I am lucky enough to be employed by an organisation that offers Aboriginal Cultural Awareness training as part of our employment. Today was my first 4hr lesson and I thought I would share with you some things I learnt.
Actually, before I do that, perhaps I should talk about what I knew about before today.
Being raised in a home with one parent of Anglo-Indian heritage and the other being German/Polish we definitely weren't encouraged to be racist. But, it was the 70's and 80's so back then it was considered funny to make jokes about other races and cultures and openly poke fun. I mean, who didn't sit glued to shows like 'Kingswood Country', 'Love Thy Neighbour', and 'Fawlty Towers' and then repeat the jokes and one liners the next day at work and school. We were the butt of jokes and equally we made others the butt of jokes. No race or culture was excluded or focused on.
As time went on, the 2000's brought on new social norms and started stamping out those 'jokes'. People call it PC, being Politically Correct. And the advent of Social Media really sparked then fueled the flame of debate: Why have people lost their sense of humor? Why is everyone 'SO PC these days??? Why can't you say anything without it being considered offensive? I was one of those people. Of course I was, times were changing and if I was to be swept up with that change I had to understand why, I wasn't just going to up and change because some haughty-taughty do-gooder on a facebook group told me to, especially barking at me like that! Screw them.
For a long time I didn't at all change my thinking, and the 'PC Brigade' as I called them, simply pushed my way of thinking underground. But this just managed to manifest itself in other ways, I joined facebook groups of like minded people and I used my vote at the polling booth to vote for political parties that would carry out an agenda that I felt was so important - the protection of my freedom of speech and my way of life.
But if I wasn't raised 'racist', where did that side of me come from? It was something that happened later on, after I finished school and went out into the wide world. It came from bad experiences, from talking to others, from social circles, and from the media. Every night I would watch the news (I make a point of never watching the news now, but you have to understand that in the 90's there was only three channels and at 5pm all three played the news! lols) and there were always the shock value stories of murder, theft, arson, drug rings, gang violence, and those were mostly showing us footage of Aboriginal Australians. The newspapers were scattered with articles. As a young person spending a lot of time in Northbridge I saw the violent youth gangs and the trouble they caused, and I experienced the abrasive side myself on public transport and working in the city. I began to fear, and fear begets hate. Hate loses all respect and no respect means you no longer care.
People are not often open to change. So what was my turning point? We all know that the only way to instill change is through education. But if someone is stuck on a view they are quite often not open to education. So you need to educate in a way that they do not realise they are being educated - back to slowly and steadily changing that 'muscle memory'. This is what happened to me when I made one of my frequent road trips to the north of Western Australia and visited the beautiful town of Denham.
My hubby and I absolutely love our state, WA, and we often travel north to get our dose of sun, sea, red dirt, adventure, relaxation, and to reconnect to our beautiful land for some mind rejuvenation. We dont have a 4WD vehicle yet so decided that the best way to see Denham's best assets would be to book a tour. After googling around I came across the Wula Gura Nyinda Eco Cultural Adventures: https://www.wulagura.com.au/
We picked the all day 4WD and Kayaking package and got geared up to go (sunscreen, hat, shirt, bathers, and water canisters in tow).
On the morning of the tour we were to meet the bus at the Denham grocery store and it rolled up and out bounded this bouncy energetic fellow and he walked up to my hubby and said "Are you Jayson?" to which hubby said "Yes" and the reply was a great big hug and "nice to meet you brother". I got the same warm greeting and the rest, as they say, is history.
Not only did we spend the best day ever out and about seeing the most spectacular sights of Denham and Shark Bay, we also got to learn about Aboriginal culture, bush tucker, bush medicine, traditional names for flora and fauna and landmarks, and traditional life before the wadjela arrived on the mainland. We also got to know Capes as a person and really admire his gentle, carefree demeanor and his humble intelligence. And to be perfectly honest with you, I was surprised that he didn't spend his time blaming us for the wrongdoings of his people and shaming and blaming. His only interest was sharing with us his honest to goodness love of this land, something we shared too, but telling it from the angle of his ancestry and his culture. Every little stop we made, before everyone else got out the car he would stand barefoot on the sand and say a little 'prayer' in thanks to the land for providing its beauty to us. I mean come on, if that isn't the most beautiful thing ever I don't know what is.
I wanted to know more!
