Stereotyping Aboriginal People

After doing research on stereotyping for my reflection paper on Babakiueria I came across this old stereotype which is in all Australian Peoples wallets, even the Indigenous.
 

If you can please take out and view one of each coin: Five cents, ten cents, twenty cents, one dollar and two dollars. What is the common theme? I will give you a hint.... Look at the images designed for each coin (even include old coins).

One cents (fethertail glider)

Two cents (frill-neck lizard)

Five cents (echidna)

Ten cents (lyrebird)
Twenty cents (platypus)

One dollar (mob of kangaroos) 

Two dollars (an Indigenous Man)

(this image is from http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/people/aboriginal-australia-stereotype.html)

 

The general consensus is that it is a representation of Australia's fauna, however, there is one coin that is left out, the Indigenous Man and I wanted to find out why.

 

 

"Most coins were designed and introduced in February 1966 [14], more than a year before Aboriginal people were counted as citizens in their own country. It was a time when they were still thought to 'die out' eventually and politics of the Stolen Generations would be carried on for at least another ten years.

The series of coins suggests that Aboriginal people were seen as part of the landscape. Ironically the 'native tree' shown next to the head of the Aboriginal man used to be called 'blackboy', a reference to Indigenous people not only because the grass tree, as it is now known, has a black stem after a bushfire, but also because it develops a spear-like shoot which holds the flower and can be up to two metres in height.

"You see, this is where we fit into the white scheme of things, as fauna, part of the animal kingdom, part of the landscape." —'Craig', an Aboriginal character in John Damalis' book Riding the Black Cockatoo

One might argue that the one dollar and two dollars coins are not really part of the others because they were designed and added in 1983 and 1987. The fact remains, however, that Aboriginal people might be offended and think otherwise." (1)

In all honesty, I want the currency to be changed and I am sure the Aboriginal people would feel the same way. Who would want to be represented as part of the landscape and not 'human'? I would change the two dollars to fit in with the rest of the 'landscape' and change the notes to Historical Aboriginal People who had a major impact on Australia as a country. It is the least we can do for the Aboriginal People because of how white Australians have treated them and I believe they are our 'real' heritage and history not the Queen etc. I understand why they are on our currency however, the Aboriginal People were here before them and are the first owners of the land and we should respect that by changing the currency to best fit with this.

(1) Geoffrey Artherdan & J. Pringle, “Creative Spirits: Stereotypes & prejudice of 'Aboriginal Australia'”,  http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/people/aboriginal-australia-stereotype.html (accessed July 29, 2011)                

Aboriginal History: Life Stories and Aboriginal Views

I thought it would be appropriate to research the history of the Aboriginal People as I don't know a lot about it and feel when I am writing about them I don't have enough knowledge to portray the emotion and relevance I want to. I'd like to share the facts I found the most important and interesting for me personally. All information and facts are from the DVD Aboriginal History: Life Stories and Aboriginal Views. (1)

• Australia has been inhabited by Aboriginal People for 40,000 – 50,000 years or more.
  
  
• Australian history and events often ignore the Aboriginals and the White cultures celebrations tend to devalue Aboriginal cultures and beliefs.
  
  
• The re-enactment of the first fleet landing used Aboriginal people from Western New South Wales who were forced to go to Sydney to play the part of Aboriginal People in 1788. The families and friends of the Aboriginal people who were forced to go to Sydney never thought they would return.
  
  
• Federation – 1967. Aboriginals were not considered as Australian Citizens and had no rights to own houses or farms, to hold a passport, to vote or to take anyone to court. For Aboriginals to have the rights of Australian Citizens they needed a certificate of exemption. (see image below from http://artwranglers.com.au/wp-content/uploads /2008/11/exemptioncert1.jpg)
  
  When I fist heard about this Exemption Certificate I thought the Aboriginal people were given some kind of freedom and I thought this was a great idea until I read the Exception Certificate which stated "This is your chance to be free of the Aboriginal Protection Act....... and live like a White man." Why would the Aboriginal People want to live like a White man? My opinion quickly changed!
  
  Reading on... they needed permission to leave their own homes and go to work? But they are working for the White people and are usually used for cheap labour! My opinions went from bad to worse about this Exemption Certificate. But wait there are benefits! Where you need a Exception Certificate to just walk through town so they don't get arrested but only at particular times, and if you choose to go into a shop or a hotel the proprietors may not even serve you! What is the point? This is not freedom! And with this 'freedom' to walk through town at designated times you are prohibited to speak your own language, celebrate your culture in any way shape or form or even talk to your friends let alone your own family. There is definitely no 'freedom' at all in this Exemption Certificate.
  
