Culture Clash
The challenges facing Aboriginal Culture
Why do these challenges exist?
This article is the second in a series of eight by Bob Neville on the challenges facing Indigenous Australia
To a considerable degree, I answered this question In a previous article, I explained how traditional
Aboriginal culture reveals natural principles of economic sustainability. This traditional culture (the culture
before it was affected by the influence of white European culture) was a hunter-gatherer one of family
enterprise in which the whole family was productively and sustainably “employed.” It was also a culture
that respected and lived at one with the land and the seasons – in good times and in bad times. It was a
culture that can teach us much about natural sustainability – economically, socially and environmentally.
Unlike the invading European culture of divide, conquer and accumulate, they lived within their means and
day-to-day-needs within their tradition for tens of thousands of years. They never knew the need for ships
or horses or many of the things that white culture brought to their land – nor did they have the white man’s
diseases and same overwhelming sense of materialistic greed and a desire to accumulate more and more
wealth at the unsustainable expense of the land itself. Yet, with the arrival of this different culture, all
began to change very quickly. In their innocence Aboriginal cultural tradition became vulnerable and they
became victims. They had no genetic resistance to diseases of the conquering invaders, as it was also
and still is, highly vulnerable to all of the other negative influence of white culture.
Early white Australians wanted to place Aboriginal culture out of sight and out of mind - herding Aboriginal
people into Reserves and Missions, no matter how well-intended, in an effort to change the culture of
black to white with the white man’s ways. Yet, efforts to do what was perceived as the right thing by these
people who were then murdered and had their land stolen in the name of our God and King, our
predecessors have merely aided and hastened their destruction in many ways and this process continues
today. Not only were they disenfranchised from their traditional land, they were regarded by many as less
than human, hunted for sport, raped and killed as wild game, used as virtual slave labour, had their wages
and their children stolen and herded like cattle into desolate, isolated places – where the process of
eliminating their culture with the white man’s ways was often vexed with the contrast of appalling
treatment and indifference.
Sure, they still had their own challenges back then, but they dealt with this and survived under their own
laws and culture regardless. They then did not have to deal with the kind of greed and materialism that we
have created in and for a world that is progressively destroying all sustainability on the planet. And we
believed (and probably still believe) that our own culture was the standard to which we were obliged to lift
these people in the name of our God?
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Copyright © Bob Neville – 2014 www.communityregeneration.com.au
To suddenly interrupt this cultural environment as was done, to try to change it into a completely different
culture – in fact, an extremely opposite culture in the space of a couple of generations, or even a couple of
hundred years – was and is a formula for disaster – and indeed in many of our Aboriginal communities –
disaster is exactly what we have created and continue to sustain.
The foundation truth is that a distinct, ancient culture was polluted by another culture. We have many,
many thousands of Aboriginal people now who are torn between two diametrically opposite cultures – in
many cases unable to be lifted by either culture, and we are holding them back, victims of the worst
elements that exploitive white European culture has brought with it.
Our own white European culture brought with it its own solutions to deal with the negative influences of
our human spirit – through our Gods, through our laws and through our medicines. Unfortunately, when it
encountered Aboriginal culture, it believed that it had an obligation firstly to destroy that culture and then
later to change that culture. This has been the experience of conquering nations for thousands of years
has it not - the belief that we are “saving” these cultures by destroying them or changing them with our
own – and in the name of God and King?
But what happens as we try to change these people in this way?
In the process, we teach and oblige them to “be like us” – the problem being – we inevitably exploit them
in our cultural greed by exploiting human weakness (as we also do with non-Aboriginal people) and
progressively, as a direct result, many of them also “become like us” – bearing the good, the bad and the
ugly dimensions of our own European cultural heritage in conflict with their own traditional culture.
That is probably one of the most significant points which I have made in this entire series
of articles: We have taught and obliged Aboriginal people to “be like us” and as a result
their culture is now far from its traditional heritage for most of them, making many of
them victims and perpetrators of our own negative influence and greed.
When white Australians criticize Aboriginal people, the way they live and the problems they face in
substance abuse, health, living standards, work ethics and so much more, they are failing to realise that
we have actually been making them like us. Our culture has literally made many of them into victims of our
own culture’s negative influences. Therefore, due to the ever-present powerful conflict of their own
ancient culture, many Aboriginal people are unable to deal with the negative influences of the human spirit
in the same way we have done (and not that we have done all too good a job of dealing with it ourselves
either.) They are indeed more vulnerable and we see them continually being exploited accordingly right up
to this day.
I know, at this point, some white Australians will not understand or not agree with what I have stated
above, simply because they cannot or will not accept that in trying to change these people we facilitated
the worst elements of our own culture into them and continually made them vulnerable to it.
The traditional innocence of their culture was and continues to be polluted and progressively destroyed –
forever. Today, more than two hundred and thirty years later, many of Australia’s Aboriginal communities
are described as virtual third world and prisons with invisible walls - where too many of these people are
seemingly locked into cycles of extreme cultural, social and economic challenge. Every year, many
millions of dollars are continually poured into a top down effort to bridge the gap and solve the very
complex multi-faceted problems facing Australia’s Aboriginal communities. Mere money seems not to be
the answer – the appalling standard of living and health of too many of these people is continually locked
into a depressing cycle. Something is still not understood? Something perhaps so basic is still missing?
What is it and can it really be understood and solved?
In the next article in the series, will begin to see what is wrong and gain a first glimpse of
what I believe is the only realistic solution.
With a background focus dominantly in the Community Micro-Economic Sector in rural communities,
Bob Neville offers a very contrasting view and understanding of traditional Economic Development –
one that is based on strong foundation principles of sustainability and regenerative capacity. He dares
to see traditional Economic Development as a process which is out of control in many ways, believing
that infinite growth in a finite world is totally unsustainable. You are challenged to consider the
thought-provoking perspective through this series of articles.
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Copyright © Bob Neville – 2014 www.communityregeneration.com.au