I live in Kanahooka, Wollongong. Following the death of my mother, I discovered that I am Gamilaroi mob (direct descendant). Following research/family tree compilation, I have proof. With help from a Moree researcher/Dhiiyaan Aboriginal Centre, I forwarded all material to, and sought membership of Coonamble LALC. They didn't know my family, so I was rejected. They suggested Moree LALC. I did similar, but was ghosted (you need to be a Moree resident). Karuah LALC is next. They have also gone silent. Concurrently, I also approached Illiwarra LALC. No one seems interested

I am going to get stat decs and send with research/family tree to ..............who? I have emailed and rung many Aboriginal organisations. This is my heritage and the start of my journey. What do I do to get confirmation of aboriginality

Please view and share with mob, getting close to 1000 subscribers, every new subscription counts. 🪃

Hello! I’m a writer-performer, based in Naarm, and I’m doing a political comedy show at this year’s Melbourne Fringe (mostly about eliminating billionaires).

Given the subject matter, the stock standard acknowledgement feels a little insufficient. But when I’ve tried to personalise it, I’ve ended up writing ones that are unwieldy and a little soapbox-y.

So I’m wondering, specifically from Aboriginal folk (especiallly Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Bunurong people if any are in here):

- what do you dislike about typical Acknowledgments?
- have you heard anything unusual/atypical in an Acknowledgment that you’ve especially appreciated?
- what would you love to hear in an Acknowledgment that you never have?

I have looked for guidance online, but most of what I’ve found is very safe advice from government organisations. So even if you have good links for me, that would be great. I read the rules about unpaid education, so if you know the appropriate person I should pay for this, let me know.

Ideally, I’m after something fist-pumpy and aggressive that makes the Blak folk in the room feel hyped up, even if (especially if) it turns off white centrists. I’m also fully prepared for 100 comments immediately telling me to stay in my lane and do the standard one. As a trans woman, I know how cringe it can be watching cis allies get out over their skis.

Thanks!

I am visiting Australia, I’m a member of the Seneca nation from the states and wanted to see if there were opportunities to meet some of yall or learn more about your culture while I’m over there.

Im going to be around Sydney and most places I look up seem to be less indigenous/natube-focused and more about australian history or a tourist attraction. Any recommendations would be great as well as tips on what not to do as I’m unsure if our customs are different from what I know back in the states.

I’m keeping this anonymous because it’s identifying.

I’m an Aboriginal performer and I’ve been part of a large Indigenous performing arts group in Australia that’s run by white people. The group has helped me get my art out into the world, and I’m genuinely grateful for the opportunities they’ve given me.

But I’m at the point where I don’t think I can stay anymore.

I’m the darkest-skinned Aboriginal person in the group. There are only a few other Indigenous people involved—my best friend, who is Torres Strait Islander, another light-skinned Indigenous girl, and a white girl.

One of the biggest issues is how I’m treated when it comes to family.

I have important family responsibilities that sometimes mean I need to miss performances. Every time I ask for time off, I’m made to feel guilty. I’ve been told things like:

* “We’ve done so much for you.”
* “But it’s NAIDOC. Can’t you do it another time?”

That second comment was made after I told them I was meeting my father for the first time in my life.

To me, family comes first. I don’t think I should have to justify choosing my family over a performance.

My cousin was involved with the group before she left to have a baby. Instead of being happy for her, the people running the group berated her and spoke down to her. She’s also dark-skinned like I am. Even after she left, they’d constantly speak badly about her behind her back. It got so uncomfortable that I’d have to leave the room.

There are things that don’t sit right with me culturally either.

I’ve been made to sing songs that were historically sung by enslaved Black people, but when there are parts in Indigenous language, those parts are given to the white girl instead of the Indigenous performers.

On top of all of that, there are almost no personal boundaries.

People hug me without asking. I’m expected to hug people even when I don’t want to, and if I don’t, I’m made to feel guilty.

I’m also blind, and people constantly grab my arm and physically lead me somewhere without asking if I want assistance or how I’d like to be guided. They just assume. It makes me feel like I don’t have any say over my own body.

The truth is, I’m genuinely unhappy there.

Tonight I finally told my best friend that I wanted to leave the group.

Her response shocked me. She said she’d been thinking the exact same thing and wants to leave too.

Now I’m wondering whether I’ve been ignoring all these red flags because I felt like I owed them for the opportunities they’ve given me.

I appreciate everything they’ve done to help my career, but I don’t think that should mean accepting racism, guilt, disrespect for boundaries, or feeling miserable every time I walk into rehearsal.

