Wherein is contained some musings on native culture and indigenous affairs in Terra Australis.
Dear Native and Alien species!What better way to follow up an article on the distasteful entertainment genre of minstrelsy than to discuss Aboriginal affairs?
I don't actually have race on the mind, dear reader, far from it. But I recently felt the need to educate some of my students in regards to some home truths surrounding their place of birth.
Having recently explored the bravery and determination of some of Europe's most famous explorers I felt the need to point out the darker flip-side to such expeditions. -The primary one being that, after such heroes, against all odds, forged their way through unknown waters, having pitted their wills and flimsiest of sailing vessels against all of Nature's whims, having managed to sail, halfway across the world and having discovered exotic lands with unknown peoples and animals far far away from their homes, after overcoming such huge odds, these very same heroic white explorers seemed to suffer from an unfortunate tendency to then stick little flags in said grounds and, well, begin to invade said lands, for their own Empire's gains, much to the indigenous population's detriment.
The game of Global Imperial Expansion was Europe's favourite past time for the last six hundred years. And it was a game that was played by nearly everyone. It was loads of fun! Bring your friends! Make it an event! Take over some other people's lands with hilarious results! B.Y.O though because the natives don't always have the ability to ferment drinks yet!
And of course, now, in the 20th and 21st Centuries, the game is over, and we are sort of dealing sweeping up the refuse and coping with the god awful hang-over of such tom-foolery from our past.
Nothing makes you sober up quite like racial genocide, does it?
I think, in fact nearly every major example of upheaval in the 20 and 21st Century to date, could be expressed as a direct consequence from Imperial Expansionism, either from it's invasion into a land, or its sudden and catastrophic departure without the proper institutions to support the population post-departure.
Don't believe me? WWI was caused largely by two Empire's flexing their muscles and escalating the violence until something had to give, especially when the Ottoman empire fell apart and well, it was such a juicy prize, someone, had to take it over.
WWII is largely a direct result of the disastrous end of WWI.
Vietnam is largely due to the Viet Cong shrugging off their French government.
The Rwanda Massacres are largely due to disastrous tribal relations, encouraged by the Belgians.
Even the current Middle East Crisis can be chartered back to fat white Europeans, dividing up the post war world like it was a game of Risk.
Not to mention The Berlin Wall, Afghanistan and even 9/11. -All of which are caused, in part if not, entirely by some sort of Empire trying to expand its borders.
But as you may know, dear reader, I am fromTerra Australis, and in particular from Van Diemen's Land, as the Portuguese named it. Or Tasmania, as the English named it. And, to be specific, I live on theD'Entrecasteaux Channel as the French called, it. All in the name of Imperial Expansion. However, I didn't until recently know what the people living here for the past 35,000 years (as can be supported by archaeological research) call this land. And in fact I doubt that most people who live here in Van Diemens Land would know, that for the longest time, the indigenous population called this lovely island Trowenna. And I would be certain for a fact that very VERY few people indeed would know that the indigenous population around said D'Entrecasteaux Channel did not in fact call Trowenna by that name at all, but had a different name entirely:
I don't actually have race on the mind, dear reader, far from it. But I recently felt the need to educate some of my students in regards to some home truths surrounding their place of birth.
Having recently explored the bravery and determination of some of Europe's most famous explorers I felt the need to point out the darker flip-side to such expeditions. -The primary one being that, after such heroes, against all odds, forged their way through unknown waters, having pitted their wills and flimsiest of sailing vessels against all of Nature's whims, having managed to sail, halfway across the world and having discovered exotic lands with unknown peoples and animals far far away from their homes, after overcoming such huge odds, these very same heroic white explorers seemed to suffer from an unfortunate tendency to then stick little flags in said grounds and, well, begin to invade said lands, for their own Empire's gains, much to the indigenous population's detriment.
The game of Global Imperial Expansion was Europe's favourite past time for the last six hundred years. And it was a game that was played by nearly everyone. It was loads of fun! Bring your friends! Make it an event! Take over some other people's lands with hilarious results! B.Y.O though because the natives don't always have the ability to ferment drinks yet!
And of course, now, in the 20th and 21st Centuries, the game is over, and we are sort of dealing sweeping up the refuse and coping with the god awful hang-over of such tom-foolery from our past.
