How good are you at throwing a boomerang?
Such a stereotypical question!
when was the last time you encountered casual racism?
every bloody Uber... 'where you from?'
and I'm just like: 'I'm Aboriginal' and they're like: 'but you don't look Aboriginal.'
and then I'm like 'well you didn't look racist till you said that!'
and they're like: 'okay sorry, I'm just gonna drive.'
Why is dancing so important in Indigenous ceremonies? What happens if you're a bad dancer?
Wouldn't know.
Dancing is about telling our stories and also passing on our history
so it's very important that as a young person you learn those dances coming through into adulthood
and once you learn them you know them for life.
There's no such thing as a bad dancer. Indigenous ceremonial dance is about the ceremony
it's not a performance so you're not trying to look good for anyone,
you're participating in sacred ceremony so it's not about being good or bad, there's no such thing
Yeah, you're doing it to honour the old people your mob, yourself, your family.
It's not really about being a bad dancer.
Are you a good dancer? No, I'm not a good dancer.
Is it ever okay to ask someone how Aboriginal they are?
I get this all the time.
Short answer is no.
Can I just answer it flatly straight no, it's never okay to ask somebody how Aboriginal they are.
It's quite, it's very offensive to ask that question.
If you look at our history there's a reason why people aren't 100% Aboriginal
and that's really heart-breaking.
it doesn't matter the colour of your skin, or anything like that
I guess that's another stereotype, you have to be black, like dark, to be Aboriginal.
and people don't realise that we lose our skin colour in each generation and things like that
so that's probably one of the ones we cop all of the time, 'how black are you?'
You don't ask somebody how much Anglo-Saxon they are, or how much Irish or how much Welsh
it doesn't even come into consideration.
I think there's a lot of people at the University who have asked me that and, yeah
I think they just think it's okay, because it's a matter of curiosity
Absolutely a matter of curiosity and I understand that as well, but to answer this question, no.
I think it opens up to you having to justify yourself and justify how much you are
or how much you feel, it's just kind of taking away from who you really are and your identity.
If somebody said to you 'I'm of Aboriginal heritage' pretty much it should be expected
that you just accept that statement.
It's like the coffee, you know, you have your long blacks, you have your flat whites
whatever it's put as much milk in as you want, but it's still that coffee.
How good are you at throwing a boomerang?
How good are you? Crap.
Pretty bad.
I won't even try. I can't throw anything, let alone a boomerang.
It's such an art skill.
Such a stereotypical question!
one time I threw it and it came back and hit me in the head
so not that great. And you've got to think about it, they were used as a
hunting tool basically to cause an injury to a lower limb of an animal so
we actually don't have that much of a purpose for them anymore.
What do you think about the commercialisation of boomerangs though
anyone can buy one and throw it.
Sorry... I can't walk into an antique store and see
65,000 identical factory-made boomerangs I just, I think that's incredibly wrong.
What is one stereotype that needs to stop?
That's hard, there's more than one.
There's plenty, petrol sniffing, all blackfellas on the dole, yeah the list goes on.
We get stereotypes all the time. I hear it every day, we had one just yesterday
'you get free stuff from the government.' I wish they paid my
university degree, I still wouldn't have a HECS debt, and I wish they gave me a car like
people think we get cars or free home loans, it keeps going on and on.
All Indigenous people are drunks and that they, you know, live in the bush and they
don't know how to live and they can't live in houses.
We sleep in parks.
Like, I sleep in a house.
I've never lived out bush.
The only time I'm sleeping outside is when I'm going bush, going camping and everything.
That's about it.
I think one of the biggest stereotypes, I agree
is that Indigenous people are the lower-rank in society.
Indigenous people can be successful businessmen, academics, anything that they
want to be and I think it's very important for people to recognise
that and to understand that Indigenous people will never just fit into one box
like we make up 3% of the population and we come from all walks of life and
you'll never meet two Indigenous people who are the same and who have the same
sort of mixes of cultural and Western life, it's just never gonna happen.
What do you do on 26 of January?
Yabun Festival.
Yabun Festival.
Yabun.
Yabun.
Yabun means to make music with a beat.
