Im an Australian Aborigine. ask me anything

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

Ok going with the trend of getting to know more about each other I will gladly answer any questions you may have about either Australia or Australian Aboriginal culture.

A little personal background, im of mixed heritage, my mother is Aboriginal, my father is not but we dont know his background outside of "aussie".

I grew up in a small town 60,000 population that was about 1/10 Aboriginal around 6000 population.

I now live in Melbourne (which claims to be one of the most livable cities in the world) and have for the last 10 years.

I obviously cant speak for every Aborigine or Australian but im happy to answer questions from my perspective

Commedieu · Feb 17, 2018

Do you have an oral history that's passed down?

ScottyJayMan · Feb 17, 2018

On a scale from 1 to 10, how racist is Andrew Bolt

Deleted member 39214 · Feb 17, 2018

How racist is Australia in general towards aborigine community?

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

Commedieu said:
Do you have an oral history that's passed down?

I do actually but its mostly in the form of individual stories, not really in any chronological order

ScottyJayMan said:
On a scale from 1 to 10, how racist is Andrew Bolt

11

BringBackSonics · Feb 17, 2018

If I'm ever stranded in the outback, what would be the best way to get water?

Cocolina · Feb 17, 2018

GenericVillainName said:
How racist is Australia in general towards aborigine community?

In experience of the white Australians I know. Very and casually.

Necromanti · Feb 17, 2018

If you were to describe Australian Aboriginal culture to a foreigner, what aspects of it would you describe to them first? In terms of things like traditions, foods, and so on.

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

GenericVillainName said:
How racist is Australia in general towards aborigine community?

Both extremely racist and extremely accepting. You will meet people from either end of the spectrum.

Systematic racism is definitely real. But day to day personal interactions most people are nice.

The cities are far less racist compared to small towns like the one i grew up in. Melbourne is pretty good. Overall Australia likes to think of itself as not racist but as a whole is very casually racist towards all people.

HardTimesFamilyPride · Feb 17, 2018

A white Aussie friend of mine introduced me to the ABC Indigenous skits. As someone who is wholly ignorant to what indigenous Australians deal with, would you consider that representative, offensive, an PR stunt, or what?

LewieP · Feb 17, 2018

I heard that Australian Aborigine's are typically susceptible to getting drunk very quickly, even with just drinking a relatively small amount of alcohol, because it's something that in genetic terms was only recently introduced to them.

Is this true? If so, how much can you drink before starting to feel the effects?

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

BringBackSonics said:
If I'm ever stranded in the outback, what would be the best way to get water?

Tie a platic bag to a branch that has leaves, the heat will cause moisture build up in the bag. At least i saw that once in a documentary. I would probably die if i was stranded in the outback

30yearsofhurt · Feb 17, 2018

Is Anthony Mundine a loud-mouthed dickhead?

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

Necromanti said:
If you were to describe Australian Aboriginal culture to a foreigner, what aspects of it would you describe to them first? In terms of things like traditions, foods, and so on.

The biggest aspect of Aboriginal culture that survives are kinship systems. We have very large and sometimes complex systems of kinship and responsibility.

After that i would explain that prior to British colonization there were over 350 different Aboriginal languages and cultural groups but we were predominately hunter gatherers

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

30yearsofhurt said:
Is Anthony Mundine a loud-mouthed dickhead?

Alot of people feel that way. Alot of people like him for it. I just think he is a great Boxer

woodcutter · Feb 17, 2018

do you guys actually like iggy?

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

Yerba_Sutra said:
A white Aussie friend of mine introduced me to the ABC Indigenous skits. As someone who is wholly ignorant to what indigenous Australians deal with, would you consider that representative, offensive, an PR stunt, or what?

Comedy is big in the Aboriginal community. The abc Black Comedy show is very very popular and i would say acurately represents Aboriginal humor and culture

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

woodcutter said:
do you guys actually like iggy?

NO. DEFINITELY NO

SmokingBun · Feb 17, 2018

What are some Didgeridoo' s and Didgeridoont's of Aboriginal culture?

woodcutter · Feb 17, 2018

darz1 said:
NO. DEFINITELY NO

you are stuck with her. sorry

thediamondage · Feb 17, 2018

how long can you play a didgeridoo

do you believe in stuff like the dreamtime, the creation stories, etc or do you see them more like cultural stories?

litebrite · Feb 17, 2018

Are there any good fantasy books rooted in Australian Aboriginal mythology?

