I’ve just started my final coursework subject for my Masters in Applied Anthropology. It’s on Indigenous Interests and Identity and I think I’m in for a fascinating semester. The lecturer has focused his studies on Aboriginal music and media so we’ll be spending a lot of time looking at the traditional owners of this land. We’ll be reading about, and discussing, the Stolen Generation and the NT Intervention among others. I hope to have time to share some of the insights I find.
The first article (Always Ask by Fred Myers, 1982) I’ve had to read considers the notion of linking people to land and finds that it’s not a 1 to 1 relationship. Without going into the whole discussion, I was most interested to learn that the right to control land comes from knowledge of the land, primarily through the stories of the history of the land and the things on it. The owners can then choose who to pass ownership to by sharing stories with kin and those who show sincerity in their desire to care for the land.
In an earlier subject, I learned of the outcry by Aboriginal people on finding that Telstra had built a replica of Uluru in Second Life. Both the traditional owners of the Uluru area and owners of the Sydney Opera House (also replicated) were upset over use of their property for commercial purposes, but I now wonder if a large part of the issue Aborigines have over facsimiles (models and photographs) of sacred sites is due to the knowledge they can impart to those without rights to ownership.
I don’t know if anyone following my blog has Aboriginal background, but I’d love to get more information from anyone who has it – or even just your thoughts.