Brian Ross
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Myth 21: PM Kevin Rudd apologised “for the grief, mistreatment and suffering since colonisation”
This is a fairly recent myth propagated by journalists who didn’t do their homework and subsequently got their facts wrong.
For example, Tony Eastley, presenter of the ABC’s morning program AM, once said: “It is five years today since Kevin Rudd as prime minister made the landmark apology to Indigenous Australians for the grief,
mistreatment and suffering endured since European settlers landed two centuries ago…” [5]
Rudd didn’t apologise to all Aboriginal Australians. He only apologised to the Stolen Generations, a minority who had suffered from government policies which were used end of the 19th century to the 1970s—and not “since European settlers landed” in Australia.
Truth: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd apologised to a minority of Aboriginal Australians.
Myth 22: We need to raise the aspirations of Aboriginal children
This myth assumes that Aboriginal children are only aspiring to lower-paying jobs in trade, hospitality or sales. Thus we need to encourage them to ‘aspire high’ and see themselves work in top-paying jobs.
Not true. A large-scale longitudinal study by the University of Newcastle in 2017 found that “from an early age, Indigenous children share the same aspirations as non-Indigenous children. This includes the desire to become doctors, teachers, vets and artists”. [8]
George, a case worker for Indigenous Tenanacy At Risk, often talks with the children of his clients. “The one thing I know is Aboriginal children are very aspirational, they tell me stories of their dreams. One wants to work as an archaeologist in Greece… A young [girl] told me how fascinated she was with the solar system, her ambition is to study astronomy and physics, perhaps work for NASA. Another youngster informed that she wants to work in the political and industrial arena. Firstly, she told me, as a worker’s advocate, then as a parliamentarian.” [9]
So rather than trying to make Aboriginal children’s visions match that of their non-Aboriginal peers, we need to nurture the strong aspirations they already have in primary school.
Truth: Aboriginal children are as aspirational as their non-Aboriginal peers.
Myth 23: Aboriginal people didn’t use numbers beyond 3 or 4
Even anthropologists, linguists and other researchers get this wrong. According to the myth, Aboriginal people only had number words up to 3 or 4, used the word ‘hand’ for 5, or compounded larger numbers with words for smaller ones.
Truth is, it has been proven that Aboriginal languages have words for larger numbers and even systems for numbers that went on indefinitely based on 5. [10]
The Torres Strait Islanders, for example, had words for one hundred (‘mauru’) and one thousand (‘kaigasa’).
Truth: Aboriginal people’s mathematical skills go far beyond counting to five.
Footnotes
View article sources (13) 'Beyond the myths', shareourpride.reconciliation.org.au/sections/beyond-the-myths/'Rebutting the Myths', Miromaa, http://www.miromaa.org.au/culture/rebuttingthemyths.html 'Mythbusters ', Reconciliation Australia, http://www.reconcile.org.au/home/get-involved/learning-tools/mythbusters [1] 'A Punter's Guide To Not Getting Defensive About Adam Goodes' Truth Bombs', New Matilda 13/11/2014 [2] 'Estimates of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, June 2011', Australian Bureau of Statistics, http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3238.0.55.001 , retrieved 11/12/2014
[3] 'These six charts show the state of discrimination towards indigenous Australians', SMH 30/7/2014 [4] 'An Interview With Jenny Munro', Gaele Sobott, 25/1/2015, gaelesobott.wordpress.com/2015/01/25/an-interview-with- jenny-munro/, retrieved 2/2/2015 [5] 'Sloppy Journalism Reinforces White Myths', The Tracker 14/2/2013, retrieved from http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/essays/tracker/tracker20.html , 12/7/2015 [6] Productivity Commission Report: Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage: Key Indicators 2014, p. 4.80 [7] 'Here's the truth about the 'free ride' that some Australians think Indigenous peoples get', SBS News, 7/12/2016 [8] 'Why many high-achieving Indigenous students are shunning university', The Conversation 27/6/2017 [9] George G, personal email, 21/9/17 [10] 'Australian Aboriginal and Islander mathematics', John Harris, 1987, AIATSIS Library, http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/lbry/dig_prgm/e_access/serial/m0005975_a.pdf , retrieved 8/10/2017
Cite this article An appropriate citation for this document is:
www.CreativeSpirits.info, Aboriginal culture - - 23 myths you might believe about Aboriginal Australia, retrieved 8 October 2017
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