I came back home and my self education journey began. I followed Capes and his facebook posts. I also looked for other sources. My favourite being Lost Wadjuk for local info: https://www.facebook.com/LostWadjuk/
This humble little page only has 1,700 followers, why that isnt the same number as the population of Western Australia is beyond me, this is such a rich source of truth. I started listening to 100.9fm Noongar Radio, and watching some movies and doccos on NITV.
I visited my favourite town of Exmouth more recently and had the pleasure of checking out the newly opened visitor centre. In there I got to learn not only about the history of Exmouth reaching far back before the settlement of Westerners, but a snapshot of Aboriginal life before settlement. Again, this aroused my intrigue to new heights, I had always believed that there had never been an aboriginal presence here, this was new! After spending hours reading all the beautifully presented story boards, I found myself in the souvenir shop where I purchased two wonderful books from local authors about local stories (my favourite kind): 1) The Last of the Nomads by W J Peasley 2) The wreck of the Barque Stephano off the North West Cape of Australia in 1875 by Gustave Rathe.
Both books I smashed through in record time for me and was totally absorbed in the whole time. If you are my friend and want to read them hit me up for a loaner. If you don't know me I highly recommend you seek them out for a brilliant read.
Both have totally rewritten the aboriginal Australia history for me, undone the lessons I learnt in school which taught me that they were nomadic ruthless savages, and corrected my thinking to realise that these were gentle and kind people with a complex social system and functional structure who were living in harmony with the land and each other.
All of this was topped off with the wonderful things I learned today by Kim Bridge www.kimbridge.com.au and Tim Muirhead. In the past I have learnt the stories and the culture of the past but my lesson today was more about what makes Aboriginal people who they are today. There were three very helpful diagrams, one that explained to me that you cant set a rule on how best to approach and speak to a whole group of people because like anyone, they are all at different points on the scale of cultural connection and level of wellbeing. There is no one language or one standard measure, these are individuals with a vast array of experiences and upbringings. How you treat someone depends on where they are on the spectrum.
Another diagram explained to me how the cycle of trauma is so difficult to break. "As a human, what I don't heal, I pass onto my children". There has been little ability to heal when a whole community is suffering the same trauma as each other. When you or I go through trauma, we run to our parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, who console us because they are not traumatised and they have the strength of a clear mind to pull us through. If all these people you would rely on are also traumatised, then you have a whole community suffering in a cycle of despair and they begin to self medicate, to rebel, to vent their frustrations. This makes it so much harder for an individual to climb their way out of that cycle as it has become the norm for them to be in that pool of despair.
I related to this personally. Having suffered depressive symptoms for many years, I spent so long unhappy that sadness became my norm. It actually got to the point that to be happy was hard work and very exhausting. So I could be happy through hard work every day, but any time I was sick, tired, a little down, had a setback like bad news or a death, or just had a personal meltdown due to a harsh word from another person or a hit to my confidence, I slid right back down into that pit of despair, to my comfort zone if you will, where i felt like my true self - my miserable self again. This is what it is like for a race of people who have endured and suffered and been classed as subhuman for generations to try and make something a little higher their new norm - it is exhausting and all odds are against them. Kinda makes you have a whole new level of admiration for those who do break the cycle, doesn't it!
Well, how do we go forward?
The class wrapped up with a discussion on how we can best make a positive difference towards reconciliation and helping Aboriginal people to overcome their hurdles.
The solutions lays in standing strong with those making a difference.
Support the leaders, the elders, those who are supporting the vulnerable so that you are empowering them as a people to help themselves as they know their own people best and they understand what will work.
Be vocal in the stand against racism, recognise your ethnocentricities and work on them so that your thoughts, words, and actions do not isolate or discriminate a person who may be relying on your kind words and support to help then stay out of that cycle of despair. Realise that your children emulate you, and that what you do will in turn teach them. Be solution focused rather than blame focused.
We don't need to feel guilty about the past unless we ignore it.
Be responsible for the future.
Todays blog is dedicated to Kim Bridge & Tim Muirhead, thanks for the lesson guys! Darren 'Capes' Capewell who is a bloody legend! I look forward to my next tour this October.
And to the Two Naughty Bros who used to be presenters of the Breakfast Show on Noongar FM (not sure why they are no more) who not only got me hooked onto that radio station but also taught me so much. I also love Mary G. It blows me away how much fantastic Aboriginal music is actually out there. Why this is not getting into mainstream music is beyond me. Tune in and have a listen. Support our own local talent. https://www.noongarradio.com/
There are some stunning movies on NITV, and some brilliant Aussie acting & production. Support local stories and local talent and try to watch a movie here and there if you can. So much to learn.