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

LewieP said:
I heard that Australian Aborigine's are typically susceptible to getting drunk very quickly, even with just drinking a relatively small amount of alcohol, because it's something that in genetic terms was only recently introduced to them.

Is this true? If so, how much can you drink before starting to feel the effects?

This is not true but i can explain where the myth came from.

Years ago, when Aboriginal people were rounded up on missions and reserves, it was illegal for Aboriginal people to drink alcohol. So public displays of drunkeness actually became a form of protest in those days. It was a way to say to the colonisers "you cant control me". So this actually became a trend, which led to the myth that Aboriginal people simply get drunk easily.

I personally dont drink anymore but i used to when i was younger. I didnt seem to get drunk quicker than any of my non-aboriginal friends

Glasgow Mega-Snake · Feb 17, 2018

How do you feel about tourists climbing Uluru/Ayers Rock?

woodcutter · Feb 17, 2018

gold coast or that other spot to visit?

Djkhaled · Feb 17, 2018

darz1 said:
Alot of people feel that way. Alot of people like him for it. I just think he is a great Boxer

Massive homophobic asshole though.

EDIT: is 60,000 people really a small town? That's like a smallish-medium city in Australia. I grew up in rural NSW town of 2,500 near Walgett probably 60% aboriginal. Lots of black vs white feuds happen but has died down a bit over the years. Was always weird for me being half and half. But I normally always fell on the black side.

LewieP · Feb 17, 2018

darz1 said:
This is not true but i can explain where the myth came from.

Years ago, when Aboriginal people were rounded up on missions and reserves, it was illegal for Aboriginal people to drink alcohol. So public displays of drunkeness actually became a form of protest in those days. It was a way to say to the colonisers "you cant control me". So this actually became a trend, which led to the myth that Aboriginal people simply get drunk easily.

I personally dont drink anymore but i used to when i was younger. I didnt seem to get drunk quicker than any of my non-aboriginal friends

Ah! That's an interesting story, thanks for the explanation. That's a pretty creative form of civil disobedience.

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

SmokingBun said:
What are some Didgeridoo' s and Didgeridoont's of Aboriginal culture?

Lol.

Well we all have a totem, which i guess is like a spirit animal, which we are definitly not allowed to kill.

Not allowed on sacred sites, which is where our ancestors spirits reside after creation.

Women arent supposed to play the Didgeridoo or they may be cursed and have bad luck or miscarriage. Some women may play in some communities but not often.

Men arent allowed to see or know secret womens ceremonies which take place with only women present

UnpopularBlargh · Feb 17, 2018

Thanks for starting this ama. How're the aborigine in Australia treated by the government?

In Canada, with Trudeau's Liberal there's a lot of talk of progress and how we can do better but no actual action. Though talk is still better than during our previous Conservative government's time.

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

Djkhaled said:
Massive homophobic asshole though.

Yeah. His personal views about alot of things are pretty trash.

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

thediamondage said:
how long can you play a didgeridoo

do you believe in stuff like the dreamtime, the creation stories, etc or do you see them more like cultural stories?

I can play the didge for about 5 minutes straight but it gets tiring. Its just circular breathing, takes a while to learn.

I respect dreaming stories, i do believe that they account for certain experiences of my ancestors but some of the stories i take more as metaphores rather then literal accounts.

30yearsofhurt · Feb 17, 2018

How big a problem is meth in rural communities?

League or aerial ping pong?

What is the answer to improving education in regional and remote areas?

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

litebrite said:
Are there any good fantasy books rooted in Australian Aboriginal mythology?

Sorry, I dont really know of any.

Glasgow Mega-Snake said:
How do you feel about tourists climbing Uluru/Ayers Rock?

I find it disrespectful to the community there and wish people would stop doing it.

woodcutter said:
gold coast or that other spot to visit?

I like the gold coast. Good spot to visit

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

Djkhaled said:
Massive homophobic asshole though.

EDIT: is 60,000 people really a small town? That's like a smallish-medium city in Australia. I grew up in rural NSW town of 2,500 near Walgett probably 60% aboriginal. Lots of black vs white feuds happen but has died down a bit over the years. Was always weird for me being half and half. But I normally always fell on the black side.

Yeah youre right, it is a big town compared to more rural towns. But small compared to Melb or Sydney.

