conVerge - Knowledge Systems

Knowledge Systems - Ribna Green

Thank you very much for that Jenny and thank you very much panellists. We will go to questions in a moment but I might say just a couple of things in terms of what guides me in relation to the issue that we are discussing today.

One of the guiding beliefs in my life is the position that for me, science is not the sum of all knowledge. There is an aspect of me that is beyond the realms of science and scientific analysis. Science is a very powerful tool, there is no question about that. But there's a dimension of my life, my dreams and my spirituality that I am very happy to say is something that lies beyond the realms of scientific analysis. And that's critically important to me in terms of my Aboriginality.

I grew up in a small town called Halls Creek which was unique in Western Australia in that it was about 75% Aboriginal. It was the biggest percentage of Aboriginal students for a state public school. And where we lived in town some people would describe it as the fringe of the town. And again from a definitional viewpoint folks, where I lived was exactly where I wanted to be and the other thing is the town with the shops and so on was on the fringe of my existence. It's constantly a question of whose view point you're taking. Whose perspective are you adopting in terms of how you look at and view things. You could also say the same thing for example about the 1967 referendum which amended the Federal Constitution in two respects: first it gave the Commonwealth power to deal with Aboriginal issues. Prior to that the Commonwealth couldn't. The other important issue was it also removed that provision from the Federal Constitution that disabled the Commonwealth from counting Aboriginal people as part of the Australian population. The next census after 1967 was 1971. I was eighteen years of age at the time that I was counted for the first time as a part of the Australian population. The same thing I say about that definition which said that we were on the fringe of the town, I say is this situation too. I didn't need a mega government authority to tell me who I am and what's important to me. I have my definition of myself firm in my mind and I don't need a government authority to make some great edict saying now you're a part of the Australian population. This government came and found us in our country here and call us the Nomads. Now get real folks.

We've been here for 40,000 plus years. And it also comes down to guiding terms of reference - I know where I come from, I know where my country is, who my people are and I know my place in the kinship system. My knowledge is still imperfect and there's a lot of room for improvement but I know the basics and those things guide me even today where quite often we see a clash of cultural values between mainstream Western values and Aboriginal ones.

I was involved in a company that was floated on the Australian Stock Exchange and they were dealing with some Aboriginal issues that I won't go into but it brought to a fore two very critical issues that I think was the essence of the difference between where I come from and what I see as important and what some of the non-Indigenous people who I worked with saw as important to them. In one single word, the key issue in Western Society is the whole idea of money. Making profit, that's the key driving force.

In contrast to this is the Aboriginal side - knowledge - this thing of knowing where you come from and what your culture is. Two of the basic questions that Aboriginal people ask themselves are 'Where do you come from and who's your mob?' To me those are the key definitions that inform me about my Aboriginality. And that's in contrast to say the government definition which is a three tiered one: you're Aboriginal by descent, self identification and acceptance by the community. Contrast that to my preferred definition of Aboriginality which is based on those two very simple questions 'Where do you come from and who's your people'. Now if you think about it, where do you come from, Land, and who's your people, kinship. Where do you come from, Land. Is land a part of the Government definition, No folks is not there. And if that is not another form of Terra knowledge then you tell me what is. And it's the same too when it comes to our culture as well. This constant attempt to negate Aboriginal systems of definition - how we see ourselves and how we define ourselves.

Now John showed some of the quotes from 1700 or 1800 or whenever. You know the sort of mentality that informed people in those days in terms of how they related to Aboriginal people throughout the world. I think this, I'll conclude on this point, I think that what's called for is equity and fairness between the two parties, if I can put it in that duality, in that Aboriginal and Non Aboriginal. And one of the guiding principles that I will take from my Aboriginal ness to give fullness and relevance ness to where I am in a contemporary society, is that principle of reciprocity. Now reciprocity is like a two way system. People sharing obligations and sharing so on and so forth. It is something I carry in my involvement in the contemporary context. It can't be a one way process folks. There has to be and Aboriginal people themselves have articulated this extremely well in a whole raft of programs over quite a number of decades now. The idea of two way law for example is a prime example of it's got to happen both ways folks. And that applies in a whole range of contexts. In law, in education, in health and so on and so forth and to me that's the sort of principle that I take from my Aboriginal culture and keep and apply in a contemporary context as a guiding that will inform me in terms of an appropriate conduct in particular circumstances that I find myself in on a daily basis. Between white fellas and black fellas its got to be a two way thing and I often talk to students about something I call my three Rs in terms of Aboriginal stuff and that's Recognition, Respect and Reciprocity. Now white fellas might say to you, 'What's the matter with you. Don't you have any brains?' and I'd say 'What's the matter with you. Don't you have any ears?' You know the importance of listening.

Thanks.