Every year I go to that.
You know that everyone's gonna be there, it's a gathering spot.
But I also go to community and have a yarn with the mob at Redfern
they do a protest march, I don't really do those protests much these days, but it's still
good to talk to the elders about what they've gone through and why they're
doing that march, and I think it educates people as well about what the day means.
Like people think 26 January has always been Australia Day – the first Australia Day was in July
so it's crazy that we can't change that date.
And it still brings a lot of sorrow to our people and I think it's something that's
got to be done, something has gotta change.
Obviously, I don't celebrate this date.
I think it's incredibly wrong to celebrate on this date.
I will sit at home watching TV. I mean yeah, it's nothing new, you know?
You'll remember what happened, being Aboriginal and
everything you think back on things like that and just process it through your mind.
People who march, it's awesome and it's
great that they're willing to stand up for what they think should be changed
and they can, they're happy to show their support that way
I don't march because I don't feel like I should be there but I come to the
after thing so that I can support that way and be seen around.
I had quite a few debates with my friends about this this year, actually.
I don't do anything. I haven't really been to many protests
because I don't think that violence or yelling is the way to resolve things but
at the same time I'm not going to go out and celebrate.
But we should change the date. 100%.
Is it the Dreaming or Dreamtime?
Do all Aboriginal people believe in the same thing? And what's the deal with the snake?
what's the deal with Kinyaha?
Our ancestors, we say, exist in the Dreaming
but these are our Dreamtime stories.
The snake collectively in history is the
oldest known religious relic. Cultures all around the world have a connection
to a creation serpent, which is what the Rainbow Serpent is for us
slithering through the land creating the land masses and rivers
No, not all Indigenous people maintain the same beliefs, there are a lot of Christian Indigenous people,
Agnostic, Catholic, Buddhists, my family's Catholic, and that just happens
when you're living in such a multicultural country.
What's the one thing about Indigenous people or culture that others can't seem to understand?
One, I can't pick one.
I could say a lot about this one.
Well, there's a lot that people don't understand, that's why we're here.
I think the most annoying thing for me is the 'what percentage are you?' question.
If there's anything I could ask people to stop asking, it's that.
Friends of mine always talk to me, and I've grown up very middle-class, white Australian
So from 10 years old I went to a school where I was the
only Indigenous child and I went right through high school, and even now as an
older person a big thing that my friends ask me is like 'why don't we know
about these Indigenous things, these Aboriginal stories?' or 'why aren't they
shared' or 'why aren't things marked?' and it's pretty much, you know, because there's
stories in our lives that we don't have to share, because they're our own stories
and it makes the story a little more watered down once we share it with people
because then people share it on, and changes its meaning.
Our connection to the land. We don't own any land, which a lot of people misunderstand
we're with the land, we're one with the land, there's no ownership in our old ways.
Yeah and with that, you get so attached to it, you know
like I come from footy circles and everyone blows up every now and then because
certain people get home sick and want to go home, and they don't understand it
but uh, it's incredibly hard to be taken off the land.
As an example from where I'm from, there's a particular type of fish that you can peel its stomach
out and splay it open and it shows the root system that that fish's eggs were
actually laid on which then has implanted into that animal's lining of its gut.
That is the type of connection and strength that our people have for
the natural environment and that's what I feel like mining companies and these
big entities that want to pillage the land for their own benefit aren't really
understanding, and Indigenous people around the globe and particularly in
Canada as well, have that understanding that we need to think forward for those
next generations, it's not about our needs or our children's needs, we've got to think beyond that.
Our culture's the oldest living one in the world, I mean
and people don't understand how long we've been on this earth, how our stories were told in the past,
what happened to us as well, our culture, we've got no language
back home where I'm from, it's only two hours north of here and there's no language.
And I know that myself and other people in the community are actually trying to bring
that back, and trying to bring our language back. If you look at the
language map, you've probably all seen that, you'll see that out of that there's
not many that are still active. Not sure if you guys speak traditional language up there or anything?
My mother's country is Palm Island, so that was one of the main settlements and
everything, where they sent everybody as punishment you know, and since then culture's been lost.
