More identity politics. Yum yum.
1
Postcards for tourists show stereotypical scenes from a country's historical culture, the one that distinguishes from other cultures, rather than the modern, everyday culture that most of the world now shares, like policemen and university lecturers? Who knew? I'm shocked, shocked!
How silly. Postcards from Italy show stereotypical Italian scenes like gondoliers, those from France the stereotypical beret and baguette or gendarme, not university lecturers or office workers.
When asked to draw a picture of "her culture", what would an Italian-American or Greek-American or Mexican-American or Indian-American child draw, her mother lecturing at university or her father mowing the lawn with a modern lawnmower, or something more traditional and therefore, "stereotypical"?
3
I can’t argue with anything that you say and some of your examples are abhorrent. But there are some good things happening. See #yerra #darkiesdesign #yarningcitcle #indigenousentrepreneurs and Facebook page of Bruce Minerds, Canberra, Australia.
What the writer talks about has been at the forefront of my mind, having attended a session on Racism and Stereotypes run by the University of Sydney Law faculty last week in Redfern - part of the NAIDOC Week festivities. There was horrifying but thought-provoking lecture by Dr Fady Aoun about Trademarks from colonial times to the end of WW2. Some of the trademarks were disgusting - particularly the NullaNulla soap company branding depicting violence against an Aboriginal woman named "Dirt". There are people who are alive today would have seen trademarks and brands like this in their youth. These trademarks and brands influenced both how they perceived Aboriginal people, and how Aboriginal people perceived themselves. While the postcard you show may not be as racist as the soap branding, the depiction of Aboriginal people as either "Noble savage" or "Savage other" has long been a problematic part of mainstream Australian societies attitude towards Aboriginal people.
Getting past this mindset takes considerable work, and it is not incumbent upon Aboriginal people to teach non-Aboriginal people how to treat them with respect and dignity; we non-Aboriginal people need to take steps to push back within our communities against negative or racist attitudes and representations of Aboriginal people.
Getting past this mindset takes considerable work, and it is not incumbent upon Aboriginal people to teach non-Aboriginal people how to treat them with respect and dignity; we non-Aboriginal people need to take steps to push back within our communities against negative or racist attitudes and representations of Aboriginal people.
2
As I wrote for Tinhouse.com this week, I recently spent a year setting up an Aboriginal owned art gallery in a tiny town in the Western Australian desert. This is one way the Aboriginal people are gaining strength and improving lives. I also worked for the courthouse, where the local lives were on full disorienting display. http://tinhouse.com/lost-found-louise-wareham-leonard-e-l-grant-wilson/
1
This is what happens when you tie culture to skin color or place of origin. Our culture is what surrounds us in the here and now. Now, my family heritage can lead me to a hut in Africa or a similar dwelling in Russia. I can celebrate the culture that my ancestors left behind but it is not MY culture. Stereotypes come from gains of real life and prejudice is handed down from parents to children. We do need to see people for who they really are and we need to stop teaching our children that culture is the same as heritage.
As we move, literally, through life our culture changes. We should remember our heritage but not be afraid to embrace the culture we currently live in. There is only one race of peoples, that being human. The author would do well to promote this rather than deepening the divide he chastises.
As we move, literally, through life our culture changes. We should remember our heritage but not be afraid to embrace the culture we currently live in. There is only one race of peoples, that being human. The author would do well to promote this rather than deepening the divide he chastises.
10
I find it quite depressing reading many of the comments here. There is a blindness in Australia to ingrained racism. Nick Bryant (BBC) described Australia as having a high level of low level racism (see his excellent book, The Rise and Fall of Australia). The suggestion that John Eligon should focus on the US and not cast a spotlight on Australia really tells me how important it is to have this broader perspective. Australian Indigenous peoples were almost alone among First Nations in not having a treaty with the colonial power, Britain. This resulted in levels of oppression far more extreme than for Maori in New Zealand, for example. Land rights here date only from the 1970s. The Mabo High Court decision that recognised prior occupation was in 1992. Few Aboriginal people had the right to vote until 1962. It was not until after the 1967 referendum that Aboriginal Australians were even counted in the census. Perhaps some of the readers here should watch some of the documentaries that are being broadcast during NAIDOC Week to better understand the level of disempowerment and entrenched disadvantage that continues to impact on the lives of people in communities across Australia. That said, I see hope of change in the Uluru statement. A pathway to treaty is now being asserted by Aboriginal communities and leadership. I have hope that this will reset relationships, no matter how long it takes.
10
John, as a non white person in Australia I do concur with you. It never ceases to surprise me the vitriol from others when someone dares to speak a viewpoint. For the 'naying' people the thought is 'if I don't experience it than no one else experiences it so get over the proverbial chip.' It's the type of response that aims to mute, which is a vice employed by those who benefit from privilege and power. It is a shame the way Aboriginals are existing today in Australia. We should be seeing them more in our mainstream, middle class suburbs and cities. As for domestic violence and child abuse, this is happening across all groups of people in Australia and if you choose to dispute that let me remind people that Catholic Priests were found to be the biggest child sexual abusers in the recent Royal Commission. Aboriginals are not 'them'. They are part of us and the sooner Australia grows up to embrace a national identity that is diverse, the quicker we can get on with things socially. Australia is indeed very white and our Restricted Immigration Act made sure of it. Seriously we are not all Olivia Newton Johns and Paul Hogans but that has been propagated in the past to keep those in power always in power. America has done a much better job of letting the world know you are a multi-racial, multi-identity nation.
7
Aboriginies are the most incredible people.
As a white man, I admire and respect them greatly..
Their presence and culture stretches back almost 60,000 yrs.
There are more than 100,00 rock art galleries in this country to enjoy.
However too few Australians appreciate them.See the comments here.
When we have finally destroyed this planet, only the Aboriginies will be able to survive the impossible heat,desert and water shortages.
