Aboriginal?

rederob said:

Sanqar
Please do another English 101 and help me find out what an aboriginee is.
Could it be a person who was formerly an aboriginal?

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Rederob, I'm glad you were on the ball. Was interested to see if anyone would pick it up.

I don't know where you'd get the impression "aboriginee" it would be in the former.
Lessee is used in present tense and notes a person currently in a lease or of same when refering to the term the lease was current.


cheers,

Stan 101 said:

I don't know where you'd get the impression "aboriginee" it would be in the former.
Lessee is used in present tense and notes a person currently in a lease or of same when refering to the term the lease was current.
cheers,

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Thanks Stan 101 for the lesson, although I had no "impression" about the former - was just asking a question.
By the way, nouns - such as lessee - are not encumbered by tense. Accordingly, with glee the former refugee who was the lessee, evicted the aboriginee who is an abscondee, you see.

touche!

cheers,

From ABC said:

Federal Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal Brough says some Aboriginal offenders may be avoiding long jail terms because of fears they may die in custody.
Mr Brough is concerned some convicted criminals are escaping long jail sentences and re-offending when they are released from prison.
The 1991 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Deaths in Custody recommended offenders only be jailed as a last resort.
But Mr Brough says this means victims of crime are being unintentionally robbed of justice.
He says the pendulum has swung too far away from proper punishment due to fears that Aboriginal offenders may die in custody.

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Even more tangible to be 1/16 or more, maybe it will change in the future.

Hey Rederob, I've experienced racism by Abbo's, along with anyone else who's lived in a mining town, but I've also made some good Abbo mates too, even got invited to an An abborigional party once......not much different to one you might have, except we had Goanna, snake and roo tail instead of chicken, steak and snags.
The funny thing was that when we turned up we were treated like Abbos turning up to a White party....till my mate said we were cool....then it was all on....partied till we dropped, and the food was awesome, and the people there wonderful,and curious as most had not interacted with whites in a sociable way....we left there with a better understanding of thier culture and ways....and a hangover to remember.

In case you dont know next week is a pretty special week for all Aboriginal and Islanders.
IT is NAIDOC Week.
If you do not know what it means,
National Aboriginal And Islander Day Of Celebration.
I have decided to take on board over the next two months all questions raised on this forum and put them forward to my next council meeting.
Why?
So I can answer and perhaps educate some, make some understand and others well just have to disagree with each other.
Please feel free to ask whatever question you may and I will attampt to answer over the next few months.
I believe one my jobs in life is to make people aware of aboriginal needs and wants and also to educate aboriginal people in what others think.
A better understanding of each other will hopefully bring us all together.

Regards

Sarah

sarahmeehan3 said:

In case you dont know next week is a pretty special week for all Aboriginal and Islanders.
IT is NAIDOC Week.
If you do not know what it means,
National Aboriginal And Islander Day Of Celebration.
I have decided to take on board over the next two months all questions raised on this forum and put them forward to my next council meeting.
Why?
So I can answer and perhaps educate some, make some understand and others well just have to disagree with each other.
Please feel free to ask whatever question you may and I will attampt to answer over the next few months.
I believe one my jobs in life is to make people aware of aboriginal needs and wants and also to educate aboriginal people in what others think.
A better understanding of each other will hopefully bring us all together.

Regards

Sarah

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Great idea Sarah.

Hope you can do a lot of good with this.

Cheers

Hello Sarah,

Thank you. That's a great idea.

My question is: why do so many people who have just a small percentage of aboriginal blood choose to identify as aboriginal?

e.g. I was born in New Zealand of white NZ mother and white Australian father. Their respective parents and grandparents were from various parts of Britain and Europe. If I were to go back three generations I could choose to identify as Scottish, English, German, Swedish.

I don't do so, and don't know any other white Australians/New Zealanders who do. So why do people whose aboriginal blood has to be found several generations ago choose to identify as aboriginal?

Please accept that I'm not making any judgments or criticisms. I simply don't understand why this occurs.

Julia

um julia, maybe its because of abstudy, free legal etc.

mista200 said:

um julia, maybe its because of abstudy, free legal etc.

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Mista

Lets let Sarah answer the question OK.

Thankyou Julia and Wayne l.
I note your concerns Julia and instead of me answering right now, I will put forward questions at our next meeting and give you the response from various people at our meeting.

Regards

Sarah

sarahmeehan3 said:

Thankyou Julia and Wayne l.
I note your concerns Julia and instead of me answering right now, I will put forward questions at our next meeting and give you the response from various people at our meeting.

Regards

Sarah

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Thanks, Sarah. Look forward to hearing more when convenient.

I don't believe the answer can be as simplistic as eligibility for austudy etc which probably would only cover a small percentage of people.

Julia

Julia said:

Thanks, Sarah. Look forward to hearing more when convenient.

I don't believe the answer can be as simplistic as eligibility for austudy etc which probably would only cover a small percentage of people.

Julia

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Julia
I can assure you that there are indigenous Australians that could "identify" as ATSI but choose not to.
My knowledge is based on 30 years experience in the training and employment industry, including a period with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission.
It's a bit unfortunate that a few at this forum are either not bright enough to appreciate their racism, or deliberatley wish to promote rumours and half truths for whatever small minded ends they want to perpetuate.

pacer, just noticed your earlier post.
If you treat people like people, and they just see you as people, there's not much difference between people.
Stick a "tag" on and we start to believe there needs to be a difference....... because?

sarah
I wish you the best.
I reckon the likes of mista and a few others would need to be lobotomised before they had the capacity to change their minds.

all i want is equality between races.... by the way race is a myth anyway!

