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No didgeridoo lessons for girls: Aborigines outraged over instruction book
Aboriginal leaders in Australia have called for a book teaching girls how to play the didgeridoo to be banned.
The Australian version of the Daring Book for Girls is due to be published next month. However, it has upset some indigenous leaders who view the didgeridoo as a male instrument that must not be played by women. In many indigenous cultures, the hollowed out wooden pipe is viewed as a male ceremonial instrument, and women are forbidden from playing it. Some Aboriginal cultures believe even touching a didgeridoo can have terrible consequences - and even lead to infertility.
Publisher Harper Collins Australia said it was not aware of any taboos on women playing the didgeridoo, and has apologised for any offence caused. The publishing house apologised for inadvertently offending anyone, but said there was a "divergence of opinions" within Aboriginal culture on whether girls should play this ancient instrument.
One academic called the book's inclusion of didgeridoo lessons "an extreme faux pas". Aboriginal leaders in Australia have called for a book teaching girls how to play the didgeridoo to be banned. ... more -
Pope praises Australia for saying sorry to Aborigines
"SYDNEY, July 17 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict praised the Australian government on Thursday for apologising for past injustices to Aborigines, saying it was a courageous move to repair race relations and offered hope to the rest of the world.
The Pope said the ancient heritage of Aborigines, who have been in Australia for some 40,000 years, formed "an essential part of the cultural landscape of modern Australia".
"Thanks to the Australian government's courageous decision to acknowledge the injustices committed against the indigenous peoples in the past, concrete steps are now being taken to achieve reconciliation based on mutual respect," he said.
"This example of reconciliation offers hope to peoples all over the world who long to see their rights affirmed and their contribution to society acknowledged and promoted."
Rudd officially apologised to Aborigines in February." "SYDNEY, July 17 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict praised the Australian government on Thursday for apologising for past injustices to A... more -
Modern Aboriginal Dancer
Rheanna Port is a successful Bangarra dancer who grew up in one of the most remote aboriginal tribes in Australia and now tours the world with her unique blend of indiginous and modern European dance. Rheanna Port is a successful Bangarra dancer who grew up in one of the most remote aboriginal tribes in Australia and now tours the wo... more
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Didgeridoo techno
This guy is the link between tribal cultures that dance round fires to repetitive drum beats using psycho-active drugs and the counterculture of rave culture in the west. More please. This guy is the link between tribal cultures that dance round fires to repetitive drum beats using psycho-active drugs and the counter... more
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Aussie Aborigines now planning to sue
After receiving an apology from the Australian government to the thousands of Aborigines who were taken from their families as children under now discredited assimilation policies, representatives have now announced they plan to file compensation lawsuits for the past abuses. The government has ruled out a compensation fund, and legal experts say the apology does not help the case of the Aborigines vying for money in the courts. Not to be a total cynic...but I'm sure the Australian government took that into account before making the apology.
The question then is, what is an apology and the acknowledgment of wrong doing worth? Seems to me it's better than nothing for its symbolic and emotional weight, right? After receiving an apology from the Australian government to the thousands of Aborigines who were taken from their families as childre... more -
Australia says sorry to Aborigines
Sydney, Feb 13 : Australia on Wednesday formally apologized to the “Stolen Generations” of Aborigines with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd reading out a speech in the Federal Parliament in Canberra.
The apology was read out precisely from 9 a.m., as the first action of the second sitting day of the 42nd Parliament of Australia.
Rudd and Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin received a standing ovation as they entered the Great Hall before the speech.
The 361-word apology was completed in three minutes and was watched by hundreds of parliamentarians, former prime ministers and representatives of the indigenous community.
Former prime ministers Paul Keating, Bob Hawke, Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser and Sir William Deane were all seated on the floor of the Parliament as well as 17 people representing the stolen generation, according to reports.
In another address that was read immediately after the apology, Rudd spoke of removing a “stain from the soul of Australia”.
“The time has come, well and truly come … for all Australians, those who are indigenous and those who are not to come together, truly reconcile and together build a truly great nation,” he said. Sydney, Feb 13 : Australia on Wednesday formally apologized to the “Stolen Generations” of Aborigines with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd r... more -
Australia apologises to Aborigines
The apology is directed at the 100,000 Aborigines who were forcibly removed from their families as children under assimilation policies that lasted from 1910 to the 1970s, based in part on the belief that the race was doomed. The recently elected Kevin Rudd, revealed the wording of a parliamentary motion which will express "profound grief" for the "pain, suffering and hurt" put on the island's natives.
