Saturday, February 25, 2012

Native Titile: country, life and me!

I have something on my mind and it is creating a bit of havoc in my thinking therefore I would like to share my thoughts so that I can find some clarity. Recently I went to a Native Title Seminar. I was excited because it was my first Native Title Seminar and I can see will not be my last. Before I begin let me just say I love my country. Balladong country that is. When I go home I feel like a different person, I stand on country and breathe in air that makes my soul sing. I have trouble expressing how I feel because it is such a passionate experience, and I know that I am home. The sense of belonging is incredible, everything around me is extraordinarily acute. Birds are not just making noise they are singing, to me. I hear the sounds of insects and I see the tracks of animals and I smell the earth with such awareness that I feel as though I transform into something or someone else. Being on country brings me to life. I live and breathe the earth, sky and waters of the balladong. It is an intense experience and I yearn for country.

Having expressed my love for all the world to see let me get back to my dilemma. Here I was soaking up the experience of a Native Title seminar thinking I would learn something fantastic and I was sorely disappointed. What I learnt is that mainstream government continue to enforce assimilationist perspectives, have no respect for Aboriginal people and continue to attempt to remove us from our land. I say this because the recent Noongar Native Title Claim is creating a bit of havoc with the new proposal put to government by a handful of representative claimants. Until now I have sat back and watched the play unfold. However, it is now getting to the point where I feel I have to express myself. During a Q & A panel session at the Native Title Seminar I articulated a question about cultural negotiation protocols. One of the panelists said he did not understand the question? Interesting isn't it that a public servant working in Native Title does not understand cultural negotiation protocols. If he understood this he would have understood my question. Let me also say that I was amazed that he did not understand the question and my response was to attempt to explain what it was I was asking, however I could see that he really wasn't interested in what I was asking and he became extremely defensive in his following response. The point that I make is that Aboriginal people have their own way of negotiating. 99% of the time these negotiation protocols are misunderstood or ignored or worse dismissed. Anthropologists are brought in to assist in the process of learning about the culture that mining companies and government wish to negotiate with, however going on the seminar that I witnessed I can honestly say we (anthropologists) are not getting our information across clearly or our government is ignoring our recommendations? The other point that I noticed and became very aware of is that they make no apologies for not understanding because they seem to think that their way is the only way forward. Why is it that we suddenly have a Premier and Cabinet who are so disrespectful that they pay lip service to Aboriginal people and make no commitment what so ever to closing the gap. And the current government has no intention of even trying to close the gap from what I can see.

I say this because in the current political climate basic human rights such as housing, education, health and employment services have suddenly become leverage for mining company negotiations that the State government endorse. My question is why are basic services that are a right of every other Australian leverage for negotiations with the mining and resources industry in the first place when by rights these services should be the responsibility of our state and federal governments. Employing locally, I would have thought is good business practice because it is cheaper than FIFO's even after having to put money up front for training and skills development. Surely this is best practice for any business and should never be a negotiation tactic for access to country. My second area of concern is the Noongar Native Title proposal that I mentioned above. My understanding of the the proposal on the negotiation table is that we relinquish our rights to Native Title in return for a 60 million dollar pay out plus 10 million per year for 30 years with the proviso that we extinguish our rights to land. Now please be aware that this is my take on the deal based on what I have read in the newspaper and what I have heard. I along with many other Noongar people haven't been privy to the full document or seen even a small part of the document. Why you ask? Good question. My concern here is that the proposal should be publicly available so that all Noongar's have access to the document. My question is why is it not a public document? The negotiation affects all Noongar people not just those who are members of SWALSC. We should be able to discuss the proposal with our Elders before they make a decision. The Elders should know how the rest of the community feel about the proposal. It is their job to talk to all community members and open the discussion before making decisions. That is how negotiation protocols for Aboriginal societies work. All decisions about a community are communally discussed prior to the negotiation taking place with 'others'. This has not happened and this is why people are so angry.

Sovereignty is all we have left. It is is what maintains our cultural integrity and it is what allows me to stand on my country and cleanse my soul of a world I am forced to traverse in order to exist. It is not something that I can relinquish despite the fact that I do not live on my country. As much as I love the Balladong the hazards of modern life has forced me and others like me to move to the city in search of work. This is not just an Aboriginal thing, non-Aboriginal people move from rural and remote areas in search of work. It is a symptom of modernity. At the present time I do what I have to do to survive in the modern world and I will make my life as comfortable as possible because I live under the same laws as everyone else. 