I'm so inspired by the strength and resilience of such a people
and that's one thing I would love for all of Australia to be able to see
how incredible and rich this culture is.
How do Indigenous relatives work?
Why is everyone a cousin, auntie or uncle? Cause we love each other.
You're an auntie to me.
That's right, exactly, and she has been asked many times 'is she really your auntie?'
Because we don't look alike at all.
It's a complex system but basically we're all family.
With Indigenous culture as well, it's not believed that
your birth mother can give you all the vital tools you need for your entire life
I mean it's not true, so you have kind of like an array, all your
aunties are your mothers as you have this collective of leaders in your life
you really are equipped for the array of things that you do experience throughout your life.
As soon as she met me she said to me 'can I call you auntie?' and I said
'course you can!' I felt so respected that the students call me that and I
know that they can come to me and ask me anything and you know it's not just
school work-related, it's family or whatever you know everything like that
so it's such a nice thing for me to have that respect from the students.
She definitely earns it.
To me, calling someone my auntie or uncle, they don't even
have to be like, you know, Indigenous, I'll still call her my auntie or uncle out of respect.
When was the last time you encountered casual racism? How do you deal with it?
Oh, I get it every day on the bus.
I mean Sydney's full of it if you're, yeah, if you're Indigenous.
And if you don't think it is you joking yourself.
We cop it all the time, I'm pretty thick-skinned, I've copped it all my life.
I travel in from the Northern Beaches and I sit on the bus and I will be the last person that
people will sit next to on the bus, pretty much both ways, that's an hour trip.
I've had people who've had like a broken leg, or are on crutches and
they've decided to stand because they didn't want to sit next to me.
And it actually makes you feel like shit, it makes you feel like you are insignificant.
Got asked yesterday how Aboriginal I am, I guess... that still hurts a lot,
when people want to question who you are based on the colour of your skin.
Racism in Townsville that is like... that's hard being from Townsville, and being my
age cause Townsville is like juvenile delinquency, all that, so if you get seen
walking with your like, you know, with a group of other black people and they
they constantly will keep their eye on you, and just watch your every move and everything
and that was actually the last time I encountered racism too
when I was at home so, I dunno, Sydney's been good to me.
That's a big one too you know, people you know 'you're at university are you really
Aboriginal or are you just there for the benefits?'
Who is your hero? Oh, Uncle Max
Hands down Uncle Max, here he is, right here, got his shirt right on now.
Love you Uncle Max. That's our grandfather and our teacher,
our master and he's taught us pretty much everything.
It's Goodesy for me, Adam Goodes. He's so cool.
Martin Nakata, he's the first ever Torres Strait Islander to get a PhD, he's a good friend of mine
and the leadership he showed, that's why I'm still working in the higher education sector.
I could've gone and worked in corporates and things like that.
That's who my hero is, my nan because she was somebody who from early on in life
was really passionate and dedicated to education but because of the laws and policies she actually
was denied the right to go to school so that meant she ended up missing out on
quite a lot of formative years of education and learnt to read off rubbish
at the tip, jam jars, sauce bottles, all that kind of stuff
she sort of had an understanding that she had a role to play in terms of
fighting for the rights of our people in the classroom because we should be
entitled to have an education. I feel like with her in my strides I can
actually do anything for my people.
What can we do to try and make up for the past?
I think education is the most important thing from everything from
Australia Day to casual conversations that you have with people I think
knowing more means that you'll be able to approach things better.
The main thing is just to, before you try and act just shut up and listen. Get educated.
the only way we can really move forward in all of this and closing the gap,
Reconciliation, whatever, white Australia needs to understand.
Well, first of all, you can stop saying 'it's in the past get over it. I wasn't here
it wasn't my fault.' You know, you can't exonerate yourself from a history when
that history still affects the present day.
It was not that long ago 30, 40 years ago that we were still classed as plants and animals
and people wonder, like they're still like 'get over it' it's like, well actually it's not that easy.
It's quite close in my generations as well, my dad was stolen
so you can't tell me that's ancient history if I don't get to
know any of my family or my grandmother or my cousins,
I don't think it's fair to hold people accountable for things that happened so long ago, and it's not
constructive, and I think the best thing to do moving forward is to just be
compassionate and respectful of one another.