Has anyone else in community dealt with something like this? How did you leave without feeling like you were betraying people who helped you? I’d really appreciate hearing from other mob who’ve been through similar experiences.

I was in another group and the topic about unrecipes made me remember how everyone asked me if I ate witchetty grubs or whatever food they thought was Aboriginal as kid. It was the 80s/early 90s and the old stigmas and cliches prevailed. My dad was the opposite and enjoyed tormenting my non-Indigenous friends growing up about trying our cultural food and would lean into their request and trick them every time.

Did anyone elses dad or mum prank your non-Indigenous mates growing up about assumptions regarding what we culturally ate?

Example 1: My American friend came to Australia for a year in the mid 90s while her dad lectured at the local uni. She was from Ohio (go Buckeyes!) and with no easy internet access (1993) she knew nothing about Australians let alone our culture but genuinely wanted to learn. She was surprised Canberra the capital had paved roads for example. She thought all our streets were red dust.

Her nan sent care packages with products we dont have here. I tried tootsie rolls, Sharkleberry Finn Kool-Aid, twinkies, pop tarts, oreos etc. Sugarfest, ughhh. Traditional American food is so sugary haha.

When she stayed at my house one night she asked dad if he could cook any 'Aboriginal food' for her. He said he had an old recipe for an Aboriginal breakfast. I played along all night geeing her up. Next morning she was so excited. Dad was buzzing around the kitchen and creating a feast. It was just scrambled eggs with cheese, left over pasta spirals and various herbs and spices. It was ok but she was stoked. Amazed.

Next time I visited her place, her mum was like 'thank you for sharing Indigenous food with my daughter. Can I get the recipe if thats ok with your dad?' She wanted to impress her American friends with an Australian Indigenous recipe. She was so excited. I had to tell her my dad was just being silly and it was scrambled eggs and pasta. They were crushed and dad felt a bit bad when I told him. He apologised to Matty for tricking her. But she thought it was hilarious. They loved me being korri and being their mate. She is still my friend 30+ years later.

Examples 2:

My dad cooked every Sunday roast. My post war Welsh mum grew up on ration food, no spices or seasoning. She immigrated here and brought her animal bits diet with her. She would hide offal in our food because she thought we would get used to it. We would sit at the table silently sobbing into our plate of hidden animal bits. Dad shut that down, after the boiled tonguegate incident she was impeached and removed as the offal whispherer. My friends understandably hated her bland, boring food. It was awful.

They loved dads madcap creations and the pranks he did. My pop was a butcher so we never paid for meat. Dad would make a big deal of the freshness of the meat and how yum it would be to my mates. He would tell my friends he had a dugong, dolphin or turtle etc in the oven and they'd be scared but wiling to try. It was just roast pork. Their first bite was hilarious. It was funny seeing them realise its just pig.

Example 3:

Sometimes we would bring one of my friends on holiday when we went home to our mob. Dad would tell them how we were getting a meal of bogon moths and various animals like skink or bandicoot, echidna, whatever came to mind. Explain what an honour to be offered it. Gee my friend up about it the whole way, Id be hyped for echidna and pile on about how delicious it was. Winding them up. Then we would get there and my family live on the coastline. Platters of abalone, oysters, scallops, prawns, bugs and fresh pasta and salad to boot. Seafood caught by my uncles and cousins with love always tastes the best. They would be so relieved.

Dad wouldnt keep it up if the joke wasnt hitting but teenagers are gullible as hell and everyone always laughed at being tricked. I loved my dads silly pranks because it was also a teaching moment for them. When dad passed I had so many friends come and pay respect to him at the funeral. He had fooled nearly all of them at some point. I was really touched by them attending.

I live in WA, with mob from small bush towns in the great southern. I am disconnected from my culture because of how I look, and an aboriginal father who doesn’t openly celebrate or even acknowledge his race due to generational trauma. My mother was white but actively involved in helping the aboriginal community, but she has passed on. So, not knowing much about aboriginal culture, I learned in my work in working in disability care from a lovely aboriginal family that each aboriginal person has a spiritual totem, one that choses them.

I really started to think about mine would be. I feel it is a Willy Wag Tail bird. I see them everywhere, before something bad happens, I see them as a warning of news to come, most usually bad news. I am asking anyone who knows anything about these birds to please share your experience, or knowledge about them? Or about your own spiritual totem, how it chose you, and what it does for you?

Thank you for reading & if you can share anything with me, or if you can point me in the right direction to learn more about my spirituality & this bird.

Will update this every few hours with wisdom.