However there is my Aboriginal lore that I belong to and it is in my blood running through my veins and waiting for me to retire back on country. You see this is not something that is a physical thing that you can see and categorise or label. It is not for the world to see. It is a private internal mechanism that I was born with. It is who I am.

Thank you for listening and for allowing me to share my passion.

Life is good!


Oldest and youngest at the Salt Lakes, on the Balladong
Two middle children, on Balladong
Evening calls
Beautiful...sigh!

7 comments:

  1. Barb I am with you all the way here. I am not a wadjela trying to be Aboriginal, but I really do get and feel what you are saying. I am CONSTANTLY wasting my time explaining (what I understand as) sovereignty,the complete disregard that society in general has for the plight of Aboriginal people and so on......ad infinitum. I don't blame you for getting angry. I get angry and it isn't even my cause, my people or my history.

    You know this is an immediate problem for Aboriginal people and I applaud the people who are holding out against impossible odds. Selling land rights off for $60 million will be a decision so regretted in a few years.

    As a 'whitey' looking on, who is not mainstream in her thoughts by any stretch of the imagination, I really despair. The bigger picture reveals a complete disregard for the spiritual beings that we all are ultimately. There are times it drives me completely mad. I feel the land, the sea, nature very deeply. I LOVE this country, even though I have only been here a short time and my ancestors came here from Europe. I am sad for this country, nidja boodja, mother earth, all country because we are doing the same all over the world.

    But the spirit of the earth is so much bigger than even the aweful things that are happening today. I take heart in that thought.

    Keep fighting the good fight. Support the Greens because they are the only party with any real social conscience and understanding of Aboriginal people, not all of them, but some. We have a mongrel Liberal government at the moment in WA and the sooner we get rid if them the better.

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  2. PS In the evolution of consciousness we are at an important crossroads, we either evolve or die!! I have to say that not respecting nature, ripping the soul out of the land and the sea, treating first peoples like shit.....doesn't look good! But I think we will be forced to change. People don't see things until they really have to - which is INCREDIBLY frustrating for those of us who see things coming a mile off :)

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  3. Exactly and thank you for allowing me to vent. It is such a tragic story. That fact that we even have to discuss it is tragic. However I have to be honest and say I needed to think about my position. I wasn't sure what I actually thought about the whole thing until recently. It takes me a while to process because this has brought up a whole host of emotions.

    That got me thinking that I really am passionate about Balladong country. Hugely passionate, I too love this country. I think this issue has made me realise how much I love this country. Interesting it is!

    I love the fact that you love this country too. See thats the point we should value it together because we live together. We are sharing boodja nidja. (If you say nidja boodja thats wadjala way in terms of context. noun comes first in Noongar). I love that you are as passionate about preserving what's left as much as I am.

    And you are correct. we are at an important crossroads, in fact there is a shift in the air that's almost tangible, but I would hate to see a natural disaster or worse one that man made to happen just to make a point. But you and I both no it's on the cards....sigh! :-)

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  4. OK, boodja nidja. Yes, interesting times. I don't think everything will be destroyed, but it's hard to guess just how far we have to go before things start to turn around, or humanity en masse does. Mother earth will make that decision, and all power to her. It's really difficult to watch though...really difficult.

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  5. Oh, good on you for writing about this curly subject so clearly and passionately! You've teased out the issues really well. A wadjala, I've sat back and watched this latest process, talked to a few local Noongar folk and seen the ructions play out. I don't have any faith in the current government to do the right thing, in fact I suspect them of encouraging division - so your point about cultural negotiation protocols and how they may not be getting recognised is really pertinent. I also think that basic and non basic services are the responsibility of the state to all its citizens. People shouldn't have to give up their land rights for these things! On the other hand, perhaps there is a kind of pragmatism amongst some, who know they are not going to get it any other way.
    It is so tricky. I've really appreciated your post.

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  6. I love perusing your blogs mum, makes me smile, you have so much to say and it isn’t crap, you know what you are talking about and 99% of the time I totally agree with what you are saying  haha. It’s very insightful and gets me a little more interested in heritage and history. You know how I loath them, but it really does motivate me to read your blogs, don’t know what it is but it always picks me up when I’m down and unmotivated.

    Love you my academic mother xxoo

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  7. Hi there I am back...lol

    Thank you Sarah, yes it is a sensitive subject. Absolutely correct there is a pragmatism to negotiating these things because government fails to deliver.

    Thank you Kara my beautiful daughter, it is good to know that you think I am not talking crap and 99% of the time you agree...I raised you well.
    Love you too. xxx

    Take care of our world it is precious.

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