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Articles on Indigenous culture

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There are some simple principles that would strengthen Aboriginal heritage protection. Monkey Mia, Shark Bay in Western Australia. Grant Matthews

Four ways Western Australia can improve Aboriginal heritage management

Aboriginal heritage has had significant protections removed in Western Australia. Following principles of respect and consultation would be a huge step forward for Aboriginal cultural management.
Adam Goodes continues to demonstrate through dignity and presence of mind, that he is an empowered Aboriginal man. AAP Image/Paul Miller

Adam Goodes, dignity and Aboriginal men: what the research says

Adam Goodes’ actions – from his celebratory dance to his decision to temporarily withdraw from the AFL – epitomise the concept of male Indigenous dignity.
Australia’s Bumala-y Yuurrama-y seems to be accepted only when confined to matches between Indigenous players, yet all New Zealanders feel able to embrace the Haka. AAP/David Crosling

We all know and admire the Haka … so why not one of our own?

While AFL player Adam Goodes polarised Australians by performing an Indigenous war dance, New Zealanders unite in celebration of the Haka. The difference in approach to Indigenous culture is telling.
Members of the Chitimacha language team (from left to right) Sam Boutte, Kim Walden and Rachel Vilcan use the new language software for the first time.

Renaissance on the bayou: the revival of a lost language

In the face of war, disease and outside cultural pressures, the Chitimacha language has survived – and now thrives.
Bush tucker is part of the connectedness with the land and each other that nourishes body and soul in Indigenous communities. AAP/Paul Miller

Happiness born of connectedness lifts up Aboriginal Australians

In Indigenous communities beset by tragedy and social problems, the connection to each other and to the land remains a powerful source of shared contentment and happiness.
Nakkiah Lui asks why audiences are so willing to see Indigenous suffering onstage – but so unprepared to confront racism elsewhere in their lives. Brett Boardman/ Belvoir St

Western Sydney meets the city in Nakkiah Lui’s Kill the Messenger

Playwright Nakkiah Lui plays herself in Kill the Messenger, now on at Sydney’s Belvoir Theatre. Hers is a strong, passionate and resilient Indigenous voice – and she has a message to deliver.
‘Non-Indigenous Australian’ is one of the most multicultural ethnic identities in human history. Leigh Griffiths

Non-Indigenous Australians have to reconcile their needs

We know there will soon be a referendum on recognising Australia’s original inhabitants in the constitution – so what’s at stake? The answer is crucial for the policy approach we now call Aboriginal Reconciliation…
Inuit women carrying their kids in traditional hooded parkas. Indigenous midwifery programs have expanded across Canada and are linked to excellent health outcomes. Spencer/Flickr

Birthing on Country could deliver healthier babies and communities

Tony Abbott spent most of this week in North East Arnhem Land, part of his long-held hope “to be not just the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs”. In the final of our Abbott in…
Leader of the pack: Djalu Gurruwiwi of the Galpu clan leads younger performers at the 2013 Garma Festival in Arnhem Land. AAP Image/Youthu Yindi Foundation

Listen to your elders: inviting Aboriginal parents back to school

Tony Abbott is spending this week in North East Arnhem Land, part of his long-held hope “to be not just the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs”. We asked our experts: what stories…
Djapana – sunset – at Bawaka in North-East Arnhem Land. Sarah Wright

Welcome to my Country: seeing the true beauty of life in Bawaka

Tony Abbott is spending this week in North East Arnhem Land, part of his long-held hope “to be not just the Prime Minister but the Prime Minister for Aboriginal Affairs”. We asked our experts: what stories…
In The Boys Home, artist Zanny Begg worked with boys in juvenile detention. This image is from a project titled Rooms. Photo documentation by Alex Wisser. The Boys Home

The Boys Home: making art in a juvenile detention centre

I entered the secretive world of a maximum-security prison for children in Sydney’s Western suburbs for four months earlier this year. My passport into this highly restrictive world was an artist residency…
Aboriginal people are confident of their good traditional governance practices. yaruman5

Indigenous Australia in the era of ‘good governance’

Northern Australia is by no means exempt from the constant buzz around governance which has been a feature of Australian public life for the last decade. That’s particularly so in the area of Indigenous…
Brave New Clan presents the “X-factor” us mob see among ourselves all the time to a wider audience. Foxtel 2014

Indigenous Australia is deadly – and Leah Purcell shows it

Urban skyline, as seen from inside a medium-density apartment block, opens Australian director Leah Purcell’s Who We Are: Brave New Clan (2014), which was broadcast on Foxtel’s Bio Channel last night…
NAIDOC Week celebrates identity on blackfellas’ own terms. AAP/Paul Miller

Indigenous identity is settled and must be seen as a positive

NAIDOC Week is a time to celebrate many things as blackfellas and as the First Peoples of Australia. This is also a week of reflection. It is a week to reflect on our collective resilience; a time to be…
Without ceremony, the lives of many Aboriginal Australians would be greatly impoverished. Rusty Stewart

Aboriginal ceremonies are not ‘bullshit’

Tarmac gives way to dirt on the road out to ceremony, where more than a hundred participants from Australia’s eastern states will gather over a public holiday long weekend for the serious business of performing…
Are Australian policymakers trapped in a monolingual mindset? Katie Tegtmeyer

Muting Indigenous language support only widens the gap

Indigenous languages are under attack yet again. The federal budget, released on May 13, includes a substantial reduction of A$9.5 million over four years for the Indigenous Languages Support Programme…

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