As a white man, I admire and respect them greatly..
Their presence and culture stretches back almost 60,000 yrs.
There are more than 100,00 rock art galleries in this country to enjoy.
However too few Australians appreciate them.See the comments here.
When we have finally destroyed this planet, only the Aboriginies will be able to survive the impossible heat,desert and water shortages.
7
What? 60,000 years? That would be to say that the culture of the English or Chinese are similarly ancient.
Discoveries to date suggest the whole lot of us are maybe 100,000 years on this planet in primitive origins, but the culture of Australian Aboriginals before about 200 years ago are not documented and 500 years ago is a matter of archaeology. Some artifacts and art may date back thousands of years, but it's romantic to talk in terms of tens of thousands of years.
I think it would be appropriate to have a government -- isolated from the global corporations and corruption of money -- able to do something about the last 100 years for all Australians. I'd suggest starting with the word free:
1. free energy (solar)
2. free water (pure drinking water and irrigation)
3. free medical services
4. free education to university graduation
5. free home and food as needed
Get that done for all people, Australia and the rest of the world, nobody first, nobody last. Then we can go further forward with those alive today and further back to address the crimes of history.
Discoveries to date suggest the whole lot of us are maybe 100,000 years on this planet in primitive origins, but the culture of Australian Aboriginals before about 200 years ago are not documented and 500 years ago is a matter of archaeology. Some artifacts and art may date back thousands of years, but it's romantic to talk in terms of tens of thousands of years.
I think it would be appropriate to have a government -- isolated from the global corporations and corruption of money -- able to do something about the last 100 years for all Australians. I'd suggest starting with the word free:
1. free energy (solar)
2. free water (pure drinking water and irrigation)
3. free medical services
4. free education to university graduation
5. free home and food as needed
Get that done for all people, Australia and the rest of the world, nobody first, nobody last. Then we can go further forward with those alive today and further back to address the crimes of history.
1
As you can see, the subject of Indigenous Australia is one of the country's most sensitive issues. Yes Australia is racist. I am ashamed of that.
However, it is also one of the most successful multi cultural societies on the planet.
The post card in the article is archaic. I have never seen one like that anywhere in Sydney, I hope it is pulled from the shelves.
The situation of Indigenous people in Australia is terrible. Most Australians know that, but solutions are difficult to find. I would like your reporter to speak to more Indigenous people to ask them how they think things can improve. The wider the platform given to Indigenous voices, the more likely it is that the issues identified in this article can be addressed.
However, it is also one of the most successful multi cultural societies on the planet.
The post card in the article is archaic. I have never seen one like that anywhere in Sydney, I hope it is pulled from the shelves.
The situation of Indigenous people in Australia is terrible. Most Australians know that, but solutions are difficult to find. I would like your reporter to speak to more Indigenous people to ask them how they think things can improve. The wider the platform given to Indigenous voices, the more likely it is that the issues identified in this article can be addressed.
5
Your comparing Australian Aborigines to African American . You should be comparing them to Native American Indians. The issues are the same .
14
Australian sell tourists postcards with images of Kangaroos, koala, rugby players, boomerangs, and Aboriginals because these things are distinctly Australian. Otherwise the continent looks a lot like Texas. New Mexico sells tourists postcards that depict Native American pottery, kachina dolls, turquoise rings and Spanish missions because these things are distinctly New Mexican. If the postcards showed business executives, college professors, doctors, and salespersons, no one would buy them.
6
If New mexico postcards showed Native Americans in 17th century clothing fishing, growing corn, building adobe houses, and making pottery, people would also complain, and rightly so. A bit like selling postcards of black people picking cotton in Mississippi.
2
Tourist locations in New England sell items depicting 17th-century white Americans in 17th century clothes, doing things like cooking in fireplaces in cast iron pots, etc. Because that is what makes that location unique and distinctive.
This article needs fact checking, Byron Bay is in New South Wales not Queensland where the Gold Coat is! There are many problems for Australia's first people but the points discussed are simplistic. A 7 year old asked to draw her cultural background may have appropriately drawn the picture shown in the article if her teacher had given examples such as the Dutch wearing clogs or growing tulips. The child's class may have been shown simplified cultural examples and she may have used them. 7 year old children draw houses that may not look like their own home. Post cards in the US may also show cliched images of your indigenous people. Possibly a longer version of this article would have more useful information.
25
Another Australian term that the author may encounter is "blow-in". That refers to someone who comes from elsewhere with no local knowledge and presumes to be an instant expert.
Only a blow-in would be at all comfortable using the phrase "white Australia" to refer to a country with one of the world's highest percentages of migrants in its population, a large proportion of whom come from non-European countries.
Only a blow-in would be at all comfortable using the phrase "white Australia" to refer to a country with one of the world's highest percentages of migrants in its population, a large proportion of whom come from non-European countries.
23
A term that Some Australians might encounter is "ad hominem attack". There may be a high percentage of migrants in Australia, and many may be from non-European countries, but historically and to the present day the overwhelmingly dominant culture is white Anglo-Saxon as any Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese, or indeed Italian, Greek or Lebanese settler might attest. Abuse is too often the Australian default response and it's embedded in the language. The Times wouldn't want to print the names Australians use for various members of the "other" but they are legion, and every Australian knows them.
5
Yes, but blow-ins sometimes have have eyes to see what we are blind to. As an elderly white Australian I have been blind to indigenous Australians for much of my life.
5
Of course, we could always look to the USA for its shining example in treating American aboriginal peoples, and other minorities.
6
That's not the point though, is it? The issues in Australia are the issues in Australia.
3
If USA is so much more morally superior and treats their black people so much better, did you also figured a statistic how many aborigines are shot by Australian police?
