THE ABORIGINAL'S DILEMMA: Questionable future and fear of dispossession A study based on Oodgeroo Noonuccal's poetry collection The Dawn is at Hand.

    Booming technological development of the west and their colonial policy led to an ironic situation; a situation where indigenous people had to find a place in their own land. The fear of being an outcast and getting dispossessed always gripped their lives. If we check our past, we can see that history either ignored or mistreated them. Their life of rich traditions and accumulated knowledge ended in despair. Aboriginals of Australia were people who weaved their lives to nature; like a symbiotic system. Evils like colonisation, bio piracy, mining, deforestation, exploitation and urbanization thwarted their life and created a fissure in that bond. In its official website, United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues says:

      Indigenous people around the world have sought recognition of their identities, their ways of life and their right to traditional lands, territories and natural resources, yet throughout history, their rights have been violated. Indigenous people are arguably among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable groups of people in the world today. (UNPFII/ History)

              

               Aboriginals were subjected not only to exploitation but also to racial discrimination. Their motherland was taken away from them by the "racially superior" group of white "convicts" from Britain. A land that was inhabited by innocents and which was a cradle of peace was taken over by a group of people who had no reverence for their culture and traditions. They got stamped as savages or primitives. As usual, the white men felt the burden to civilise them and introduce them some culture and religion. They never realised how much more knowledge aboriginals inculcated from their mother nature, that can never be matched by the western system of education and customs. When white men realised the huge disparity in their ways of life, aboriginals were killed, driven away or subordinated. Even at recent times, they still face prejudice. Every symbol the west introduced, affected them badly; be it globalisation or climate change. Their rights have been violated and there were forced to flee from the land on which they grew, hunted and slept. White people destroyed their sacred and holy sites for the construction of buildings and uprooted the green patches and replaced them with fences marking private property. White men failed to realise the diversity that they were destroying and the traditional knowledge they were burying during their process of urbanization. Social problems followed and resulted in murder, rape and gender issues. Aboriginals began to lose the grip on their culture when they were introduced to drugs, alcohol and diseases. A culture that once respected a woman's position and her role, forgot the values of equality. Poor health and poverty haunted them. Stolen generation though given meagre educational opportunities still faced exclusion, exploitation and discrimination in social and academic front. Those who were admitted lacked attendance; those attended, lacked retention and some faced discontinuation.

               Poor health also resulted in lower life expectancy. They were forced to live in rural sides where medical and educational facilities were absent. Thus living in remote areas pushed them further apart from whites. They were only employed as slaves and not in official positions. White had no sympathy for them and focused only on how to uplift their post-convict life in a new land. Social attitude to aboriginals changed very slowly and many considered them to be "black heathens" who were out of control. Whites grabbed their ancestral land and made them their private property. Since there were no written records, native people couldn't prove their rights over the land. Expensive court cases were out of the question.  Such lands of historical importance were never preserved. Australian Human Rights Agency also agrees that aboriginals were never given decent housing, schooling or safe communities to live in. Moreover, they were also not participated in decision making and were never prior informed or asked consent regarding issues affecting their community, its economic and social development. They were considered citizens of Australia only after long years of struggle and protest. The idea, existing aboriginals put forward was clear; as in Oodgeroo's words, it was integration they needed, not assimilation.

               Aboriginals were mostly used as a part of Government's low paid workforce. The condition of the aboriginal woman was more pathetic. Her job was always restricted to domestic service. Though political parties like the Communist Party of Australia fought against the White Australian Policy, it was later black people realised the need to strengthen their own political groups than being a part of white-dominated political parties especially Oodgeroo Noonuccal. It was the event of Bicentennial Celebration of White Australia in 1988 that prompted several aboriginal writers to come up with burning issues in their works.

