Aborigines

It's a story repeated many times over the years: Powerful nation sails the seven seas and claims lands that it likes and will suit its purposes. Indigenous population gets moved or marginalized in the process. Newcomers best/sincerest attempts to improve and reassimilate the native population fail miserably. Natives find new feet in their "new" land.

As the story here is pretty much the same, it does not need to be repeated. But I'd like to mention the view from where I currently sit on this timeline. The aboriginal people were officially covered by laws for humans (as opposed to the previous Flora & Fauna governance) in 1967. Forty years on and I get the curious feeling that I am observing the United States 100 years ago. The legal writ for genuine opportunity and advancement is in place. What remains is for all communities to get on board. Prejudice and practice makes this easier said than done.

Traditionally a nomadic people travelling in extended family packs with a great connection to the earth, this way of life is not exactly a contemporary model anymore. As a Noongar elder said at a recent Australia Day event, "What our life used to be will never be again. And that is sad. But this is a new world today and we must live in it. We must determine our own destinies. Maybe we can be like Barack Obama!" It was an empowering statement from an elder. And not one that eschewed cultural values. Native dance, paint-dot art, didgeridoo music, traditional foods (and that gets interesting), making and using boomerangs and talking "in language" are encouraged not just by the aboriginal community.

Looking for a movie that touches upon aboriginal life in Oz? Try "Rabbit Proof Fence" or "Ten Canoes". Yes, even films like "Australia" and "Crocodile Dundee" (I & II) will give you some insight into the native people and their customs. For example, any program on TV that has Aborigines in it will have a warning that aboriginal people now deceased may be seen in it.

Some famous Aborigines: Sydney Olympian Cathy Freeman, tennis play Yvonne Goolagong, actor Ernie Dingo and a slew of rugby players.