Oh wait, Australia doesn't have a gun law from the 18th century and an NRA that buys politicians to stay in this century
Oh wait, Australia doesn't have a gun law from the 18th century and an NRA that buys politicians to stay in this century
5
Were we reading the same article? -- I don't recall seeing anything about the USA being "so much more morally superior" in the way they treat Black people.
Oh wait. That's just your interpretation of it.
Must be, because everyone here already knows that's not the case.
Oh wait. That's just your interpretation of it.
Must be, because everyone here already knows that's not the case.
9
These people, just like the Indians (native American) are flooded with welfare benefits which encourages them to maintain their primitive lives and not integrate into regular society where they can earn a higher standard of living. Liberals view them like pets or hobbies who need to be helped, protected and provided for so that their care-givers feel good inside.
5
Ouch! This comment is seriously patronizing.
I think a crash course in American History would help you to better understand the plight of the Native American -- which was brought about in great part by the white man.
I think a crash course in American History would help you to better understand the plight of the Native American -- which was brought about in great part by the white man.
17
I have to agree with Derek . Even if one of your great ancestors was part aboriginal you are still flooded with welfare benefits . This not a race issue as most Americans seem to think. This issue no different than Native Americans. The Australian government is not helping Aboriginal people by paying them off.
1
In countries like India, the caste system is such a horrible thing the equivalent of which exists nowhere else if you go by what westerners and non-Hindus would like you to believe. I certainly agree that the way the castes are used to discriminate is shameful and Indians of all stripes should speak out against it and help prevent atrocities committed in the name of caste. However westerners never even want to acknowledge that discrimination based on equally atrocious factors such as skin color, race and ethnicity exists on their own soil. People like Derek would prefer to think that the deplorable condition of such people's lives is due to their own doing or the fault of liberals wanting everything handed to these people for free. Not such reasoning from these people when it comes to poverty and discrimination in the third world nations - there it is everyone's fault or specifically the fault of the high caste people (all of whom they think are Brahmins, another example of western ignorance)!
1
And the report here could be written with only the names changed of the displaced tribal peoples by British and other European colonial settlers. See the two op-eds today on Canada's 150th anniversary tomorrow ("Canada's Hidden History,My Mother and Me," Op-Ed by Gabrielle Scrimshaw;and "Canada is Turning 150. Oh,to be 100 Again," Op-ed by Ian Austen).
Note that only the Austen one has comments----perhaps an editorial decision. Yet it isn't hard to guess the race of the commenters in the happy Canadian memories, most reflecting the white Canadian mythology that Canada's visible minorities have no unique role in Canada's history, and that the indigenous and Afro-Canadians have no role in the founding of Canada!! Canadian non-whites, like Australia's, have nothing to celebrate about their history of racial discrimination and cultural genocide. Hopefully, the 160th Anniversaries of both British dominions will correct that history.
An Obama in either country could not be elected leader in those countries because of the lock that white racist myths still have on the country's media.
Note that only the Austen one has comments----perhaps an editorial decision. Yet it isn't hard to guess the race of the commenters in the happy Canadian memories, most reflecting the white Canadian mythology that Canada's visible minorities have no unique role in Canada's history, and that the indigenous and Afro-Canadians have no role in the founding of Canada!! Canadian non-whites, like Australia's, have nothing to celebrate about their history of racial discrimination and cultural genocide. Hopefully, the 160th Anniversaries of both British dominions will correct that history.
An Obama in either country could not be elected leader in those countries because of the lock that white racist myths still have on the country's media.
2
Headlines that we will never see: "Race-in-America Reporter Visits Country X and Finds No Stereotypes are Present"
6
Like many journalists' "Just Stop" pleas for Trump to stop his juvenile and unpresidential tweets, I'm pleading for the NYTimes to "Just Stop" with the hysterical and inane fixation on race. The problem about having "reporters" solely dedicated to race is that that's all they write about, and out of fear of offending minority writers, the NYTimes feels obligated to post the articles.
9
I'm sorry... this sounded like a piece from the old National Lampoon or The Onion... Gosh, Aborigines in Australia have lives very different from what they show on postcards in tourist shops. Brilliant. I suggest you next take on the amazingness of black America. Did you know that it is nothing like the postcards? I've heard this from many people... even some black folks. Really.
6
P.S. And more to the point of my previous comment on the invisibility of nonwhites in Australia and Canada, it's a general problem still in some of the most unlikely places. See "Romance, War, Survival: A Correspondent Looks Back on His Experience in East Africa" by NYTimes International correspondent Jeffrey Gettleman, who manages to write topically about his experiences without mentioning one name of the Africans posing with him and his wife in the photo captions. The Africans are just anonymous guerrillas. And Gettleman offers us only the information that they have died. One wonders how he knew that since he seems lost for their names? His account seems more about him than them! Sigh, so more of the same!
2
A small correction needed: the persons the reporter saw are not Australia's "first nations". Archaeologically/palaeontologically they are very late comers, having supplanted (exterminated) at least three previous migrations of earlier peoples.
Clinging, as most do, to a primitive, theo-gerontocratic, eduphobic culture many of their problems are self-inflicted.
The photographs on the postcard do not properly depict the current situation but most are less than fifty years old; indicating that Australians' view of "aboriginals" may not be as inaccurate as implied. For example: the display of "artifacts" in the lower, left corner resembles the material being offered to tourists in many "aboriginal" settlements today.
The "stereotypes" in the postcard are mostly for the benefit of foreign tourists, in the same way that "native american" stereotypes are commercialized in the south-west of the US.
Clinging, as most do, to a primitive, theo-gerontocratic, eduphobic culture many of their problems are self-inflicted.
The photographs on the postcard do not properly depict the current situation but most are less than fifty years old; indicating that Australians' view of "aboriginals" may not be as inaccurate as implied. For example: the display of "artifacts" in the lower, left corner resembles the material being offered to tourists in many "aboriginal" settlements today.