You can agree or disagree. But I spent many years on walkabout.

chapter 1:

I've seen a few people ask how to connect to the land. To me, connecting to the land means. walking barefoot on the land, breathing in the air, noticing rock formations. seeing where the water runs on a heavy rain. That's connecting to the land. spoken word is useful for keeping the dream alive. But to truly understand where you are from. You have to walk. and keep walking.

chapter 2:

This is controversial but the truth.

Read, research and get off the internet. we're in a game.

Aboriginal heritage vs government paper heritage. Laws and legislations placed upon us for training, inclusion, and a handful of other "benefits" are a government front to maintain inclusion of the natives. australian natives were treated the worst in the world. "do you identify as an Aboriginal" means can we tax write this off. Just like the NDIS its all about the dodgy money. Brothers and sisters, welcome to the system. They have everyone speaking for you. we never get a say. On the TV your favourites are all actors aside from a few. This will be deleted. it always does. but that's the truth. I have evidence.

They don't care about us. it's all a political game.

It's kind of interesting going to tafe for a horticulture degree when our ancestors ran this country without it. They just want the money.

chapter 3:

Screenshot this post (it will be removed). next update when the ancestors speak again.

chapter 4:

Even more controversial.

Stop being sorry for everything. posting a post to a community or speaking to a fella Whether black or white isnt offensive. Stop the offensive culture. 90% of things aren't offensive. Stop tip toeing. and lets get together and speak about what really makes us upset. literally stolen land, that they pushed us natives out of and sell an acre for 4 million dollars in sydney. thats offensive. The migration of native people from the sea to the desert. Thats offensive. We love the ocean. The salt water people. Yothu told the story.

who made the law of being "non offensive". They did. for media and TV. It's still the same old script. The same old lies. the same old stories. for 50 years. Still no treaty. Still no rights. we are the people. Government doesn't care. It's all FAKE. You get it. I know you do.

Chapter 5:

controversial topic

I answered most orhers love their fishing and foraging, I posted a few days back here asking for help to make a spear. I'm going to start hunting fish and kangaroos to eat.. Thanks for the responses. I'll post a picture when the spear is finished.

In modern times it's important to learn how to hunt and garden or forage native plants. Survival skills are so important. learning to garden, understanding what plants to eat are the most important skill you can have in life wherever you live in the world. we are so strong. and we deserve bettter than unwrapping a peice of meat or vegetables from the supermarket when australian native plants are 10 fold more nutrient dense. You can eat protein for days But the vitamins you get from plants, berries and yams are even more important.

"we are no longer hunter gatherers, we are just unwrapping plastic." - Unknown

chapter 6:

I apologize if any of this is disrespectful in any way, or if asking at all is disrespectful.

I’ve recently been thinking more about my family, my dad admitted years ago when I was a baby that we had indigenous family members, and it was well known. I don’t talk to my dad for personal reasons, so I have no way of finding out who, or where, or what mob, but my aunt is in NT connected to mobs up there.

I was asked yesterday once again, for the hundredth time in a year, if I was Koori, and as far as I’m aware, no. But I don’t know how to find my family or how to connect, or what is respectful to do about this. I have no indigenous people around me to ask about what to do.

I have live in wadawurrung country my whole life, and have heard of others who are cut off or disconnected from other countries getting involved in the community here and finding connection where it felt like it was missing before.

I’m not going to insert myself where I am not wanted obviously, but if any of you have had this same experience and have found family through connecting with culture where you live, and finding people to guide you, how did you go about it? I want to know more about indigenous culture and who my family is, even if they reject the fact themselves.

Thank you!

Hi All!

I have a question about the timing of Acknowledgement of Country, I am in a musical theater show, and I know that normally an AoC should be at the very start of a performance/gathering/meeting etc.

I was wondering, is it okay to do the AoC after the first song? We have a anniversary this year, and were wanting to perform our first song then do the AoC + the no filming etc message. Is this okay and respectful?

We are just wanting to make sure we remain respectful, so if it's best to just do it at the start then that's what we will do :)

Hi everyone,
Looking for some book recommendations about Aboriginal customs, traditions and beliefs. I love to read and am hoping to learn more about my culture/add to my current knowledge.

Extra points for any recommendations that are Wiradjuri focused.

TIA!

Hi guys,

My little cousin (nearly 1yo) is Walmajarri from her dad’s side, and her parents are teaching her Walmajarri language as she grows up (in Fitzroy), eg. she calls her grandparents Jaja and Juppi, says ‘nana’ for snacks.

Most of her non-indigenous family live on Noongar country, but we want to learn Walmajarri with her.

