Australian Indigenous identity and cultural perspectives

Australian Indigenous Identity

End in the beginning: re (de)finding Aboriginality

History of nations is written by its people over time. Those that vanish with time are often not completely forgotten. Aboriginals, the actual and original inhabitants of Australia were dominated by the colonizers and today there are only a few groups of Aboriginals left as the faded memory of past. The article "The end in the beginning: re (de)finding Aboriginality" by Dodson narrates the facts as he sees them and opens a window to the history of Aboriginals.

The article says that the Aboriginals, the original inhabitants of Australia were not considered a civilized nation by the out siders. They were specie with characteristics of "noble savage and prehistoric beasts" (Dodson, 2003, p. 25). The Author of the article, Dodson, does not hurry to come to conclusion rather first he offers what other writers and the law makers originally had to say about "Australian Niggers." They would consider them lower than beasts and would only worry if they die soon since it would take away labor from them (p. 26). It is very effective technique adopted by the author to quote the sayings of beginner colonizers since it offers an idea of what was going to happen to the Aboriginals. The hatred and prejudice that finally led to "endangered" status of this specie was not a later episode rather began very early.

To narrate the fact that the Aboriginals were not fairly treated rather mistreated is stated by the legal clauses. The Aboriginals were called "Half-castes." They were separately inspected like they were not among the human race rather aliens. This article leads the reader to think that the Aboriginals were the black or "nigger" Americans in Australia. They are so closely related in terms of their violation of rights, misuse, and discrimination and under treatment that it seems the same African-American story was repeated in Australia.

The confidence of the Aboriginals on their land and its ownership has fluctuated over time. Sarah (2009) agrees with Dodson that the Aboriginals have faced different challenges over time. She supports that the rights of land of the Aboriginals has increased in time. For many years the identity of these people was controlled by the state (p. 111). Now the people themselves can tell if they are Islanders or not. Dodson (2003) says that the Aboriginals are same in blood as are the white inhabitants yet the Aboriginals were always the original forerunners. Despite their acceptance as the forerunners, they have been looked down upon as "species with beard, one foot up and bent appearance what Sarah (2009) narrates is considered as similar to Islamic Identity (p. 13). There are many ways to portray a nation or a society as superior or inferior. Besides what the writers suggest, it is also applicable in other societies. If Aboriginals are considered backward and so are considered the Muslims, the tow can be compared elsewise too in order to tell that the one is extremist too because the other is painted so.

The orientalism that is the study of eastern social dynamics has increased over the past decades. Particularly starting from the interests in Arabs, the rising Middle East and the introduction of Islam to the west, the orientalism discussed other non-European and non-American lands too. Some would suggest that this study was carried out to support how these societies lack gentle behavior (Edward, 1977). The comparison of the most civilized societies to those that are growing might be considered unfair. The writers identified how different societies are compared on the basis of same overweight bodies and the skin color but they stressed only a little on the fact that the right on land cannot be negated because someone is black or white or brown.

Dodson (2003) is committed to tell how the Australia clicked to the colonizers and they thought to colonize it and to suppress the Aboriginals to take hold of the land. They utilized every possible technique to overcome the Aboriginal identity. They labeled them on the basis of study and biasness that I would rather call biased. Every culture has its own colors but some colors, if not violent, can be left as they are without labeling them. But the Aboriginal identity was somehow ridiculed so that they may accept the white's identity. The Aboriginals were thus defined by the state such that they original identity was erased by making the white identity superior. The actual discussion about the cultures should be how rich the cultural heritage is or is not rather than telling how typical or atypical the culture is (John, 1998, p: 355). The truth about the cultures lies in the fair understanding without the hidden agendas. Even the most illiterate societies have some traditions of family that can be adopted anywhere in the world since they are based on centuries of experience. But making has someway become obsessed with making everything "cultured" and "civilized."

If a society is to be dominated by the intruders socially and culturally, the best way to do so is to corrupt their international image. This is something worst that can be done to a community that is unable to represent its true self in the international arena. Besides the social isolation, the society is ignored by state level discrimination against them. The aboriginal identity was limited internationally by not giving them true and fair representation in the international events and scholarships (Dodson, 2003, p. 29). Since the Aboriginals used to live in the tribal social setup, it was easy to ignore them since they were unorganized thus unregistered. There were no state level efforts to have records about these Aboriginals so that probably it can be taken as a defense against not offering them international exposure. Their illiteracy was a weapon against them since the illiterate people have low self-identity as per "civilized" standards.