               There is no other perfect way to communicate with rest of the world other than literature. Aboriginal authors told stories of aboriginals, their problems and feelings to whites and rest of the world. This brought them closer together. All the issues they handled were the burning complexities aboriginals of that time faced. It mainly incorporated the theme of racism and need for unity. In Oodgeroo Noonuccal's poem All One Race she addresses the issue of cross-cultural hatred. Aboriginals and native people from the rest of the world are content with what they have. They are not greedy to gain any material possessions or steal the livelihood of others. They are happy with what nature has provided them. Hence the issue of war never comes up. It was during colonial rule; white men began to engage in wars to attain other's resources. His greed crossed borders and disrupted peace.

               We're not interested in their igloos,

               They are not mad about kangaroos;

               I'm international, never mind place;

               I'm for humanity, all one race. (All One Race)

               Poetry wasn't just a tool to convey messages to the whites and rest of the world from aboriginals. It was also a medium for Oodgeroo to address her own race. Through verses, authors told their fellow people to accept good whites and to deny hatred. Oodgeroo believed that we should judge the white by the best of their race and to consider the prejudiced ones as human beings less than their lives. Retaining hatred in life means to pollute one's mind. She wanted her race to be open to changes and be optimistic. Rather than lamenting about past experiences, it was their time to move on and look towards a new bright future.  In her poem Let Us Not Be Bitter, she says:

               Away with bitterness, my own dark people,

               Come stand with me, look forward, not back,

               For a new time has come for us.

               Now we must change my people.

               Equality can only grow in the ground of true democracy. In the name of religion, the man tried to separate people rather than unifying them all. Government and religious institutions created a rift between races and created barriers in between them. Oodgeroo knew that it wasn't the colour of her skin that decided her talents and potential.

               Since God's good world began,

               Not god but godless man

               Made barrier and ban...

               ... Let little kiplings rant,

               Narrow and arrogant,

               Their chauvinistic chant

               That white is nobler birth.

               The best of every race

               Should here find welcome place;

               The colour of his face

               Is no man's test of worth. (White Australia)

               The attitude of politicians, authors, society in general, religion, press and whites were always contempt when the issue of aboriginals was raised. Aboriginals had no voice in government decisions even if the discussion was about their livelihood. Oodgeroo in An Appeal also asks the writers of that nation to write words that can instil courage in native's mind. Through literature, people can be educated and made aware of each other's culture and thus reduce the gap between them. The last place aboriginals could get justice was from bureaucracy and lawmakers. Religion, though it preaches about love, still doesn't accept blacks as their subjects. Oodgeroo has faith in Christ but not in Christianity. Journalists rarely write the problems of black people and usually cater to the interest of the majority. The scene is slightly shifting now and white men are getting showing more acceptance to the customs of aboriginals. This, for Oodgeroo, is a ray of hope.

               All white well- wishers, in the end

               On you our chiefest hope depend;

               Public opinion's our best friend

               To beat the foe. (An Appeal)

               While some verses address the world about the problems of aboriginals, some reminiscence about the past life. Aboriginals can't imagine a life without nature. They always believed in connection and unity of all the souls. The soul of a bird, a tree and a man were all one in Dreamtime. The only existing connection with their ancestors was through the dream and they believed in shared and accumulated knowledge. They never felt the need to dominate another species because for them all living and non-living things were their brothers and sisters. After the arrival of whites, mass depletion began. This resulted in the disrupted connection between aboriginals and nature. In The Curlew Cried, Oodgeroo talks about the aboriginal’s “brother” curlew. Its cry warned them about an upcoming death. But Aborigines never feared death.

               'Have courage, death is not an end,'

               He seems to say. 'Though you must weep,

               Death is kindly and is your friend.' (The Curlew Cried)

               Cultural differences also extended to dance and music. Aboriginals usually found joy in their ways of celebration and songs. Their rhythms and beats were close to nature. Even sound of wind and waves were music to them. The concept of music in the west was totally different. Weird sounds of such a music never attracted aborigines. They found happiness when they danced around fire and trees instead of ballrooms. A new kind of music whites further created in Australia was that of bulldozers and of mining. Aboriginals felt displaced from their own motherland.