Could anyone direct me to some resources we could use to learn? And also anything else you would like non-indigenous family members of mixed kids to know.

Thanks!

Hi all, a shameless plug for ICTV.

Originating out of Mparntwe/Alice Springs and available free to air there (and in Broome) on C41. Also available to watch the live stream or videos on demand on www.ictv.com.au or ICTV PLAY app for mobile. Or for remote folks on VAST 601.

Most content is contributed by remote Indigenous community organisations or individuals- music, culture, sport, young way, tucker. Over half of the content is in language. Lots of archive material.

If you’re on the website/app there’s also an inLanguage portal that lets you select a place on a map and watch videos in language from that Country.

If you have kids (or even if you don’t), look for Our Bedtime Stories. Dreaming stories told by elders, with animations. Beautiful.

Check it out.

Ps - checked with mods before posting and given the ok to share.

This post is for our ancestors.

love you all.

I've probably met you. and we're all good. but how they teated us wasn't good.

I travelled the east coast of Australia all my life, it was an experience. I learnt the lore of the land. And there was some evil stories. I heard from locals in NQ they walked us of cliffs. Further down they mustered us like cattle to ultimately murder us. I'm now in tasmania, cold, but beautiful, especially.aftwr growing up in the tropic. And I've seen the spirits. The national parks here speak to us. We seen a family. I own a 3d camera and we seen the orbs. The most orbs we seen were at Mount field national Park. Dozens, if not hundreds of orbs we captured. Underneath a waterfall. It's wild.

Fast forward to camping at a location way far from where we were at. And guess what The spirits were there. I can't find words for the experience but we are very spiritual and respect the land. But my friend was attacked by sad spirits. She couldn't sleep a day I explained my lore fro. Qld. And she said "I seen. A mother father and kids." And they were real upset.

This is just a story of a travelling brother. I've got a good life now. But the.spirits are still mad. Thanks for reading. I miss you all. Shout out to the Townsville mob. you mean a lot to me. Miss you.

I found this and was going to turn it into a fire twirling stick but then I thought I wanted to make a fishing spear. I want to put a pronged tip on it and am not sure where to start.

Thanks for the help in advance. Hope you are all doing well out there family.

Hey guys, I won’t post again here after this but I wanted to apologise. I’m really sorry, I never meant to offend you or disrespect your culture, I never wrote it for my own personal gain, and it was never my intention to appropriate your culture. I realise that I was wrong and I want to thank you all for being so honest with me.

I won’t be taking the song any further, and I will try to get more connected with the wiradjuri community.

I also want to say that I have always respected the aboriginal culture and community, I’ve been trying to get more educated and connected with the culture and history out of respect for you and and to grow closer to my partner. I see now that I’ve approached it in the wrong way and I’m deeply sorry.

I also didn’t realise that using the wiradjuri language was disrespectful, and I apologise. I’ve been wanting to learn it as my boyfriend is wiradjuri, and he said he wants to learn it together. He’s been very disconnected with the wiradjuri community and we want to get more connected. He’s has a lot of mental health issues, and our living situation isn’t great, we are also on Ngunnawal country which has made it harder to connect with the Wiradjuri community and elders. We are working on making our living situation better and once we are stable we have plans to reach out.

I also want to say that the other reason i want to learn the language is because we plan on having kids in the future when we’re ready and stable, and I want our kids to be connected and proud of their culture, I want them to grow up learning their language and being taught about their culture.

After reading through all of your comments I see now that I have not been going about it the right way, and I will now do it properly, I will make connections with the community so I can understand the culture better, and let our kids be surrounded by other wiradjuri people.

I’m not proud of my ancestors, and I’m truely sorry for what they’ve done to you and your ancestors. I understand that the generational trauma and modern racism has affected every indigenous person in this country and I want to help make Australia a better place for you, my partner and our future children.

As I said before I’m not in a great situation atm, and my partner and I are struggling a lot, I’ve always wanted to be a musician, I grew up around lots of music and it means a lot to me. I know that music has a lot of cultural and spiritual meaning for you and I never meant to disrespect that, I’m truely sorry.

The purpose of my music is to make a change, I want to become successful in music so I can take action to support people in difficult situations. I want to be able to afford to donate to charities and give money to homeless people, I want to be able to afford to buy houses and give them away to people who need it, I want to spread awareness, and make a difference.

I know it sounds corny but that has always been my purpose in life, music is my everything and I’ve only ever wanted to help people. I never wanted to hurt or disrespect you and your culture and I appreciate your honesty and advice.