The issue of apologising to the stolen generations was contended for years, many people still support the former prime minister, John Howard's, contention that while the policies were wrong, the present generation should not be made to feel guilty for others' mistakes of the past. Kevin Rudds election in November has allowed him to take a fresh stance on the issue and has been clear on his thoughts.
"We apologise for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians" The apology is directed at the 100,000 Aborigines who were forcibly removed from their families as children under assimilation policie... more -
Australia to apologize to Aborigines
Woah! Woah! It's about time though.
"Australia will issue its first formal apology to the country's indigenous people on Feb. 13, a senior minister said Wednesday, a step that could ease tensions with a minority once subjected to policies that included removal of mixed-blood children from families on the premise that their race was doomed."
Now they need to right the wrongs. Woah! Woah! It's about time though. ... more -
The digiredoo has been played for 40,000 years
This is what it sounds like.
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Aboriginal Injustice
In Sydney, Australia an Aboriginal community struggles with social issues and a history of intolerance.
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Aotearoa anarchist arrested in Sydney, held in custody
Gabriel Shanks, an anarchist from Christchurch, is currently being held in custody in Australia after being arrested by Police at Sydney Airport where he had a stopover en route to Europe. He has been charged with at least one count each of riot and affray, and will appear in the Waverly Court on Monday for an extradition hearing to the state of Victoria.
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The charges stem from a protest in Melbourne against the G20 Summit, a meeting of governmental representatives from 20 nations including the USA, the UK, Canada, Australia and Russia, in November 2006. Police are alleging that Shanks is one of the 28 "persons of interest" who had photographs of them released via corporate media outlets by the Police in an effort to identify them. Over 240 charges have been laid in total against over 25 protesters, most of whom were arrested in raids in the days and weeks following the protest. Gabriel Shanks, an anarchist from Christchurch, is currently being held in custody in Australia after being arrested by Police at Sydn... more -
Jubilation as UN Adopts Historic Statement on Native Rights
"The 13th of September 2007 will be remembered as an international human rights day for the indigenous peoples of the world," said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, chairperson of the Permanent Forum, in an emotional tone filled with joy.
International civil society groups working for the rights of indigenous peoples also expressed extreme pleasure with Thursday's vote.
The United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand stood alone in voting against the resolution.
"The entire wealth of the United States, Canada, and other so-called modern states is built on the poverty and human rights violations of their indigenous peoples," said Manuel. "The international community needs to understand how hypocritical Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States are." "The 13th of September 2007 will be remembered as an international human rights day for the indigenous peoples of the world,"... more -
Rabbit Proof Fence - Unwanted Third Race
Another must see movie, "Rabbit Proof Fence" will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end.
For more than a century and right up to the late 1960s, on government orders, Aboriginal children with white blood in their veins were snatched from their mothers and placed in orphanages, mission stations or with foster families who were supposed to make good little Australians out of them. The slogan in those days was "keep Australia white." And after the genocide by the early settlers and the semi-slavery of the reserves, all that remained to be done with these "sub-humans" was to make them forget where they came from and who they were, to assimilate them by force right from the cradle.
The Commonwealth conference on the native problem in 1937 did not mince its words: "The destiny of the natives of Aboriginal origin but not of the full blood lies in their ultimate absorption." It restated its views in 1951: "The aim is assimilation...until the Aborigines live like any white Australian." The police and Protectors were given authority to raid communities and remove all children with light skins. Desperate Aborigine mothers blackened their children's faces with charcoal or sent them to hide out in the bush.
The Chief Protectors appointed by each state became the legal guardians of the half-caste children until they reached the age of 18. Some of their reports speak louder than words. "I would not hesitate for one moment to separate any half-caste from its [sic] Aboriginal mother, no matter how frantic her momentary grief might be at the time. They soon forget their offspring," said Inspector James Idell in 1905. In 1911, Chief Protector Cook stated that "Children are removed from the evil influence of the Aboriginal camp, with its lack of moral training and its risk of serious organic infectious disease." Another must see movie, "Rabbit Proof Fence" will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very end. ... more
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Aborigines
