A question from a reader

An Almaniac writes:

Pip

I've written in the past -- have been a member for a year or so now and really enjoy your posts. Have tossed "the puppy" a biscuit or two...

In real life (ha ha) one of my many facets is being a member of the Board of Trustees for the Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions. I am the first Pagan to hold this office. We are tentatively planning to have our 2009 event in Melbourne, Australia, pending the completion of some financial agreements.

One of the topics being tossed about here as material for discussion is the difficulty Australia is having with the Indigenous peoples. Can you shed some light on this for me or direct me toward resources that would explain a little about what's going on?

(Name withheld)

Wilson replies:

Hi (name withheld)

Always good to speak to a supporter!

The question you ask is a very big one, and not easy to answer. The complexities of Australian Indigenous issues are well known and vast. I'm not sure where to begin. But I know of the CPWR and I hope I can add some input. I live in an area where there are many Indigenous Australians, and my son attends a school that proudly flies three flags representing three cultures that are strong in this district: Sikh, Australian, and Indigenous. (Quite unusual in this country.) However, I'm far from an expert in this subject, but I hope I can point you to some worthwhile info.

In fact, I can't think of a better place to start than here, because it seems to me quite comprehensive and covers most of the contemporary issues, as far as I know, with lots of links there. I hope this will help.

Keith Windschuttle is a writer who was formerly on the Left but is now a pariah to progressives. Those of his writings that have the Left up in arms include some books and articles that challenge the progressive orthodoxy that Indigenous Australians were massacred on a large scale in colonial days. His link is here ... I am not saying I agree with him, because I'm not in a position to do so, being unstudied in this area. Like Jack of All Trades, I am an activist with many issues; my activism for Indigenous people has never been top of my list.

I wish I could help more, but apart from my support for Aboriginal Australians over many years, I am not really equipped to offer much information. Indigenous Australians have undoubtedly suffered greatly as a colonised people, and their largely disadvantaged status in modern Australia no doubt owes much to the way they were and often are still treated. However, it is more complex than that. For example, there are many opportunities available to Indigenous people that are not available to others. I think they deserve it ... imagine how the British came to this continent and declared that it was uninhabited, took it over and relegated the inhabitants to the category of "Flora and Fauna", denying them citizenship till 1967. But beware! This is a topic full of quicksand and mirages. Nothing is ever easy or clear. If it were, perhaps my country would have solved the problems before now. Even within the Aboriginal leadership there are strong debates.

Please let me know if I can help more. There is an Aboriginal cultural centre only 20km from my home and if you need specific advice, I can ask there. My only contact with Indigenous people tends to be when I pick up hitchhikers, which I do often. Without exception I've found them fascinating people, but I tend to be rather a happy hermit and very even-handed as to the races I don't mix with. I like them all, even my own, at a distance. So perhaps I'm not the best one to ask.

Regards, abundance and gratitude,

Pip

Tagged: australia, indigenous