And yeah im mixed too but always fell on the black side too

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

UnpopularBlargh said:
Thanks for starting this ama. How're the aborigine in Australia treated by the government?

In Canada, with Trudeau's Liberal there's a lot of talk of progress and how we can do better but no actual action. Though talk is still better than during our previous Conservative government's time.

We are only 2% of the Australian population so they dont really care about us. They make alot of token gestures but not a whole lot of action taken, unless they are taking something away from us

SolicitorPirate · Feb 17, 2018

What do you think of the Koori Court system? It has been running in Victoria for some time now, and I understand it's about to start trails in NSW

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

30yearsofhurt said:
How big a problem is meth in rural communities?

League or aerial ping pong?

What is the answer to improving education in regional and remote areas?

Meth/ice is a big problem everywhere i go. Its destroying communities and tearing apart families.

AFL all day every day. Lol.

Each community has its own challanges. Curriculum that includes the local cultural group/community can help in my opinion. A friend of mine is a teacher and is helping resurrect the local traditional language in my hometown which seems to be good in engaging students. But i cant say what would work across the map.

woodcutter · Feb 17, 2018

do you guys still like kylie?

Zushin · Feb 17, 2018

darz1 said:
AFL all day every day. Lol.

My man. Who do you barrack for?

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

SolicitorPirate said:
What do you think of the Koori Court system? It has been running in Victoria for some time now, and I understand it's about to start trails in NSW

I really like it. I have known alot of people who have engaged with it and it really does seem to work in helping people especially those on community corrections orders. It helps in connecting people to services that can assist them even after their orders are complete which in turn reduces the likelihood of reoffending. I absolutley support the work of Koori Courts

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

woodcutter said:
do you guys still like kylie?

I never liked kylie, but the general populace does seem to really adore her.

Zushin said:
My man. Who do you barrack for?

Carn the Blues. (I know they suck but my whole family loves them).

I was definitly going for Richmond in last years finals. What a slaughter that was

Zushin · Feb 17, 2018

darz1 said:
I never liked kylie, but the general populace does seem to really adore her.

Carn the Blues. (I know they suck but my whole family loves them).

I was definitly going for Richmond in last years finals. What a slaughter that was

Haha that's cool, Richmond sucked until we didn't. Carltons time will come! At least you're not a Magpie :P

And yes, that whole finals series was a nice surprise to be sure.

i_am_ben · Feb 17, 2018

UnpopularBlargh said:
Thanks for starting this ama. How're the aborigine in Australia treated by the government?

In Canada, with Trudeau's Liberal there's a lot of talk of progress and how we can do better but no actual action. Though talk is still better than during our previous Conservative government's time.

There is significant inequality between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.

The Federal Government and states have attempted to reduce this inequality but it has not been very successful as demonstrated by the recently released 'closing the gap' report https://closingthegap.pmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/ctg-report-2018.pdf?a=1

qaz · Feb 17, 2018

Do you think "Australia Day" should be changed?

Zeldaflavoredzebra · Feb 17, 2018

woodcutter said:
do you guys actually like iggy?

I'm Koori and I fucking love Iggy. I'd even go as far as saying she's my favorite aussie rapper

woodcutter · Feb 17, 2018

Zeldaflavoredzebra said:
I'm Koori and I fucking love Iggy. I'd even go as far as saying she's my favorite aussie rapper

there's more?! send links please!

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

Zeldaflavoredzebra said:
I'm Koori and I fucking love Iggy. I'd even go as far as saying she's my favorite aussie rapper

Well it's not really a lot of Aussie rappers to choose from lol, except for all them awful oz hip hop rappers.

But really though? Iggy?

Zeldaflavoredzebra · Feb 17, 2018

darz1 said:
Well it's not really a lot of Aussie rappers to choose from lol, except for all them awful oz hip hop rappers.

But really though? Iggy?

I like southern rap and Iggy nailed it which i thought was pretty good for a white girl from Mullum.

Baker Boy is gaining momentum though

darz1 · Feb 17, 2018

qaz said:
Do you think "Australia Day" should be changed?

Yeah. I think Jan 26 should be a day of rememberence and refelection. It is the day of invasion and it really should be acknowledged by all Australians. If we really must celebrate "Australia" surely there are other days that can be used

Midnight Lunch · Feb 17, 2018

Where did you grow up? Currently living in Gippsland, where I also grew up.