This topic will explore representations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity.
Students will be given an opportunity to consider why knowledge of this concept is important in the classroom, and how such knowledge can be used to advance cultural understanding and reconciliation.
Explore the concepts, activities and assessment tasks below or use the Get Started button to work through the content in the suggested sequence.
Diversity in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contexts relates to the very many Language Groups and to the diversity within those groups.Just as there is no country in the world where geographical formations are exactly the same, there is no one cultural group in the world where everyone is the same. There is always diversity within a population, and the ability to respect, recognise and value this diversity is fundamental to achieving balance. People may hold a stereotypical picture of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person; something they have been told while growing up, from illustrations in books and from the media. However, each individual is unique. Differences between people can refer to Country/Place, language, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, level of education and so on. Underneath the individual differences though, lies identity as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person and the heritage we all share. Embracing and celebrating each other’s diversity as individuals does not take away from our identity as Indigenous people.
Understanding the diversity of cultural identities in Australia is an essential element of achieving reconciliation.As Ian Anderson says, ‘I inhabit an Aboriginal body, and not a combination of features which may or may not cancel each other’ (n.d.). For an Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander child, it may not be quite so straightforward and I am reminded of Lindsay Kate, and a conversation with her grandfather. It goes like this: ‘But Grandpa, how will people know I’m Aboriginal?’ ‘Well, my girl, it’s a matter of who your relations are, who grows you up and who knows you. It has to do with who you are and what you feel; it has do with family, and a lot to do with community and friends. It has to do with the kinds of things we do as Aboriginal people – not with what you look like’ (Connor, Moyle, Smith & Price 1997). As teachers, it is important to be aware of the three-part commonwealth definition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity, and it is even more important to appreciate the lived diversity and complexity of this identity.
According to the commonwealth’s basic legal definition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity, an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person is someone:Nevertheless, there is no single ‘Aboriginal’ or ‘Torres Strait Islander’ identity. There is, in reality, great diversity both between and within distinct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander linguistic-cultural groups, and the experience of what it means or feels like to be an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian can vary deeply at the individual level. Although Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are often characterised by the media and considered by the lay public as one homogeneous group, you will see in a number of the resources in this topic that stereotypes of what constitutes being an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person can invite discrimination, intolerance and exclusion, which is why an understanding of identity and diversity is important to reconciliation. It is for similar reasons that the term ‘Indigenous,’ often used to refer to Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, is considered a contentious term by some. That is, not only does it have scientific connotations which have been used historically to describe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as part of the flora/fauna rather than human population of Australia, so too does it problematically serve as a universal label for what are, in reality, highly diverse identities.
- who is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent
- who identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person, and
- who is accepted as such by the community in which they live, or have lived.
Suggested readings for Topic 1, Indigenous identities.Due, C & Riggs, W 2011, Representations of Indigenous Australians in the Mainstream News Media, Post Pressed, Mt Gravatt, Queensland. Ferrari, J 2009, 'Aboriginal leaders seek role in national curriculum', Perth Now Sunday Times, 25 October, viewed 30 August 2016 <http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/aboriginal-leaders-seek-role-in-national-curriculum/story-e6frg12c-1225791165159> Kime, K & Ragusa, A 2016, ‘Back’ to Country? Socio-Cultural Identity and the Relationship between Revering and Re-fashioning Landscapes and People, Fusion Journal Issue 10, Land dialogues: interdisciplinary research in dialogue with land, pp. 453-461, viewed 1 March 2017 <http://www.fusion-journal.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/28/2016/12/24-Kime-Ragusa.pdf>. Langton, M & Australian Film Commission 1993, "Well, I heard it on the radio and I saw it on the television ..." : an essay for the Australian Film Commission on the politics and aesthetics of filmmaking by and about Aboriginal people and things, Australian Film Commission, North Sydney. Morgan, M 2015, 'Comment: The anointing of Indigenous 'leaders' uses logic of its own', NITV News, 24 July, viewed 30 August 2016 <http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2015/07/24/comment-anointing-indigenous-leaders-uses-logic-its-own>. Peters-Little, F 2002, ‘The Impossibility Of Pleasing Everybody: A Legitimate Role for White Filmmakers Making Black Films’, Art Monthly, May. Read, P 2000, Belonging: Australians, place and Aboriginal ownership, Cambridge University Press, Port Melbourne.
Activity: Analyse the role of the media.
Activity: Brainstorm your current knowledge of Indigenous Australia, ideally at the beginning of semester.
Activity: Compare and contrast recollections and perspectives of the 'Wreck of the Georgette'.
Extract from the cover of Sam, Grace and the Shipwreck (Gillespie 2011)
Sixteen-year old Grace Bussell was hailed as a hero for her part in rescuing the passengers and crew of the Georgette from drowning. She was called Australia’s own Grace Darling. But the rescue would never have been possible without the guidance and leadership of Sam Isaacs, an Aboriginal stockman.
(The Royal Humane Society awarded Bussell a silver medal for her bravery. Isaacs was awarded a bronze medal at a time when it was rare for Aboriginal people to receive any kind of official recognition.)
Activity: Review programs on NITV (National Indigenous Television).
Activity: Use writing and silence as tools to help students explore a topic in-depth.
Stuart Hall argues that “ … national identities are not things we are born with, but are formed and transformed within and in relation to representation” (The Question of Cultural Identity, p. 612).
ribe how a particular national (or ethnic) identity is represented in one or more screen texts. (You can choose your own or make a selection from the list below.)
Defend your opinion of whether your chosen text(s) strengthen, challenge or otherwise transform dominant (hegemonic) representations of this identity.
You might like to consider and comment on the following points:
t simply a summary of the plot. It should be a critical evaluation of the book/film and contain your own reaction to it. When you review a book/film you should ask yourself the following questions:
Demonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of, and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages. (Graduate level)