The "stereotypes" in the postcard are mostly for the benefit of foreign tourists, in the same way that "native american" stereotypes are commercialized in the south-west of the US.
7
Sure, the postcard might be relying on stereotypes, however here in Darwin the native culture is very much alive. After five years in Darwin, I've experienced seasonal migrations from remote communities to town centres, and I often hear traditional "long grasser" songs, when I go to bed at night.
Just saying...
Just saying...
2
While coverage of this subject is fitting for your new Australia beat (and I requested it when you asked for input), the trouble with articles like these is that it provides no sense of what is the desirable state. How should native peoples be seen, and how should they see themselves?
Is it acceptable to show aspects of their native culture, or should images be limited to their participation and roles in modern society?
Otherwise, it's "damn if they do, and damn if they don't" in media expressions and I presume personal interaction.
By the way, I can't really speak for Australia as I tried to raise the native peoples issue in conversations and during tours in a visit there, and almost no one would talk about it, but it isn't helpful to continue the false dualism that all white people are the same, either. That's not reporting.
Is it acceptable to show aspects of their native culture, or should images be limited to their participation and roles in modern society?
Otherwise, it's "damn if they do, and damn if they don't" in media expressions and I presume personal interaction.
By the way, I can't really speak for Australia as I tried to raise the native peoples issue in conversations and during tours in a visit there, and almost no one would talk about it, but it isn't helpful to continue the false dualism that all white people are the same, either. That's not reporting.
9
Here is my experience with racist Australia. I arrived in Sydney from the U.S. (where I am a U.S. citizen)to hold a week long training on coding complex algorithms. At the airport I was unceremoniously shunted for an hour long agricultural check along with a dozen or so colored people, while my white American co-worker breezed thru the "checking" process. Needless to say no agricultural products were found on me or any of the other colored people around me. All we got was our clothes all tossed up in our bags, no appology but a rude order to quickly pack up and depart because we were holding back the checking process. First and last visit to this horrible country.
14
How was the rest of your trip? You spent a full week in this "horrible country" but don't tell us how you were treated after leaving customs at the airport.
1
You only get one chance to make a first impression.
A quick story from my home town, Cairns, Queensland. I was working up there as a veterinarian during a flood, and had been called down to a horse paddock that was one among many situated in the middle of a low-lying region that was also used for growing sugar cane. The paddocks had flooded and the horse had tried to swim out but got tangled up in some fencing wire and had cut its legs. The horse's legs were sore and swollen but he could walk, in theory. The water had receded and we were trying to walk the horse out of the paddock to a drier place for treatment, but the horse would not move - not for the owner, not for me (I am usually fairly good with horses), and even after pain killers. An aboriginal man suddenly appeared, seemingly materialising out of the cane field, a big athletic soft-spoken guy, no shoes, and offered to try leading the horse. The horse followed him straight away, all the way out of the large paddock, along a tricky pathway that would have been uncomfortable for the horse, and into the trailer where he was to be loaded for treatment. It was a fascinating experience, the instant trust that this horse had for this man. It is possible that the man had spent some time with the horse before, without the owner's knowledge, and he had come down to the paddock to check on the horse.....but the fact was that horse trusted that man instantly, and a level that left a deep impression in me that it was probably something beyond my understanding or 'sensing'.
21
Wow. As an expat Australian living in the U.S for the past 10 years and coming to love everything but the racism in this country, I have a lot of resentment over your article. You are so quick to point out a problem of racism where it is actually the embrace of a country's heritage. You point out about white this and white that - how do you not see the blatant racism in that?
I wish everyone would stop recognizing skin color as more than a trait like hair or eye color.
Why is it still okay to call this person white or that person black? I have seen only a very few examples where people's skin color was Black or white yet it is considered not racist to group all sorts of tones together. I am actually latte in skin color but racists like you would probably call me white!
I wish everyone would stop recognizing skin color as more than a trait like hair or eye color.
Why is it still okay to call this person white or that person black? I have seen only a very few examples where people's skin color was Black or white yet it is considered not racist to group all sorts of tones together. I am actually latte in skin color but racists like you would probably call me white!
6
Come on, come to the Northern Territory and you'll see that segregation and hidden or overt racism is real. Here, in Darwin, Sudan refugees are treated better than Aboriginals.
Cheers
Cheers
2
Sending a "Race in America" reporter(can you believe it) was not likely to provide a view unaffected by his experiences in the US. Certainly things have happened in Australian history which we're not proud of, but the incessant negativity by many of those he has interviewed is quite typical of much of the current discussion about Aboriginal Australia. Even Aborigines don't talk about the great parts of their past - the migration 50,000 years ago, the extensive cross continent trade routes; their ability to 'read' the environment so well and predict forthcoming weather patters, and their excellent use of fire to manage the land.. ok this is the past but it's never mentioned amongst the bleating about how hard pressed they are. They don't mention either that their rate of domestic violence and child abuse in many Aboriginal communities is some of the worst in the Western world - unless they blame somebody else of course. Your reporter should be careful not to accept all the negativity as the 'reality'.
3
Domestic violence, child abuse and substance abuse are often the first signs of poverty, neglect and disenfranchisement. Remember the 18th century gin craze in England
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gin_Craze#/media/File:William_Hogarth_-_Gi...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gin_Craze#/media/File:William_Hogarth_-_Gi...
2
As in the US, white people need to acknowledge and deal with their racism and implicit bias before society can come together and move forward. Until that time, the psychological damage for both will continue with People of Color paying more than their fair share.
1
The issue of plight is a serious one, which deserves to be addressed. However, the focus on the postcard is another case of American political correctness going down a rabbit hole.
The Aborigines have a distinct and rich culture and the postcard is admiring that.
Move on.
The Aborigines have a distinct and rich culture and the postcard is admiring that.
Move on.