               The bora ring is gone.

               The corroboree is gone

               And we are going. (We Are Going)

              

 During urbanization trees were uprooted; other trees were trapped within the concrete buildings of the cities. Aborigines now not only felt the pain of their own race but the pain of other species as well.

               Gumtree in the city street,

               Hard bitumen around your feet,

               Rather you should be

               In the cool world of leafy forest halls

               And wild bird calls. (Municipal Gum)

Many aboriginals clans were killed off and many got extinct. Even tribes like Noonuccal and Darwarbada tribe were in the endangered list. They succumbed to the evil side of change and are on the verge of getting faded away. With them, a huge treasure of knowledge about nature and crafts will also get wiped away.  Many clans felt loneliness and only one or two aborigines exist as its last members. Many got displaced and now lead a nomadic life. Once they were efficient hunters and leaders but now, they are mere savages. Boomerang and spears are now mere objects to attract tourists. "Civilised" aborigines were not accepted by aborigines who held on to their customs. Many aborigines and animals like kangaroos are now used to popularize tourism in Australia thus turning them to display items behind bars. In such cases, unfortunately, humanity loses its touch.

               Old death has passed by you but took the dark throng;

               Now lost is the Noonuccal language and song.

               Gooboora, Gooboora, it makes the heart sore

               That you should be here but my people no more! (Gooboora, the Silent                   Pool)

               City development leads to eviction and dispossession. Many black women were exploited both physically and sexually. No police force helped them and convicted the criminals. Children were thrown out and subjected to poverty. They had no good shelter or food. In the name of progress, there were many crimes committed which was never answered. Oodgeroo makes sarcasm in her poetry The Unhappy Race about white people who calls themselves civilised. To her white men is the unhappy race. They already left their motherland and nature and moved to another strange land. Now they have started to exploit its land and water resources. The laws they think that makes them civilised actually shows how less civilised they are. They make slaves from their own species and feel proud for dominating other species as well. Criminals and poor exist even in their "rich" culture. Woman of their society still feels the discrimination though they are white. White man thinks his form of leisure is better than that of aborigines and feels superior. All they ever do is to get entrapped in their own laws and fake freedom. Along with "culture", whites also introduced to aboriginal cultures other factors of western civilisation like taxes, jails and orphanages. Oodgeroo has the perfect answers to all colonisers in her poem Stone Age.

               White man, only time is between us.

               Once in the time long gone you lived in caves,

               You used stone axe, you clothed yourself in skins,

               You too feared the dark, fled the unknown.

               Go back, remember your own Alcheringa.

               When lightening still was magic and you hid

               From terrible thunder rolling in the sky.

               White superior race, only time is between us-

               As some are grown up and others yet children.

               We are the last of the Stone Age tribes,

               Waiting for the time to help us

               As time helped you.  (Stone Age)

It would be a wrong decision to try to blend in the aboriginal population with that of whites. Oodgeroo defines it like "Pour your pitcher of wine into the river/ And where is your wine? There is only the river." (Assimilation- No!) Each community must be respected according to their customs and traditions. Instead of turning one life form to another; there must be co-operative and harmonious parallel existence. It wouldn't be right if aborigines where asked to move into the city life or Whites to the lap of nature. If good facilities are provided to both the groups where they both can have access to Australia's resources; things would get around being peaceful. Aboriginal groups must be given special care; rather than teaching them "civilised" ways, there should be also a method to learn back from their knowledge system. Indigenous people around the world are fighting for their identities and their land. Whites believe they brought values of democracy, equality and socialism to the land; but actually, these values already existed within the native culture without a name that defined it.  The hostility arises mainly due to misunderstanding and intolerance of white race. Oodgeroo says:

               Why change our sacred myths

               For your sacred myths?

               No, not assimilation but integration,

               Not submergence but our uplifting,

               So black and white may go forward together

               In harmony and brotherhood. (Integration- Yes!)