Nothing makes you sober up quite like racial genocide, does it?
I think, in fact nearly every major example of upheaval in the 20 and 21st Century to date, could be expressed as a direct consequence from Imperial Expansionism, either from it's invasion into a land, or its sudden and catastrophic departure without the proper institutions to support the population post-departure.
Don't believe me? WWI was caused largely by two Empire's flexing their muscles and escalating the violence until something had to give, especially when the Ottoman empire fell apart and well, it was such a juicy prize, someone, had to take it over.
WWII is largely a direct result of the disastrous end of WWI.
Vietnam is largely due to the Viet Cong shrugging off their French government.
The Rwanda Massacres are largely due to disastrous tribal relations, encouraged by the Belgians.
Even the current Middle East Crisis can be chartered back to fat white Europeans, dividing up the post war world like it was a game of Risk.
Not to mention The Berlin Wall, Afghanistan and even 9/11. -All of which are caused, in part if not, entirely by some sort of Empire trying to expand its borders.
But as you may know, dear reader, I am fromTerra Australis, and in particular from Van Diemen's Land, as the Portuguese named it. Or Tasmania, as the English named it. And, to be specific, I live on theD'Entrecasteaux Channel as the French called, it. All in the name of Imperial Expansion. However, I didn't until recently know what the people living here for the past 35,000 years (as can be supported by archaeological research) call this land. And in fact I doubt that most people who live here in Van Diemens Land would know, that for the longest time, the indigenous population called this lovely island Trowenna. And I would be certain for a fact that very VERY few people indeed would know that the indigenous population around said D'Entrecasteaux Channel did not in fact call Trowenna by that name at all, but had a different name entirely:
Loetrouwitter.
So here I am, a mainlander, having moved to Loetrowitter to work as a teacher of English and History at a school with a strong multicultural and inclusive culture and code of conduct. And I think it would be a good idea to teach my students a little bit about the negative side of Global Imperial Expansionism and in particular, the effects of said expansionism upon the local indigenous culture.
Enter, H.G. Wells. And his fabulous Science Fiction novel, War of the Worlds. Now, dear reader, I'm an unabashed nerd. So I love a good Science-fiction yarn. (With the emphasis on good.) So Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Aldous Huxley and Ray Bradbury really crank my tractor academically speaking.
But what on earth could a science fiction novel have to do with Indigenous affairs in Australia? This is a question, you may well ask, and indeed a lot of people did ask me this question when I told others about what I was teaching in my English lessons. Well, I could answer this question myself. But instead, I think I'll let H.G. Wells explain himself, in his own words.
Enter, H.G. Wells. And his fabulous Science Fiction novel, War of the Worlds. Now, dear reader, I'm an unabashed nerd. So I love a good Science-fiction yarn. (With the emphasis on good.) So Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Aldous Huxley and Ray Bradbury really crank my tractor academically speaking.
But what on earth could a science fiction novel have to do with Indigenous affairs in Australia? This is a question, you may well ask, and indeed a lot of people did ask me this question when I told others about what I was teaching in my English lessons. Well, I could answer this question myself. But instead, I think I'll let H.G. Wells explain himself, in his own words.
"And before we judge them [the Martians] too harshly, we must remember whatruthless and utter destruction our own species has wrought, not only upon animals, such as the vanished Bison and the Dodo, but upon its own inferior races. The Tasmanians, in spite of their human likeness, were entirely swept out of existence in a war of extermination waged by European immigrants, in the space of fifty years. Are we such apostles of mercy as to complain if the Martians warred in the same spirit?"
—Chapter I, "The Eve of the War"
Putting aside for a moment, the ghastly racist Victorian sentiments that such a term as 'inferior races' conjures, we can clearly see here that what started out as geek-fodder and an inspiration for some fabulous 70's rock-opera, is, in actual fact an extended allegory against the cultural genocide that occurred to the indigenous peoples of Loetrowitter.
And of course, what a stunningly nasty chapter in race relations the history of English "settlement" in Loetrowitter makes.
I won't belabour the details. Because you can find it anywhere. If you bother to look it up.
