So when ever I tell people I am Aboriginal they look a little confused. They see me...
Paul Foley http://www.lightmoods.com.au/
And I can see the confusion on their face. The way I look contradicts their views on what an Aboriginal person looks like and what Aboriginal Culture is.
Aboriginal Culture
is so varied and yet holds us all together. From my perspective, as an urban
Aboriginal woman, Culture is; Cultural practises, family, community responsibility
and a connection to country. It's our way of doing business, through respect,
community engagement and Cultural protocol. It's respecting the wisdom and
knowledge of our elders. It's my history, pre and post invasion. Culture is a
long list of variables, which our mob share but no one person embodies all of
them.
There are
many Aboriginal Cultures; with similarities and difference. Contrary to popular
belief, there is no one size fits all. Our diversity is our strength, yet is
often over looked because people assume that because the singular word "Aboriginal"
is used, we must be all the same. I however liken the word Aboriginal, to saying
European. Make more sense now?
There is
also traditional Culture, which is our Cultural practise's, beliefs, lore. But
no culture is static. Every Cultural practise, story and dance had a beginning.
Often Aboriginal Culture is seen as static; frozen in time, pre-invasion. One
static interpretation is the romantic notion of Aboriginal Culture. People hold
the notion of the "noble savage". When they see how we are negatively promoted
in the media and it doesn't fit with the “noble savage” imagery, they draw the conclusion
that our Culture is lost. So far from the truth.
People also often confuse “Culture” and “culture”. "Culture"
with a capital "C" refers to the Cultural practises which make us who
we are. "culture" can refer to specific behaviours like
"drinking culture", which are not part of Cultural practise and does not
make us who we are. Yet the terms are often used interchangeably, to the
detriment of our mob. We are not the sum of our issues.
It has taken me a long time to articulate what Aboriginal Culture means
to me, so it is no surprise that outsiders have a hard time too. It is no more
difficult to articulate, than it would be to articulate Australian Culture,
however Australian Culture is rarely under the spotlight in quite the same way
as Aboriginal Culture.
I shall finish off with saying, that if you do not yet fully grasp
Aboriginal Culture, don’t be surprised. It will take me a lifetime to
understand what it means to be an Aboriginal woman. How is anyone else mean to
get it in just a few words such as this?