11
There is a real desire for justice and equity in Australia. There is also hope that the present unacceptable outcomes for so many indigenous people can be overcome. The problem is turning that goodwill into action and achievement. The Howard government tried turning back the clock with the intervention, and that was a disaster. Since then there has been no clear policy on how to move forward. The Uluru Statement should change that. It is the clearest guide that has yet emerged and constitutional and political reform are now seen to be an essential part of the process. The damage done by the brutal racist and genocidal policies that persisted until so recently, will not be easily undone. Great leadership will be needed for all involved.
4
I agree. I saw the same thing when I was in Australia and heard it as well.
Do we treat our Nation's First People much better?
Do we treat our Nation's First People much better?
1
After recently visiting my hometown in Australia from my adopted home of America, I find it fascinating to see multiple NYT articles relating to race issues in Australia.
As in North America, Australia has deep issues surrounding integration and support of First Nations people. That being said, what I loved about growing up in a major Australian city was being taught by my school mates to play the didgeridoo or perform a haka during lunch hour.
This postcard shocked you the same way I've been shocked by America's reservation casino advertisements, Redskins football team, and truck stop head dress postcards.
I would suggest it would be more productive for the New York Times to focus on representation of the Native American people in American society. After all, it is difficult to accept international cultural opinion from an article opening with incorrect geographical sense - Gold Coast is Queensland, Byron Bay is New South Whales.
As in North America, Australia has deep issues surrounding integration and support of First Nations people. That being said, what I loved about growing up in a major Australian city was being taught by my school mates to play the didgeridoo or perform a haka during lunch hour.
This postcard shocked you the same way I've been shocked by America's reservation casino advertisements, Redskins football team, and truck stop head dress postcards.
I would suggest it would be more productive for the New York Times to focus on representation of the Native American people in American society. After all, it is difficult to accept international cultural opinion from an article opening with incorrect geographical sense - Gold Coast is Queensland, Byron Bay is New South Whales.
4
For a start, Byron Bay is not a Gold Coast town. The "Gold Coast" is in a different state, Queensland, with Byron Bay being in NSW. Second thing: I am an expat American who has lived and worked in Australia for 14 years, having worked for the UN around the world from Sierra Leone to Bosnia. From that vantage point just a note of caution. Yes, racist stereotypes exist here, as they do in the US. Yes, the image of a Torres Strait Islander or other First Nation person as a buffoonish drunk is offensive. The problem I have is when I see Americans, or other well meaning outsiders anywhere, attempt to characterise nuanced and complex problems from their own superficial vantage points. Americans love to see the world through the lens of their own experience, and make conclusions accordingly. This type of US-centric thinking leads to unintended outcomes. Bush's foray into Iraq thinking we understood Saddam's oppression and therefore how a newly liberated people would react being a classic, if perhaps blunt, example. In this case you verge dangerously close to the idealised "innocent native" myth a la Rousseau and other Enlightenment thinkers. The reality is far more complex. Substance abuse, alcoholism are problems, as is effective and accountable Indigenous political leadership. Racist Australia exists and is odious as it is everywhere. Your diagnosis would have had been better had you gone deeper. And not made the error of mistaking Byron Bay for a Gold Coast town.
10
"This type of US-centric thinking leads to unintended outcomes".
Regarding multiculturalism and institutional racism, I personally think that the US were prescient. I am French, I've lived for 16 years in the US and I am now an Australian citizen. I definitely prefer the US approach with all its flaws, to France approach (there is no racism in France, just assimilate) or Australia for that matter (we were racists, but it doesn't exist anymore, it's a bygone era).
Regarding multiculturalism and institutional racism, I personally think that the US were prescient. I am French, I've lived for 16 years in the US and I am now an Australian citizen. I definitely prefer the US approach with all its flaws, to France approach (there is no racism in France, just assimilate) or Australia for that matter (we were racists, but it doesn't exist anymore, it's a bygone era).
1
Provocatively interesting for the socio-economic issues that you raise, Mr. Eligon, and not only specific to Australia. Control over economics - a vestige of colonialism, which has a worldwide history of abuses and excuses, with some moral ambiguities. The drawing by Chelsea Bond's daughter is complex. Was it the question: "picture of her culture?" A 7-year-old might have seen her father in a police uniform, but would have difficulty imagining academic life. On one hand, and easy response that the girl might have considered cute. On the other, an example of "guided perception" vs. immediate observation. We often impose stereotypes on our perceptions. e.g. learning to draw in perspective means forgetting that a box is supposed to have square corners. How would I draw a picture of my "culture?" I'd have to ask, "which meaning of culture?" In a colonial story: is a picture of Gandhi using a primitive yarn spinner a stereotype? A complex symbolic political statement! This story of course sheds light on American racism, by seeing manifestations of racism in Australia.
1
Many people outside Australia - and particularly in the US - typically romanticize Australia. The reality, however, is quite different and stark.
This reader happened to travel and live in Australia in the early eighties. What was observed there, firsthand, suggested that certain mindset was unlikely to change even after many decades.
Though this reader had very pleasant friendships with ordinary Australians, that was not reflected in the happenings in that country on a day to day basis. For example, Zina Garrison, the African-American tennis player, was described as "American Negress" in the news media when she reached the Australian Open semifinals.
Among all western nations, NO other nation has a draconian policy against refugees as Australia does. The center on the Pacific island nation of Nauru and another on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea to process asylum seekers can only be described as concentration camps.
So the article does not come as a surprise to this reader. it seems that very little, if any, has changed in Australia in more than three decades when it comes to discrimination.
This reader happened to travel and live in Australia in the early eighties. What was observed there, firsthand, suggested that certain mindset was unlikely to change even after many decades.
Though this reader had very pleasant friendships with ordinary Australians, that was not reflected in the happenings in that country on a day to day basis. For example, Zina Garrison, the African-American tennis player, was described as "American Negress" in the news media when she reached the Australian Open semifinals.