What I found particularly odd though, was that such crucial pieces of Australia's history, like the war against the Aboriginals of Tasmania, like the black line, like the Aboriginal resistance, like the Flinders Island concentration camp were all completely non-existent in my own Australian history lessons in favour of much more important topics like 'When did Australia's train lines finally become a regulation width?'
So immediately, I can see a massive hole in my own education regarding Indigenous culture and affairs. In fact, I think this is something nearly all Australians can claim. I recall many moments of token "lets learn an aboriginal myth" lessons involving Tidalik the Big Green Frog because somewhere down the line, someone had made it a song which meant for great kodak moments involving children's school plays. I also recall being taught, as recently as 1988 for a musical performance about the history of Australia, Rolf Harris' Carra Barra Wirra Canna which uses the word 'piccaninnies' not once, but several times. Apparently finding an actual aboriginal song to represent the aboriginal period in Australia's history, was too arduous a task for our music teacher.
So with such educational faux pas in mind, I set out to rectify this situation with my own students. -My own students who have bee fed the soul-milk of Greek myths, Egyptian mysteries, Norse sagas, Indian myths, Celtic Wondertales, Judaeo-Christian myths and other indigenous peoples tales fables and cultures. These are students who know what the Rig Veda is and are familiar with the Eddas and the Torah, and the Koran. And yet, what can I provide them in regards to their local Aboriginal Culture?
Well, I set out to see what I could find, and promptly borrowed from the library, text after text of books surrounding this topic. And I have to say, dear reader, I was frightened by what I found. Not by the dearth of information regarding Tasmanian Aboriginal Culture, but rather, by the fact that what was called Tasmanian Aboriginal Culture, should have been called Tasmanian Aboriginal History, and in particular, Tasmanian Aboriginal Genocide post-European Invasion.
Now, please, don't misunderstand me here. What happened to the Tasmanian Aboriginal population is beyond horrific. And I am certainly not of the 'build a bridge, and get over it' school of apologists that abound in white-anglo society. But I find it extremely concerning for a culture any culture to be so intrinsically linked with the story of it's demise, to the detriment of the actual culture it proclaims to be discussing and dissemenating!
When I pick up a book labelled The Aboriginal Tasmanians for instance, I expect to see something, ANYTHING on pre-European Tasmanian Aboriginal culture. In short, my studies showed to me that any knowledge regarding this subject was being cannibalised by the historical and political aspects of the issue.
And then I found a stunning piece called Our Land: Our Living History. It is by, presumably, Kaye Price. And it has been the most illuminating piece of literature I have found to date regarding Tasmanian Aboriginal Culture. But unfortunately I can't call it a book. Because it's not.
It's a white folder with some A4 sheets of rough copy material bound inside, with an incomplete index. Its 239 pages long, and I know this because someone has hand-written the page numbers in the bottom right corner. You can't buy this text. I looked it up on Google and it is only referred to in passing. Hell, ebay didn't even offer to sell it to me, and ebay offers to sell me anything I type up on Google.
So there it is. The best resource of Tasmanian Aboriginal Culture I've ever found, with loads of information. And it's not even made it to a book format. It's not even out there in the general public.
And this highlights for me a major problem with Indigenous Affairs in Australia. For there to be any reconciliation between two cultures there must first be an understanding. We expect our Indigenous population to understand our laws our religion, our ethics and morals. And yet, there is not a lot of understanding in the opposite way. And in fact, I would argue that there can not be unless there is information. Australia's epic failure regarding indigenous affairs stems from a lack of education regarding Aboriginal culture. Without that education, the majority of this country spouts views and opinions about such things that they are completely ignorant about.
Australia needs to understand the ability that education plays in shaping the opinions and behaviours of the next generation. I know intimately the effects of education, both as a teacher, and as a student that was educated through the politically-correct era of the early 90's.
The Australian government needs to work very closely with our indigenous population to make sure that there is real and credible resources out there for our schools. Such resources will aid in providing a new-generation who has an educated understanding of our nation's indigenous cultures, as opposed to our current behaviour of, at best, well-meaningly sympathetic, but grasping in the dark, ever-so-slightly-patronising ignorance.
And of course, what a stunningly nasty chapter in race relations the history of English "settlement" in Loetrowitter makes.
