumptions about particular groups of people into 'realities'
• are used to justify status quo or persisting injustices
• reinforce social prejudice and inequality

Three out of four Indigenous Australians experience racism in their everyday lives.

At an individual and interpersonal level racism often amounts to:

• an instant or fixed picture of a group of people, usually based on negative and ill-informed stereotypes
• a preconceived negative opinion
• limiting the opportunities (intentionally or not) of certain individuals or groups because of personal characteristics such as race or colour

Labelling of Indigenous Australians including stereotypes such as dark skin, despair, levels of alcohol consumption, laziness, levels of intelligence, ability to work and care for children, and levels of criminality are all part of the myths and stereotypes that perpetuate racism in Australia.

Eradicating racism is a task we all share.

Sadly racism is common in Australia. Here, we have put together some stories about the shape that racism takes in Australia of today.

A story from Alice Springs

A group of young leaders from Yuendumu, a remote central Australian Aboriginal community were ejected from an Alice Springs backpacker hostel in March 2008 because some tourists staying there complained they were 'afraid of Aborigines'.

The 16 people in the group which included women and small children, had driven the 300 kilometres to Alice Springs for lifesaving training run by the Royal Lifesaving Society. Most were young leaders, chosen specially for their standing in the Yuendumu community.

As they were moving into their rooms the resort manager told them they'd have to pack up and go because some tourists in the hostel had complained of being 'afraid of Aborigines' and these tourists 'bring in a lot of money'.

The organisers of the trip are stunned. Angry about the incident, the CEO of the Royal Lifesaving Society is describing it as 'pure racism'.

5½ hours – a story from Brisbane

Delmae Barton aged 62, a prominent Indigenous Elder and an opera singer, lay for more than five hours on a bus stop seat near Griffith University's Nathan Campus in July 2006, unable to reach out for help after vomiting from a suspected stroke or diabetes attack.

For five and a half hours, commuters, students and bus drivers ignored her plight until two young Japanese men asked if she needed water and help.

Her friend and the director of the Gumurri Centre at the university Boni Robertson, says it is a disgrace that Auntie Delmae's plight was ignored by hundreds of commuters as buses came and went.

She said 'nobody would stop to help me. Is this all I'm worth?' She believes people thought she was a drunk or a drug addict, and that the colour of skin encouraged them to walk on by.

The then Premier Peter Beattie told parliament he was 'really disappointed' by the incident and apologised on behalf of Queenslanders.

A story from Townsville

Aborigines can no longer receive a fair trial in Townsville according to survey results to be released in July that show a majority of residents would be unable to expel racist attitudes in court. The survey was conducted to demonstrate the need for the Lex Wotton Palm Island Riots case to be moved from a scheduled hearing in Townsville to Brisbane to ensure a fair and just trial.

In the survey, commissioned by Sydney-based law firm, Levitt Robinson, over half of Townsville residents claimed they could not disregard negative beliefs held about Aborigines, even if instructed by a judge in a courtroom setting.

These results bring to light a segregated city rife with racist views with only one in ten Townsville residents having a positive attitude towards Aboriginal people in the community.

Ignorance seemed to be a major factor with only one in four people correctly attributing the cause of the Palm Island Riots to a death in custody.

A story from Sydney

In April 2008, a world-renowned Aboriginal composer, buzzing after a standing ovation at the Sydney Opera House, was turned away from half-empty Kings Cross haunt Hugo's. He and his friend were told, "You can't expect us to just let anyone in."

William Barton, a son of Delmae Barton, who has been to some of the world's top bars over his acclaimed career, was told the venue was "at capacity" as he tried to get it at 9.30pm on a Sunday to celebrate a friend's birthday. His friend immediately fronted Hugo's door staff - and was rudely told: "You can't expect us to just let anyone in."

ED's Note

The hatred builds as White Australia lives and breaths Apartheid

White Australia

New intervention needed to tackle Indigenous problems: lawyer

Posted 32 minutes ago Agency (NAAJA) has A lawyer with the North Australia Aboriginal Justice called for a new intervention to tackle alcohol abuse and crime in Indigenous communities.

Northern Territory Intervention may prove psychologically detrimental

13 Mar, 2010 @ 04:09 am AEST The recent damning report card released by the Indigenous doctors suggests that the Northern Territory intervention, which is focused on improving physical health, will likely be outweighed by its negative impact of psychological health, spirituality and cultural integrity.

Indigenous victims over-represented in NT crime

Updated March 13, 2010 09:03:00 New data shows Indigenous people in the Northern Territory are far more likely to be the victims of assault and murder than any other section of the population.

Data from the Bureau of Statistics shows that in 2008 Indigenous people were victims in 59 per cent of all assaults, half of all sexual assaults and nearly two thirds of all murders.

Jail accused of neglecting Indigenous inmates

Posted Sat Mar 13, 2010 12:30pm AEDT Racial tensions are running high in Queensland after the death in custody of an Aboriginal man.

Racial hatred

Reverend Gator has been a prison chaplain for 19 years and she says Indigenous inmates are regularly treated badly. She says she believes it is a matter of racial hatred.

"There was a young Murri boy up at Borallen. He was sick this young boy, doubled up in pain," she said.

"He was told there was nothing wrong with him."

"They finally took him to the Princess Alexandra Hospital. The specialists said, 'if you'd waited another day, you would have died.' He had appendicitis and it would have burst.

"There's another mate there at the Wolston Correctional Centre. He's got serious health problems; he's in a wheelchair. He fell out of his wheelchair and he was on the floor unconscious.

"He don't know how long he was unconscious, and what he said to me was 'Aunty Alex, they do not care, they don't give a damn.'"

ED’s Note

Oppression only leads to racial hatred by Indigenous people to the self appointed white masters.

The build-up of the tension will take us down the track of further measures to assimilate and strip human rights under the smoke screen of protecting the Aboriginal person.

This white government of Australia is the bastion of apartheid, The Australian media only encourages hatred by putting Aboriginal people in box of a dysfunctional race that has not come to the 21^st century.

Money is power; the white people have no intention of addressing this issue of the land taken by holocaust and the resources that rightfully belong to the Aboriginal people of Australia.