  "If all conditions are met with and satisfactory upheld, you may also be eligible to live in town unsupervised.  Note: Strictly segregated housing areas. This is your chance to be free of the Aboriginal Protection Act and live like a White man. Dated the 10th day of March 1951."
  
  I am outraged at this and can't even begin to feel how the Aboriginal People were not only feeling at the time but still feel today. No wonder there is so much hatred from them towards the White people. If they did this to me I would feel the same, I feel very angry about this and I am not even Aboriginal in any way!
  
  

 

• 1930 – activists protesting for basic civil rights.
  
• 1788 white colonisation based on concept under English law that land was not permanently settled was terranalysis (land belonging to no one) and the Aboriginal people were told “You don’t live here any more" and were chased away with guns and if they didn't abide by this they were shot.
  
• The Whites used killing, overpowering, racism and put the Aboriginal People on missions and containing them. The Whites were forcing the Aboriginal people to conform to their way of living and not allowing people to practice their culture.
  
• Many Aboriginals especially children were used as cheap labour as the children did not have the right to attend schools.
  
• A woman spoke of how "a lot of us didn’t understand why we had to do these things especially because we haven’t done anything to the whites"
  - as their culture believes that you only get punished for doing the wrong things and they couldn't see what they were doing wrong. But they were not the ones doing wrong, it was the White Australians.
  
• 1915 every state in Australia had laws enabling them to forcibly remove Aboriginal children from their families and be placed into mainstream culture. The justification for removing their children varied; in some cases records simply read: “for being Aboriginal.”
  
• 1916 – 1969 more than 5000 Aboriginal children were taken and there was no reliable figures prior to this.
  
• Aboriginal activism intensified during the 60’s and 70’s with Aboriginals gaining the right of citizenship in 1967.
  
• 1993 - Reconciliation Year of the Indigenous People where equal pay, laws against discrimination had been achieved. “We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of living. We brought the disease and the alcohol, we committed the murderers. We took the children from their mothers. We practiced discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice and our failure to imagine that these things could be done to us.” This was a turning point in Aboriginal history “Mabo decision.”
  -This was the way the White Australians apologised for all the wrong they had done. Whilst these changes have occurred there are many changes to still be made. The challenge for Aboriginals is to now regain their Culture.

(1) Dobis, John. Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC). Aboriginal History: Life Stories and Aboriginal Views, Produced by Sandra Fulloon. 24 min. 1995. DVD 

Born In This Skin - Documentary of Vernon Ah Kee

I found it interesting that Vernon Ah Kee didn't get taught how to draw, he learnt from Spider Man comics.  This shows that the Aboriginal people can take things from their 'non traditional' culture, taking inspiration from other cultures and using it within their own culture. In turn 'White Australians' can learn from the Aboriginal people and their way of living and should consider why the Aboriginal People did particular things for a reason. Whilst watching Aboriginal History: Life stories and Aboriginal views, it suggested that "the Aboriginal People are the world’s best environmentalist as they didn’t destroy land unless they had too but they always regenerated and moved on. They also didn’t kill animals unless it was for food." (1) The Aboriginal People did this for a reason, to be honest I am not one hundred percent sure why but I am sure it has something to do with revitalising the land and respecting the land. 'White Australians' need to respect the land like the Aboriginal People.

Vernon Ah Kee begun drawing kevel images of his great grandpa from Psalm Island from 1938 which were a scientific record of the “dying species of sub humans.” (2) When Vernon Ah Kee spoke these words I was frozen in disbelief! I could not even comprehend referring about the Aboriginal people like this. I know the times have changed and there is much more respect for them as a culture but referring to them as a dying species - the only reason they were dying was because 'White Australians' were killing them off and the whites brought the diseases with them to Australia. As for 'sub humans' suggesting they are not even human so what are they then? Animals? Landscape? Aliens?

