r/aboriginal

Wangerriburrah and Birri Gubba filmmaker and activist Sam Woripa Watson is among 11 Australians reportedly detained after Israeli forces intercepted a humanitarian flotilla in international waters.

According to Black Witness, Israeli forces intercepted the 38-boat Global Sumud Flotilla west of Cyprus on Monday morning Turkey time, about 400 kilometres from Gaza.

The flotilla was carrying international activists and aid intended for Gaza, with 10 boats still reportedly en route.

There has been no confirmation regarding the safety of those detained or where they have been taken.

Mr Watson comes from a Brisbane Blacks legacy in Magandjin, where activists have long stood in solidarity with Palestine and other Indigenous peoples.

so i’m a white man learning Wiradjuri, was to surprise my now ex girlfriend who is a proud Wiradjuri woman. i’ve since moved to Sydney and Don’t have someone to speak to in Wiradjuri. Granted it’s not the best.

i was wondering if ppl could give me tips on how to practice without conversing with someone. i’m still figuring out how to create sentences without help from my ex and her family and outside of the Wiradjuri app.

also is it disrespectful to continue learning if i’m not actively engaging with indigenous?

also if your Wiradjuri/Koori your advice would be most helpful

Hey everyone I have some questions I wanna ask to Indigenous peoples that aren’t my family.

I am fostered/ adopted by an aboriginal family, I’ve been with them for almost 10 years now, so I’ve been involved with the community for ages. I’m seen as family and they don’t think of me any differently for having a different race/ skin colour. I dont know if it makes a difference with my question, but I am Irish, pale as they come.

I love art, I’ve been panting and doing all kinds of crafts for my whole entire life. I do a craft class within the community, nothing intense, just simple relaxing things we do while we yap.

My foster mum and her friends in the community have been asking me to paint a mural with their mobs art signs/ symbols for awhile now. I always point out that, as a whitey I don’t think it’s ok for me to do that, and maybe they should outsource an indigenous artist. But they don’t exactly have a budget, everything is voluntary based.

Thankfully they stoped asking me. (They could probably tell I was awkward about it) but it’s come up again, this time for a different project but still the same concept.

I would totally ask the people in my community on what’s their thoughts on me using their symbols for an artwork, but as I’ve said they don’t see me as different so their opinion is clouded with the fact they know me and see me as family.

So I wasn’t to ask those who don’t know me. Can I use indigenous symbols if I’m white?

Hello I was wondering if anyone has any book recs to help me decolonise? I recently read Dark Emu which was amazing and just ordered Sand Talk. Thanks.

Hey guys I'm really interested in aboriginal oral traditions but I've only read the charles mountford and AW reed stuff which I'm learning is problematic.

Any advice on some starting points from aboriginal authors? I'm also a little confused on the intricacies of why those publications are so problematic? Is it just the revealing of forbidden knowledge or the fact it doesn't come from the correct source?

Hi non indigenous person from the UK here, are there any recommended books on the history of Aboriginal art? I'm sure there are cultural sensitivities to this that I'm less than educated on so I'd be really happy for any advice!

My Gran is apparently isn't Indigenous.. of Australia. She's Sri Lankan Indigenous.

That's fine. That's some ties I didn't have a clue about.

But my GRANDPA'S SIDE?!!! Black black with proof of Indigenous identity. Wtf. And this bitch.. [my mother] didn't tell me.

We throwin hands y'all. [Jokes but STILLLLLLL]

I be here thinking we didn't have much proof, if any, and I'm being told just now at twenty fucking two... that there is proof. Imma crash out.

Hi everyone, my local aboriginal centre is holding a sorry day ceremony on the 26th. It’s open to everyone and I’d like to attend. I’m just unsure of what to wear, I know it’s probably a silly question but should I wear black? Or would smart casual be okay. I also thought about bringing some flowers.
And my famous caramel slice but I’m unsure if that would be appropriate. I’d be very grateful for any insight or opinions. Thank you so much x

Hey Mob

I just wanted to share about my place. It’s in the central region and I am one of a handful that still have the story for it. I’m not sure if the story has even been told in English but I’m having a bad day and wanted to share something that’s important for me whilst it’s still possible.

This place has a name which means place for/of a certain skin group learning from little bush people. Every plant and animal here can heal you if you’re from that group or with someone from that group who can see you. If you’re away from it you can always visualise your return. It needs lots of care now with grass and dead animals falling into the water.

It’s up on a ridgeline which is lots of weathered rocks sticking out into the landscape. These rocks were little bush people who separated out and populated Australia widely. This is their original home. A big rain serpent still lives there and he used to get harassed a lot by the bush people but they’re more scattered and respectful now because the serpent is unhappy with all the weeds and dead animals ruining the water. There is a Tjukuṟpa here for the serpent and 3 for the bush people that used to be taken out and decorated for ceremony but now they are kept in a rock cave.

It gets filled up from the groundwater and you can swim there, some brave men have but afew have drowned when the serpent pulled them under. A special plant grows here that you can chew the leaves of, which helps you learn how to do some healing, like closing the top of someone’s head if it’s too open for other energies.

I am told that back in the day many men would come here after initiation and some would chew the plant under instruction of the spirit/bush people and elders, but that doesn’t happen now. The place will make you feel the energy of a roaring yellow clear sun with dancing dark energies coming out, weaving in balance with vivid oranges and yellows.

There is a song for this place about following special trees down south. I don’t know if anyone down south still knows the next part of the song. No one is left to share about this place properly and I’m not sure they want to because the right young fellas all smoke ganja and don’t care about it.