I won't belabour the details. Because you can find it anywhere. If you bother to look it up.
What I found particularly odd though, was that such crucial pieces of Australia's history, like the war against the Aboriginals of Tasmania, like the black line, like the Aboriginal resistance, like the Flinders Island concentration camp were all completely non-existent in my own Australian history lessons in favour of much more important topics like 'When did Australia's train lines finally become a regulation width?'
So immediately, I can see a massive hole in my own education regarding Indigenous culture and affairs. In fact, I think this is something nearly all Australians can claim. I recall many moments of token "lets learn an aboriginal myth" lessons involving Tidalik the Big Green Frog because somewhere down the line, someone had made it a song which meant for great kodak moments involving children's school plays. I also recall being taught, as recently as 1988 for a musical performance about the history of Australia, Rolf Harris' Carra Barra Wirra Canna which uses the word 'piccaninnies' not once, but several times. Apparently finding an actual aboriginal song to represent the aboriginal period in Australia's history, was too arduous a task for our music teacher.
So with such educational faux pas in mind, I set out to rectify this situation with my own students. -My own students who have bee fed the soul-milk of Greek myths, Egyptian mysteries, Norse sagas, Indian myths, Celtic Wondertales, Judaeo-Christian myths and other indigenous peoples tales fables and cultures. These are students who know what the Rig Veda is and are familiar with the Eddas and the Torah, and the Koran. And yet, what can I provide them in regards to their local Aboriginal Culture?
Well, I set out to see what I could find, and promptly borrowed from the library, text after text of books surrounding this topic. And I have to say, dear reader, I was frightened by what I found. Not by the dearth of information regarding Tasmanian Aboriginal Culture, but rather, by the fact that what was called Tasmanian Aboriginal Culture, should have been called Tasmanian Aboriginal History, and in particular, Tasmanian Aboriginal Genocide post-European Invasion.
Now, please, don't misunderstand me here. What happened to the Tasmanian Aboriginal population is beyond horrific. And I am certainly not of the 'build a bridge, and get over it' school of apologists that abound in white-anglo society. But I find it extremely concerning for a culture any culture to be so intrinsically linked with the story of it's demise, to the detriment of the actual culture it proclaims to be discussing and dissemenating!
When I pick up a book labelled The Aboriginal Tasmanians for instance, I expect to see something, ANYTHING on pre-European Tasmanian Aboriginal culture. In short, my studies showed to me that any knowledge regarding this subject was being cannibalised by the historical and political aspects of the issue.
And then I found a stunning piece called Our Land: Our Living History. It is by, presumably, Kaye Price. And it has been the most illuminating piece of literature I have found to date regarding Tasmanian Aboriginal Culture. But unfortunately I can't call it a book. Because it's not.
It's a white folder with some A4 sheets of rough copy material bound inside, with an incomplete index. Its 239 pages long, and I know this because someone has hand-written the page numbers in the bottom right corner. You can't buy this text. I looked it up on Google and it is only referred to in passing. Hell, ebay didn't even offer to sell it to me, and ebay offers to sell me anything I type up on Google.
So there it is. The best resource of Tasmanian Aboriginal Culture I've ever found, with loads of information. And it's not even made it to a book format. It's not even out there in the general public.
And this highlights for me a major problem with Indigenous Affairs in Australia. For there to be any reconciliation between two cultures there must first be an understanding. We expect our Indigenous population to understand our laws our religion, our ethics and morals. And yet, there is not a lot of understanding in the opposite way. And in fact, I would argue that there can not be unless there is information. Australia's epic failure regarding indigenous affairs stems from a lack of education regarding Aboriginal culture. Without that education, the majority of this country spouts views and opinions about such things that they are completely ignorant about.
Australia needs to understand the ability that education plays in shaping the opinions and behaviours of the next generation. I know intimately the effects of education, both as a teacher, and as a student that was educated through the politically-correct era of the early 90's.
The Australian government needs to work very closely with our indigenous population to make sure that there is real and credible resources out there for our schools. Such resources will aid in providing a new-generation who has an educated understanding of our nation's indigenous cultures, as opposed to our current behaviour of, at best, well-meaningly sympathetic, but grasping in the dark, ever-so-slightly-patronising ignorance.