I think about the education system, and I think
about the National Curriculum creating a space for the teaching of historical
incidences which then inform why our people are the way we are today but
again it has to be designed and delivered in a way that is inclusive
that's not a blame and shame game because we know that that's not worked
in the past and it's obviously not going to float in the future.
I think it's just being part of our journey, acknowledging the past, we can't change what happened
but there's a lot of people out there who try and say 'oh, it's the best thing–'
I heard someone say the other day it's great for people to be taken from their families
like if that was on their fort, would they like that like?
Being taken from your white family cause you're white.
Yeah there was a thing on Sunrise about that
and the lady actually like made the suggestion to have a second Stolen Genration
I was like looking at her like 'what the?!'
I hear that all the time 'but I'm not racist' when they make these kinds of comments.
We're still human.
And people don't want to talk to us sometimes cause were different but we're the same as everyone else.
It's like we come from another planet or something.
Just have a yarn with us.
We're not gonna bite.
What obstacles stand between Indigenous kids and higher education?
Well, a lot.
Getting the big questions.
Gosh, where do I start?
White privilege.
There's still a little bit of like those students will go to school and they're
not given enough information about the services that are provided within
universities or even that government provides for them at school
to do better.
The further out you go into
the more remote places the harder it gets, the less resources that are dedicated, the less time given.
They're forgotten.
This varies for a lot of Indigenous kids but it comes down to varying degrees of prejudice.
If no one believes that you're going to be there then you're not going to be there
and you're just going to fall under what everyone expects of you.
Letting go of home to get an education and you know, like just get out of your comfort zone
and leave behind your Indigenous, your cultural world.
I think it is, it is a confidence issue unlike a lot of other families most Indigenous
families don't have anyone who's got a tertiary education, it's quite common and
it makes it difficult to break into a world that you have no idea about and
when there's no support services made available to you it makes it ten times harder.
I was involved in the AIM program which has high school students
Indigenous high school students and we bring them all in and we discuss
Indigenous success and I think that's such an important aspect in supporting
Indigenous kids in entering into tertiary education because for a lot of
them they just don't think about it and they have a lot of sports role models
but I think having programs where you have academic role models in the
Indigenous circle is very important.
What's the best part of being Indigenous?
This just just reminded me of [singing] "there's nothing I would rather be, than to be an Aborigine."
[Singing] "And won't you take my precious land away."
I've said it a thousand times– Say it again, say it loud!
I think one of the main reasons is the mob I've met, you and all my sisters and my aunties.
Everything's great. I guess being connected to culture
and we have, we're lucky enough to have great teachers and we're lucky enough to
be in a mob that is still very strong culturally and still practices ceremony
and to be part of that is, it's like nothing else, that'd have to be the best part of being alive.
To hear the land talk to you, to see the ancientness,
it's very, very special, it's a privilege. It's definitely the best part.
So for me it's at that cellular level, like every part of me is
an Aboriginal woman and I'm proud of my heritage and I know that the footsteps
that I take have been walked by my ancestors and that they guide me.
I'm in education and we've got the textbook for our unit up there and you know they're
written in 2017 and they're bringing some stuff into the into pedagogy
which we've known for sixty thousand years
Being black and deadly.
and I think we're pretty black and deadly ourselves so that's another good part.
My name is Irene Higgins and I'm a Wiradjuri woman.
My name is Mary Waria and I come from Badu Island in the Torres Strait.
I'm Jack Field, I'm a Kaurna and Yuin man.
I'm Harry Whitting and I'm a Gamilaroi and Yuin man.
I'm Jeremy Heathcoate and I'm from the Awabakal nation which is near Newcastle.
Kiann Walsh from the Bwgcolman and Birri Gubba tribe, far north Queensland.
Hi my name's Simone and I'm a Bundjalung woman.
Hi, my name is Bianca Williams and I'm a Barkindji woman.
For more infomation >> A Escola de Design de Ulm - RMIT Gallery - RMIT University - Duration: 6:10. 
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