....I've been working out bush, all over Australia for the last 20 years and have a way better understanding of how it works with different races of aborigionals than most, and difffrent races of the other side too......wogs, chinks , japs, Maori, coconuts, frogs, curry munchers, pakis, ect..and even ******s......which they are even proud to call themselves these days, along with wogs (the rest should be proud of what they are too)...................so tags are tags, and it is part of what you are...be proud of it! and as far as difference is concerned....what a load of bull.....there is a difference, it stares you in the face every day, but yes I do take people for who they are, till they screw with me, then it's game over and you're a flamin' (race) sonofa biach.

You are what your are...make the best of it, and stop ya bloody winging.

From what I have seen out bush, the best thing that could be done for the Aborigional population is to stop giving them 'sit down money' ie the dole.

Couldnt agree more, im just saying that i wished aboriginies got the same chances as us, not more!!. And as far as racism goes, aboriginies get FAR LESS racism than muslilm/arabic australians!!! get off ya arses- get a job and forget about the past ....its time to move on aboriginies!

I'm another one who wonders why people with only a small percentage of aboriginal blood insist on calling themselves aboriginal. Activist Nigel Mansel was a case in point. Blond hair, blue eyes, 90% white by the look of him, yet he insisted he was aboriginal.

If I had a dog that looked like a bull terrier, and both its parents were bull terriers, but its great grandfather was a labrador cross, I can't see any good reason for calling the dog a labrador. Particulary if it overwhelmingly shows the features of a bull terrier.

I look forward to hearing Sara's responses from the people at her meeting. But in the meantime Sara, I'd like to hear your personal response.
Although I've never seen you, I presume you have at least 50% European blood and that in looks you resemble a European as much as you resemble an aboriginal. If this is in fact the case, why is it that you call yourself aboriginal?
Please ignore this question if your lineage is more than 50% aboriginal and you exhibit aboriginal features.
Please don't see my questions as nosey or critical, or an attempt to 'put you on the line', so to speak. I really am interested in knowing why some people call themselves aboriginal when in fact they show a predominance of European features.

Bunyip

mista200 said:

Couldnt agree more, im just saying that i wished aboriginies got the same chances as us, not more!!. And as far as racism goes, aboriginies get FAR LESS racism than muslilm/arabic australians!!! get off ya arses- get a job and forget about the past ....its time to move on aboriginies!

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Mista

It might help clarify the discussion if you could list the areas where aboriginal people receive more money/opportunities than white people.

Then perhaps Rederob with his knowledge and experience could explain why these differences apply.

I think some genuine attempt at seeing where some of the resentment towards indigenous people arises might be more useful than the slinging of insults on both "sides".

Julia

IN every government form ive filled in there has been a box for aboriginal and torres straight islander people..... get the picture..... hell even my VCE form had a box to tick if you were an aboriginal!!!

But yes julia i would love a list of the differences between aboriginies and normal people! and have emailed a few sources to see if they can help me find this...

But the part that really irks me is that there are places reserved for aboriginies in university courses... and they are the only race to recieve such racist help! Like i said b4 if your an aboriginal you can apply for practically any course uni and get in!!! if only life was so easy for the rest of us!!!

mista200 said:

Couldnt agree more, im just saying that i wished aboriginies got the same chances as us, not more!!. And as far as racism goes, aboriginies get FAR LESS racism than muslilm/arabic australians!!! get off ya arses- get a job and forget about the past ....its time to move on aboriginies!

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mista
I agree that you are unlikely to be a racist - you simply are not bright enough to understand the concept.
I am very keen to learn from you where indigenous Australians get "more chances" than we non-indigenous. A please explain, here.
You state aboriginies get FAR LESS racism than muslilm/arabic australians(sic). Here's a challenge to you: Write onto a rental application that you are "aboriginal", or onto a job search application/record, and see how you fare. Bet you change your mind quick smart!
Alternatively, if you reckon it's so easy, why not head out to a remote community and place a few people in work.
If you are successful, let me know as I can almost guarantee you ongoing work if you are.

bunyip
I know you want a reply from Sara and my apologies for intervening.
If you were a Kurd, tell me what your nationality was.
If you called yourself a Slav, tell me what your nationality was.
If you were a Romany (Gypsy), tell me what your nationality was.
Because I was born in Australia I call myself Australian. I equally identify with Irish, and could use my Eastern European heritage to confuse people further.
If I had "Aboriginal" heritage/lineage I would not be afraid to tell people - indeed, I would be quite proud.
Mansel's case is interesting.
White people are keen to forget that we (whites) hunted down and mostly killed off (or banished) the Tasmanian Aborigines.
Those in Tasmania that are still alive and able to identify their heritage should not be ashamed.
But back quickly to the question about identifying ones self as "ATSI" (ie Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander).
Be aware that all levels of Australian governement have - for as long as I can remember - consistently asked (on official forms for almost any purpose) ATSIs to "identify" themselves. There are many good, and some bad, reasons for this. The good reasons are generally to do with ensuring systemic disadvantage is mitigated.
The bad reasons are to do with "encouraging" ATSIs to self identify because the agency asking gets specific dollar bonuses simply because it has ATSI clients. Two federal departments that write such provisions into Contracts with service providers are Employment and Workplace Relations, and Education, Science and Training.
So it's a bit harsh "questioning" people who "identify" when all the time they are being asked (or cajoled) to do so because we or they might personally benefit.
I can say..... it's the system, stupid!