Among all western nations, NO other nation has a draconian policy against refugees as Australia does. The center on the Pacific island nation of Nauru and another on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea to process asylum seekers can only be described as concentration camps.
So the article does not come as a surprise to this reader. it seems that very little, if any, has changed in Australia in more than three decades when it comes to discrimination.
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Australia is a complicated place oversimplified by the world that looks on. You are correct that Australia has a draconian policy, but it is about refugee arrivals by boat. It also has the third highest UNHCR refugee resettlement in the Western world behind the US and Canada. http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/Parliamentary_Departments/Parliam...
I am not sure anyone in Australia under the age of 50 even knows what a negress is.
I am not sure anyone in Australia under the age of 50 even knows what a negress is.
S.Roy: A small correction: ". . . a draconian policy against queue-jumping refugees (who pay people-smugglers to get into Australia) as Australia does."
When it comes to admission of refugees in general, compare Australian refugee intake (as a percentage of Australia's population) against the intake of USA (again, as a percentage), and you may find it quite surprising. Also, read Geoff's comments above - quite appropriate.
"Here was a girl who had lived her entire life in Inala, a suburb of Brisbane, with a mother who has a Ph.D. and a father who was a police officer, yet she represented her culture with a drawing of a scene she has never known."
Many Jewish students in my Upper West Side NYC class, when asked to draw a picture of their culture, will draw a bible scene they've never experienced. Neither of these instances are signs of racism or antisemitism.
Many Jewish students in my Upper West Side NYC class, when asked to draw a picture of their culture, will draw a bible scene they've never experienced. Neither of these instances are signs of racism or antisemitism.
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I was particularly struck by the comment that even in the Torres Straits islands, where everyone is black, the businesses are mainly white-owned. It then dawned on me that the indigenous people perhaps have not embraced the white-majority-run "culture" - its systems, codes, regulations, procedures, social status acquisitions, etc. etc. that enables modern-day Australians to, say, open a business, build credit at a bank, get a restaurant license, and so on and on. The path to modern-day financial and political success hinges almost entirely on adhering to the white-majority-led code of conduct.
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You touch on an important issue that most here have missed. Emphases in aboriginal Australian cultural values are very different from those imported from Europe.
Hence, to give one example and simplify a very complex idea, indigenous Australians belong to the land, not the other way round. The land sustains, but must be cared for. It is not simply property to be turned to economic account.
When as a kid I wondered at world champion boxer Lionel Rose's financial woes, I failed to understand that in his good fortune he was bound to assist his extended kin in a way and to degrees of remoteness of blood entirely unknown to white Christians.
Hence, to give one example and simplify a very complex idea, indigenous Australians belong to the land, not the other way round. The land sustains, but must be cared for. It is not simply property to be turned to economic account.
When as a kid I wondered at world champion boxer Lionel Rose's financial woes, I failed to understand that in his good fortune he was bound to assist his extended kin in a way and to degrees of remoteness of blood entirely unknown to white Christians.
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Trusting, and turning over control of economics to a historically poorer group doesn't usually result in success, it usually results in the sale of productive assets for pennies on the dollar, sometimes for scrap, and a return to dependency after a burst of spending. It's been true for the newly decolonized countries of Africa, it's been true in the inner city, and it's been true for the aborigines.
It's important to help the poor, but the first step is not romanticizing their average capabilities. What the poor need, and this includes poor ethnic groups, is a working social safety net, and the day will never come when it won't need to be provided. Australia is lucky that at 3% of the population (assuming it doesn't grow sharply under dependency) , this burden will be limited and relatively light.
It's important to help the poor, but the first step is not romanticizing their average capabilities. What the poor need, and this includes poor ethnic groups, is a working social safety net, and the day will never come when it won't need to be provided. Australia is lucky that at 3% of the population (assuming it doesn't grow sharply under dependency) , this burden will be limited and relatively light.
3
Strong parallels to the FIrst Nations narrative in Canada, and here in the U.S.
This is top-notch reporting. Thank you!
This is top-notch reporting. Thank you!
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As an Australian I think its great to have this insightful perspective on Australia given such prominence here.
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After I read this article, I still could not get what the author considered racist. It is just an example of how anyone these days can say something is racist without any evidence, just because it is fashionable to say so. If I go to Austria, for example, I might find postcards of white people wearing folkloric dress and it would represent the traditional costumes not worn everyday anymore. Aborigines represented in a postcard in traditional activities that are not part of the culture of colonizers is not racist. It only presents what is indigenous to the area. Our current society needs to get back to objectivity and rationality. Currently, accusations of racism have become an arbitrary activity. Instead, we need to focus on facts: is someone being denied of their rights to employment and housing based on their race regardless of their credentials and ability to afford a privilege? Representing aborigines for tourists in traditional activities typical to the area is not racist.
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The colorful folkloric Austrians you describe, when they put their day-to-day clothes back on, are immediately indistinguishable from everyone else in Austria. Aboriginal Australians are always identifiable by the dominant white culture as the "other" no matter what they wear. That's the difference. Eligon's point to me was that it would be just and decent to sell postcards of Aboriginal truck drivers, teachers, politicians, commercial fisherman, painters, store keepers, waiters and waitresses, to say that they really are just like us, and not the "other" at all.
Hi John, Simon here and not a bad article. It would be very easy for visitors to be judgemental about what's happening currently for/to Abboriginals. But you would need to spend a LOT more time studying the issue for a fully nuanced view.
I am pro-Aborigine and want to see them successful and integrated into society. But from decades of experience of following this issue there are No simple fixes. Sometimes Aborigines don't WANT to integrate. Many different types of welfare payments have been tried to try and get the money to the women and children. It's just very very complex.
I am pro-Aborigine and want to see them successful and integrated into society. But from decades of experience of following this issue there are No simple fixes. Sometimes Aborigines don't WANT to integrate. Many different types of welfare payments have been tried to try and get the money to the women and children. It's just very very complex.