               One of the most important system colonisers brought to Australia was that of Religion. Many Aborigines were converted to Christianity and were taught about the love and sacrifice of Jesus. Though they were able to connect with the teachings of love, they still faced discrimination from such institutions. They later taught mostly about discipline and obedience to their masters (whites) and the need to be punished if one commits a sin. The language of love turned to one of oppression. Oodgeroo believed that education can bring aborigines closer to god: “If you have to teach the light, / Teach us first to read and write." (The Teachers)

She also said:

               Dark Man:

               White fellow, true

               You had more for pride:

               You had Jesus Christ,

               But Him you crucified,

               And still do. (White Man, Dark Man)

In another poem she says:

               People who say, by bias driven,

               That colour must not be forgiven,

               Would snub the Carpenter in heaven. (Intolerance)

She also quotes:

               Give us Christ, not crucifixion.

               Though baptized and blessed and Bibled

               We are still tabooed and libelled. (Aboriginal Charter of Rights)

If there is no equality for aboriginal people; democracy, religion and development progress are not doing their duties well. Aboriginal life has also clung itself to money and jobs due to survival instinct. Many got addicted to liquor and drugs, others serve as urban entertainment. Essence of sharing is gone and knowledge about tracking is getting faded away. Their life has begun to lose innocence and even they give less prominence to their traditions. They feel if they hold on to their past lives; they may turn to outcasts in modern day society. Some have switched to urban alleyways where as some others have cut themselves off from the city all together.  Whites don’t mind about native customs and preservations are seen as a futile act. There are a part of white people who still want to live along with aborigines. It's also due to their constant efforts; some of the stuffs actually remain as it is, in the present day. Each aboriginal writer hopes about a day where everyone would live happily together; a day where they will get their livelihoods and freedom back.  They are ready to fight for it too.

               Come gentle black man

               Show your strength;

               Time to take a stand.              

               Make the violent miner feel

               Your violent

               Love of land. (Time Is Running Out)

Works Cited

·         Oodgeroo, N. (1966). The Dawn is at Hand. 1st ed. [ebook] University of Michigan:

Marion Boyars. Available at: http://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poems-book/the-      dawn-is-at-hand-0719000 [Accessed 29 Nov. 2014].

·         "Challenges Facing the Indigenous Community Today." Skwirk Education. Red Apple

Education Ltd, 15 May 2009. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-17_u-455_t-1230_c-4707/sa/sose/aboriginal-people-and-torres-strait-islanders/indigenous-people-today/challenges-facing-the-indigenous-community-today>.

·         "Indigenous Issues." Netherland Institute for Indigenous People. NCIV, 01 Nov. 2010. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Findigenouspeoples.nl%2Findigenous-peoples%2Findigenous-issues>.

·         "Information Sheet - Social Justice and Human Rights for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples." Australian Human Right's Commission. AHRC, 20 May 2012. Web. 29 Nov. 2014. <https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-social-justice/guides/information-sheet-social>.

·         "History of Indigenous Peoples and the International System." United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigeneous Issues. United Nations, 3 Apr. 2010. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fundesadspd.org%2FIndigenousPeoples%2FAboutUsMembers%2FHistory.aspx>.

·         "Indigenous Australians." Cultural Survival. CSORG, 20 Oct. 2011. Web. 30 Nov. 2014. <http://www.culturalsurvival.org/australia>.

·         Walker, Yolanda. "Aboriginal Family Issues." Australian Institute of Family Studies. AIFS, 1 Aug. 1993. Web. <Aboriginal family issues>.

·          "Working with Aboriginal Young People." Opening the Doors. YAPA & the Nepean Access Project Reference Group, 14 Oct. 2005. Web. 26 Nov. 2014. <http://www.yapa.org.au/openingdoors/aboriginal/needs_issues.php>.

·         "Aboriginal People." Survival. Survival International, 30 Feb. 2012. Web. 25 Nov. 2014. <http://www.survivalinternational.org/tribes/aboriginals>.