So again, I’m deeply sorry for offending you and your culture, I was in the wrong and I’m aware of that now, thank you for putting me in my place and giving me your perspectives, it opinions and advice mean a lot to me and I will change the way I approach this from now on.

Thank you, and I’m sorry.

I'm a white fella who has some understanding of what we have lost.

I am so sorry for what my people have done.

I accept that a lot of you probably don't want me here and that's understandable but I appreciate any who have an interest in what I have to say.

I live in Whadjuk Noongar Boodja.

I grew up in a family where I was forced to carry their pain alone from a young age.

I learned to see the sickness in the things that people want to ignore.

Like our history.

Like in the white relationship with country.

Like in the way society separates whites from each other.

I see the poison in my own heritage, in our culture of consumption.

I don't want compassion for this next thought. Maybe some of you might find this next thought interesting or entertaining. Maybe it's obvious.

I think a lot of white fella carry a big void within them that they try to fill with wealth, consumption and anything that will fit. I don't think they know the nature of the void they carry.

I believe it's our severance from our own culture, from community.

I yearn for my own mob.

I yearn for deep connection to country.

When I was out on Palyadi Manu, I found and touched a fragment of a large old shell that was far from the ocean. I saw a vision of a young Aboriginal child and I think I may have been seeing through the eyes of an Aboriginal woman in this vision. As quickly as I saw it, it was gone.

I don't understand why I saw this and I don't want to speculate. I haven't had anything like that happen before.

It helped me find a deeper curiosity for Aboriginal culture and definitely felt like a spiritual connection.

I want to find my place. I want to care for country.

I know that dreaming or totems aren't mine to have though I would love to take some responsibility for country and deepen my own connection to the land.

Please feel free to reach out. I'd love to spend some time on country or meeting local mob if anyone's willing to take time for a curious(and ignorant) white fella.

Looking for more info about these paintings. Purchased around 1975 by a teacher who worked in the aboriginal communities in Northern Territory.

Hi all,
Please no judgement. My sister has been on a long fertility road and recently had a miscarriage which really impacted her mental health negatively. She is trying everything under the sun, and blames herself for everything. The other day she mentioned that when we were kids our uncle had a didgeridoo, he specifically told my sister not to touch it, it will cause her infertility problems, anyway, we were kids and she and I both played it together. She is going through the motions of bringing up the dig even though it was 20 years ago, she made comments at dinner last night that she wish she knew how to say sorry to just mentally move on from it. She keeps saying she knows it’s silly but she wants everything to go right for her future bub one day. I’m at a loss now, even I feel bad, I’m her older brother and it breaks my heart seeing her struggle, even I have some guilt now too. I know this may be superstitious to some, but thought I’d try. Wondering if anyone would have any advice. Thank you.

I am an Aboriginal person who also is intersex (among other identities) and that plays a role in how I see my gender, my body and my connection to my culture. None of my art uses any AI and I’m firmly against it as a disabled, Indigenous artist. These flags are free to use for personal use with or without credit, though if you use them to sell things or profit I ask you do credit me. I also ask that you not use AI content with or related to this flag. My intent here is not to make a new community flag or expect others to adopt them into common use, but just to have something to represent my own identity which others can also use if they prefer. I also remade the Aboriginal flag, not as a “better” version but because the highly saturated colours give me eyestrain on digital mediums. Happy to provide Hex codes to anyone if they need them. I’m open to respectful or educational questions. Happy NAIDOC week

in order the flags are;

1. colour picked from the first, vibrant intersex pride flag, purple ring, yellow circle. Using my alt Aboriginal flag colour palette
2. colour picked from the secondary, less vibrant, intersex pride flag, purple ring, yellow circle. Using my alt Aboriginal flag colour palette
3. colour picked from the less vibrant Intergender pride flag, yellow ring, purple circle. Using my alt Aboriginal flag colour palette
4. colour picked from the vibrant Intergender pride flag, yellow ring, purple circle. Using my alt Aboriginal flag colour palette
5. colour picked from the first, vibrant intersex pride flag, purple ring, yellow circle. Using the original Aboriginal flag colour palette
6. colour picked from the secondary, less vibrant, intersex pride flag, purple ring, yellow circle. Using the original Aboriginal flag colour palette
7. colour picked from the less vibrant Intergender pride flag, yellow ring, purple circle. Using the original Aboriginal flag colour palette
8. colour picked from the vibrant Intergender pride flag, yellow ring, purple circle. Using the original Aboriginal flag colour palette
9. The original Aboriginal flag, not made by me but for colour reference.
10. My personal Aboriginal flag, with muted colours.