9
This is a very telling piece...as a Canadian who has spent considerable amounts of time in Australia (and the US) I can only confirm the author's insights. And, much of what he writes is profoundly similar to what would be found here in Canada as well, with a few wrinkles of difference. In the US I have found those to be more than wrinkles. The "Indian Wars" were ones of overt genocide and mixed with the history of slavery and the civil war the results are closer to erasure. A visit to New Zealand, where Maori have considerably more political clout and the numbers to back that up would likely produce quite a different picture. Indigenous People around the world have enormous contributions to make to our societies, and our understanding of mother earth and the cosmos. More articles following upon this one would be a boon to us all.
3
Aussies--don't let American social justice warriors export our crazed identity politics! The inherent incongruities are plain to see, but that doesn't stop them. We are supposed to revel in our "cultures" (and revel in the cultures of historically repressed peoples), but when a 7 year old girl does so its supposedly a sign of institutional racism. She wasn't asked to draw a picture of her home life--she was asked to draw a picture depicting her "culture." And, so, she did. I'm part Chippewa Indian (also known as the Ojibwe). If asked to describe or depict that aspect of my culture, I would emphasize traditional practices . . . even though I've never experienced them personally (until recently, that is; I've attempted to research this aspect of the family tree and even though I can't locate any full-blooded Chippewa relatives, I have visited their reservation and witnessed some very fascinating things).
I'm also part Irish. I've never been to Ireland, save for a layover at Shannon airport, but if I were asked to depict Irish/Celtic culture, would it be so wrong of me to identify things like bagpipes and kilts?
I'm also part Irish. I've never been to Ireland, save for a layover at Shannon airport, but if I were asked to depict Irish/Celtic culture, would it be so wrong of me to identify things like bagpipes and kilts?
11
Another issue to be confronted is a rapidly changing demography. The "white" Australia referred to is essentially Australian born Anglo-European with a strong sense of moral obligation to addressing indigenous disadvantage. The invisible part of the equation is the very large and ethnically diverse minority, often relative newcomers, who sit outside the culture you see in postcards and in the media. How someone with a different starting point to this unfinished business relates to the current orthodox view about the national shame of indigenous disadvantage I do not know. But because it's not as simple as a wealth redistribution through the social welfare system it's more than just an intellectual construct which a thinking person can readily grasp. For example, does a new immigrant to the US have the same perspective on the legacy of slavery as say more mainstream American born culture? My apprehension is that Australia's window of opportunity to try and fix this may be much narrower than many realise.
4
Without wanting to be rude about it. so far too many of the aboriginal corporations have demonstrated an inability to manage themselves - to put that very politely. On the bush culture thing, that stereotype that aboriginals are "bush people" is pushed by aboriginals and non-aboriginals, only recently - the last 6 or 7 years - have I noticed a real change in that. On the subject of stereotypes, most aboriginal Australians I know or have met are perfectly ordinary Australians - and I dont mean that in an offensive way, just to be clear. However, in some capital cities you can see groups of drunk and often obnoxiously behaving groups of aboriginals, usually in from the country regions. Because most urban non-aboriginals dont know many aboriginal Australians (which is a function of numbers more than anything else) they will, unfortunately, gauge all aboriginals by seeing those groups. Thats not fair but the consequences are obvious.
1
"in some capital cities you can see groups of drunk and often obnoxiously behaving groups of aboriginals" ---- remarked upon because they're easily identified as the "other" (they're black). But Australia, especially on the weekends, is full of groups of drunk and often obnoxiously behaving men and women, so much so that the inner cities and the pubs can be dangerous to the unwary. I don't recommend that visitors go near them in the hours of darkness. These particular drunks just happen to be white, or at least look white but no-one generalizes about their race, or social status. That's reserved for the native people.
3
This is a good piece & I'm on board with your major points. But may I offer some criticism of your interpretation of little Chelsea's drawing? The prompt was to draw a picture of "her culture." The clear implication of such a prompt is to reach into one's background; nobody (in the USA or Australia) will draw a picture of a person looking at a cell phone while sitting in a coffee shop. (My own son, given the similar assignment of building a miniature parade float representing "his" culture, made a Round Tower, but he has never even been to Ireland.)
Oh, and the picture does not portray stick figures. It's actually a pretty typical western-style piece of 7-year-old art, as far as I can tell.
Oh, and the picture does not portray stick figures. It's actually a pretty typical western-style piece of 7-year-old art, as far as I can tell.
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Thank you. What an insightful, poignant piece. The Stan Grant interview was very moving in that the same underlying "hum of racism" is alive and well in Australia as well as the USA.
You pointed to the fact the genius is not exclusive to western/modern societies. Indigenous peoples from around the world display amazing capacities for understanding the intricacies of nature and what matters for survival. How thrilling to have met someone who knows the medicinal qualities of every plant in the region.
You're only just scratching at the surface of exposing the deep and entrenched racism of a large percentage of Australians. They do a good job of hiding it but it's there. The great wit, Barry Humphries, in his Dane Edna character summed it up best, "Well we may have been a little racist but at least we were nice about it."
Keep scratching.
You pointed to the fact the genius is not exclusive to western/modern societies. Indigenous peoples from around the world display amazing capacities for understanding the intricacies of nature and what matters for survival. How thrilling to have met someone who knows the medicinal qualities of every plant in the region.
You're only just scratching at the surface of exposing the deep and entrenched racism of a large percentage of Australians. They do a good job of hiding it but it's there. The great wit, Barry Humphries, in his Dane Edna character summed it up best, "Well we may have been a little racist but at least we were nice about it."
Keep scratching.