Hope youse have a nice Sunday.
Mura Miura. (All good, this place).

This guy's references are outta control, really entertaining vid, but also really useful info!

Hello! For context I am from Colombia originally and of significant African descent and have always identified with political blackness due to my ancestry phenotype and experiences . I’m curious on how blackness functions with aboriginal people since you guys have a very unique relationship to blackness compared to the other black peoples such as melanasians and African/afro descendants. As well as aboriginals being very unique phenotypically compared to other black people listed. I know the world doesn’t revolve around the American continent but for me i used to find it hard to understand aboriginal blackness more than melanasian blackness since at least for me melanasians looked very phenotypically similar to a lot of eastern African ethnicities while aboriginals don’t really resemble the other black peoples such. This is not me discrediting your blackness I’ve grown to understand that you guys have a unique colonial history and for you guys black as a political identity as well as how you guys have been racialised historically, and I’ve found it beautiful on how you guys have found such strong ally ship with other black people.
I just have a few questions out of my own curiousity

-mixed people and their identity: I know in Australia you guys have a saying that no mtter how much milk you put in coffee it’s still coffee but is there like a distinction for you guys of someone being “black” vs being just “black” politically. Like someone who is racialised as a black aboriginal vs someone who is aboriginal but racially white. Also do you guys consider like the difference between race and ethnicity when it comes to mixed people or is it not really a thing, I know you guys don’t do blood quantum but I wonder if there’s a point where it’s more of an ethnicity and cultural connection rather than a racialisation. I say this bc for example in the African diaspora, anything below 1/4 black is really pushing it when it comes to claiming blackness

-what other black peoples do you guys feel most connected to in the diaspora and how do you guys connect with the African community in Australia

-have you guys had the same movement of trying to reclaim the n word the same way Afro Americans and Afro Caribbeans have since I know that term was used to subjugate aboriginals too. Or do you guys see it more as an African descendant thing. And if so is there a limit on whether how mixed people can be before they can reclaim it, is it like a phenotype thing

-do you guys view you blackness as a distinct form of blackness compared to the African diaspora and melanasians or do you view it as one part of the larger identity of being black.

I hope I didn’t say anything wrong I’m very curious about different cultures and I just want to enquire !

I have been listening to the artist, BARKAA recently and i’ve been listening to her song, “Blak Matriarchy” and at the end of the song there is a voice clip saying “You know, I have a culture. I am a cultured person. Don’t try to suppress me. And don’t call me a problem. I have never left my country. I am not the problem.” and i was wondering if any of you knew who that was at the end saying that and where it’s from, or if its just exclusive to Blak Matriarchy

Edit: Thank all of you for your help! The voice line is from Rosalie Kunoth-Monks

The poll only allows 6 sections, which is personally ridiculous... otherwise, this would've been PERFECT!!

Those unsure of where your tribe resides, you can read below of where said region is located based on English language;

Mentioned Above;

• Nauo: Port Lincon and surrounds, spanning from Cape Radstock to near Darke Peak and down to the coast, including Port Lincoln, Coffin Bay, and Elliston.

• Anangu: Central Australia.

• Yolngu: North-East Arnhem Land.

• Koori/Koorie: NSW and Victoria.

• Murri: Queensland and north-west NSW.

Not Mentioned in Poll;

• Nunga: South Australia.

• Palawa: Tasmania.

• Yamaji/Barna: Murchison region of WA.

• Biik: Woiwurrung language term for Melbourne.

. . .

I've also included "Nauo" as an option as it's sitting on my mind atm wandering if there are others from that tribe.. considering how little left there were of them.

You can specify what tribe specifically you are if you so choose to in the comments.

*This is more of a curiosity thing. Nothing about this will be documented online anywhere for privacy of those in Reddit group.*

View Poll

Hi,

I've been a supporter of nuclear energy, off and on, since I was a kid (off and on because I've changed my mind a few times based on what I've been told about the pros and cons).

Currently, I'm for it, but I've been told that uranium extraction in Australia is directly at odds with indigenous interests, but the explanation was lacking details.

Long story short, all the uranium is under sacred sites.

I want to ask if that's entirely/partially true, if there'sa different issue at play, if issues are possible to work around or not, if there's a way to advocate for First Nation people to be in control of and reap the benefits of it, and basically anything else I can learn about indigenous perspectives on the issue.

[For transparency, I'm 1st Gen Italian Australian, a socialist, and was speaking with (predominantly) other white socialists on the issue.

Didn't feel right taking their word on it without reaching out, and I didn't want to bother Elder Robbie, here in Naarm.]

Okay, so. I am VERY white passing. The only thing that would give me away is that my talking is very mild from hanging around my family too much. I'm pale as fuck, though.

I want to know if I can say the N-word in a public area – I say it when I'm at home, cause. Y'know. Everyone around me says it (cousins, sisters, etc) and no one gives a shit. But would I be better advised to avoid saying it in public??

(On this note also; should we even be saying it?? Isn't it a slur against Africans? Idk, I know that everyone around me says it anyway.)

Hey all, I want to get a proper Yolŋu yidaki in the future, but for now, the best I could get was a cheap second-hand that was also bought second-hand, almost certainly a tourist-type one, for practice.

Would it be considered okay to repaint it, seeing as the current markings (likely) hold no significance beyond trying to emulate Aboriginal art?

I'll double check if there's an artist name when I receive it, of course