The above images were from Vernon Ah Kee's personal website. http://www.milanigallery.com.au/exhibit/what-aborigine

Particularly interesting in these photos were the intense gaze which profoundly affected Vernon Ah Kee. He wanted to represent those images and retain the gaze reflecting the endurance, persistence, intelligence, emotion, depth, deep thinking, and hunger which is not normally associated with the ‘black people’. He was trying to establish an idea of Aboriginal people that is contemporary and modern and stripped of the ‘romantic’ ideas around spirituality, virtues and the 'decorative stone age.' Vernon Ah Kee wanted to demonstrate that Aboriginal art is more than what we think it is and that Aboriginal People as a subject is more that what we think it is. “It’s a beautiful thing, so all these drawings need to be beautiful.” (3) And beautiful they are. Vernon Ah Kees attention to this detail of the 'gaze' he referred to is so precise and reflects exactly what he wanted to. Just by looking at these images you can see the emotion, persistence, depth, deep thinking, hunger etc. Vernon Ah Kee said “our stories are just as important as other stories” (4) and this is very true, why do 'White Australians' always cringe at the sound of Aboriginal stories and turn their nose up at them? Is it because they feel guilty for treating them so badly? And if they show any sympathy for the Aboriginal People they will be a lesser person, because in actual fact they will be a bigger, stronger person for challenging the stereotypical ideology  'white Australians' have towards the Aboriginal People. We should be embracing the history and heritage of our land and the Aboriginal People and their stories are exactly this.

Vernon Ah Kee spoke about the art industry and how there is a separation from Aboriginal People and 'White Australians' not only in the 'art' industry and how there is not this 'barrier' anywhere else in the world. 

“Is it an accident that the dealers, art advisers and people who have tricked the industry into thinking the way it does about Aboriginal People and Art, is it an accident that none of them are Aboriginal? Or is it a clever trick that the Aboriginal Art in this country have been separated from the people? Because this attitude towards Aboriginal people, who are lousy is the first impression people have on me, regardless of my artistic achievements but internationally that is not the perception I get.” (5)

Even though many Aboriginal people are successful, 'White Australians' will continuously represent them as the stereotypes they perceive them as. Why cant the 'white australians'  look past this and see the Aboriginal People for who they are and not what they are reflected as?

(1) Dobis, John. Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC). Aboriginal History: Life Stories and Aboriginal Views, Produced by Sandra Fulloon. 24 min. 1995. DVD 

(2)Akayan, Danielle. Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC). Message Stick: Born In This Skin, Produced by Douglas Watkin. 27 min. 19/04/2009. DVD

(3)Akayan, Danielle. Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC). Message Stick: Born In This Skin, Produced by Douglas Watkin. 27 min. 19/04/2009. DVD

(4)Akayan, Danielle. Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC). Message Stick: Born In This Skin, Produced by Douglas Watkin. 27 min. 19/04/2009. DVD

(5)Akayan, Danielle. Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC). Message Stick: Born In This Skin, Produced by Douglas Watkin. 27 min. 19/04/2009. DVD

Documentary of Vernon Ah Kee – Aboriginal Artist "Black Fella"

After watching this documentary of Vernon Ah Kee he brought up some very interesting things that I wanted to discuss more.

Vernon Ah Kee talks about his art, “the art I make is about my life and experiences in this country as a black fella.” I found it interesting that he refers to himself as a 'black fella' as I always thought this was a disrespectful way to address an Aboriginal Person and if a 'White Australian' ever referred to and Aboriginal Person as this they would get rather offended so why is it ok for an Aboriginal person to reffer to another as a 'back fella' but a White Australian cant? 

I believe that White Australians tip toe around Aboriginal People as they feel they are at risk of offending someone or being disrespectful. I must admit writing this blog and it being avaliable to anyone to read I am extremely cautious how I refer to the Indigenous People and feel that even if I am being as careful as I can be (not having much background in Indigenous studies makes it hard as I am not 100% sure how or what is the correct way to refer to the Aboriginal people) I still may offend someone who is reading. I believe this is why so may 'White Australians' shy away from experiencing relationships with Aboriginal people, I know I do.

This leads me to something else I am not totally comfortable with, which is discussing the Aboriginal Art, Design and Culture, talking about how they are treated etc because I don't have a specialisation or much knowledge at all about Aboriginal Culture, Design, Art or History, I feel I have no right to discuss any of this. I feel that everything I am discussing is incorrect and because I can not talk from experience or a wealth of knowledge so I should not speak at all.

After discussing the way we should address the Aboriginal People with a small group in class an interesting point came up about how Indigenous Australians are from specific nations and how in some instances it's appropriate to refer to ourselves in relation to this. We then talked about how we would refer to ourselves precisely and how majority of 'White Australians' are dissented from many other nationalises. How do I refer to myself precisely then being a 'White Australian'?

Akayan, Danielle. Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC). Message Stick: Born In This Skin, Produced by Douglas Watkin. 27 min. 19/04/2009. DVD