1
Ah, well! In my living memory, Australian aboriginal people were not allowed to vote, were not counted in the national census and, in Queensland, at least, were not allowed to work in any food-handling occupation. Salaries and wages were "held in trust" by the states and allowances doled out in tiny increments. At the end of their working lives, the accumulated earnings of a lifetime had often dwindled into insignificance through the deduction of "administrative fees" In the State of Victoria there was an officer whose title was Protector of Aborigines, and the post survived into the nineteen-seventies. What chance have they had, and how much now does the dominant white culture owe them? Start counting - it's a big number, morally and financially.
7
First of all, I don;t see anything primitive in bush dwellers and their culture if anything is remarkable for the sophistication of the relationship between the land, humans, animals and myth. In some ways this is a model for the "modern man" - most of us - looking to live a full life.
If 'aboriginees' want economic emancipation they should be supported by the state however the article overlooks the actual problem - the lethargy & apathy, drug abuse and violence that preclude productive life. This means support for social science where the culture is encouraged not by welfare but through respect and willingness to meet the native Australians half way.
If 'aboriginees' want economic emancipation they should be supported by the state however the article overlooks the actual problem - the lethargy & apathy, drug abuse and violence that preclude productive life. This means support for social science where the culture is encouraged not by welfare but through respect and willingness to meet the native Australians half way.
1
I'm afraid that this is no different from how the US and Canada treated First Nations folks. Disgusting. They were never given a chance, abused, their families separated, huge epidemics, their language beaten out of them, distant schools, reservations, all pretty sad to do to other human beings.
5
Sorry, but after living in America, I don't see how this author could be surprised by any racist depictions he might have come across, or find it so surprising that Whites are the ones who own and operate the businesses in mainly Black areas.
Unfortunately, stereotypes are here -- and here to stay, which makes it, like racism, universal.
Unfortunately, stereotypes are here -- and here to stay, which makes it, like racism, universal.
1
This is extremely informative; especially the video. Thank you, John Eligon.
1
Just a note to say "thank you" for enlightening us by researching and publishing this article.
1
If the girl had drawn an urban, modern situation the article would complain that she had forgotten her heritage. Sometimes you really can't win.
14
Excellent documentary. As it points out, indigenous people make up only 3% of a population of 24.4 million, where, by the way, 27% of households do not speak English at home due to a diverse immigration policy. Carbon-dating of relics has estimated at least 50,000 years of aboriginal populations in Australia. The First Fleet from Britain arrived only 229 years ago. To survive in a country with no wheat, sheep, goats or cattle meant a largely nomadic society where knowledge was passed down in song, corroboree and, famously, wonderful paintings. But the clash of civilizations came harshly, with horrific histories of massacres, abrogation of land rights by whites, and the forcible taking of children to bring them up in white, not aboriginal society (the stolen generations). Whilst there are impressive stories of aboriginal achievement in mainstream society now, there is still much lower life expectancy, much higher incarceration rates and dreadful instances of child sexual abuse that have resulted in some communities having their welfare payments automatically barred from buying alcohol. Millions of dollars have been thrown at these issues with seemingly little impact on the statistics. There are protests every Australia Day, the 26th of January, which marks the arrival of the First Fleet from Britain, and with it the arrival of the industrial revolution (IR). Dreadful mistakes have been made, yet without the IR, that postcard would still be true.
3
Byron Bay's not really on the Gold Coast (wouldn't want anyone to get lost). There are other possible readings of Dr Bond's daughter's picture. Many Australian kids, I suspect, if asked to draw their 'culture' (especially for Harmony Day which celebrates multiculturalism) will reach back to their ethnic ancentral home - we're not comfortable at all that post-colonial Australia even has a culture. The story doesn't say whether the little girl is indigenous, that would also be interesting to know. If she's an indigenous girl, she's picturing her 'culture' streching back to pre-modren times, perhaps. If she is non-indigenous, maybe she is picturing 'Australian' culture, her home and connecting with her child's imagination of what the first Australian's culture is.
At Harmony Day events, for example workplace morning teas, we usually bring something reprersenting 'where we're from.' My ancestors came from Scotland 3-6 generations back. Never really sure what to bring.
At Harmony Day events, for example workplace morning teas, we usually bring something reprersenting 'where we're from.' My ancestors came from Scotland 3-6 generations back. Never really sure what to bring.
4
I'm Australian and I will freely admit when i went to school not only was aboriginal culture not taught it was never even mentioned.
4
Probably I'm thick, but I don't see a difference between Mr. Elger's glowing description - "I saw it when I was riding through an outback area with Ted Hall, an Aboriginal elder, who described the medicinal uses of every plant and tree on our route." - and the post card. It seems Mr. Elger thinks when he repeats a stereotype as being typical, it's okay. Why is that?
34
There's a world of difference between actively seeking out Aboriginal Australians to learn firsthand about their culture -- the oldest continuous culture in the world dating back about 50,000 years -- and selling (or buying) postcards of stereotypical images with no understanding of their connection to an ancient culture.
6
I understand you may feel defensive about some of the things Elger saw but with all due respect I don't think he's doing what you're suggesting. Those postcards are to me, a black person, somewhat racist, yes, even if, they are 'accurate'. They present a picture of an old remote tribe remote from modern-life. The poses are the standard happy native stuff that colonized peoples from the Americas to Africa have ben subjected to. The fact that there are some First Australians who have made an effort to retain knowledge of their land and ecology does not in anyway underscore the point of how continuous media images of primitive very-different-from-you-and-me happy natives works against the interest of the aboriginal people, who, it appears want the same things as everybody: economic opportunity, respect, dignity.
4
Yes, you are being thick....Do you not understand that people who are intimate with the land and its features are not the images depicted on the postcard....The old colonial word was "savages," and they were to be, by colonial decree, to have their knowledge and connection of the land knocked out of them to make them like the white anglican colonizers. Depicting the indigenous people as "savages" reinforces that policy. It may not be "on the books" in today's Australia, but it seems to be in the European settler's mindset.
4