Week 5

Week 5 Blog: Race as a Bond vs. Race as Discrimination

In class we viewed the documentary, Footy La Perouse Way and were asked to think about/observe three things: how sport impacts the Indigenous community, RL in aboriginal community, and the demographics of the people participating and watching. While watching the documentary, one thing particularly stuck out to me and that was how the differences in race worked as a bond for La Perouse, but race also served as a form of instigation and discrimination. For La Perouse and their fans race was something they often drew on and were proud in. The stuck together as one and used the instigation as motivation; if one teammate cracks, it will hurt the rest of the team, however if they all stay strong than they can work together as one through the disparity and differences. We see race as discrimination from the other team and the coach of La Perouse. We commonly hear him talking about do not let the other team get into your heads, keep playing your game, if you let it bother you than you already lost. We also saw an interview from former player who was discussing the different racial slurs, which are commonly said on the field. Being a foreign student, I was unfamiliar with what the slurs were and how they should be interpreted, however I just imagined slurs that are common in American culture. Even after comparing the slurs from American culture to slurs used towards indigenous people, it still seemed much worse for the indigenous people. In Australia it seems as if there is a large opinion to Aborigines are still not considered equal, and when the slurs are used, they are whole heartedly meant to emotionally hurt that person or discriminate against them. In America there is certainly racist people, however I would say the majority of the slurs used in sports is a figure of speech, often used by multiple races. Overall, I thought the aspect of using race to ones advantage and disadvantage was very interesting in the documentary and proves how existent and lively indigenous culture is in our community.

Week 4

Week 4 Blog: EORA Fitness:

Indigenous culture struggles daily to overcome battles with weight-loss, diabetes, kidney disease, etc. However, with the help of EORA fitness trainers are staff members are ready to take a stand. EORA fitness is part of the National Centre of Indigenous Excellence, a not for profit social enterprise. All profits from EORA Fitness are reinvested in local and national Indigenous development, training and employment initiatives. Anyone can be a member and by joining EORA Fitness you are playing a part in improving the opportunity profile for generations of Indigenous youth. EORA fitness has a fully equipped gym with a weight room, cycle and cardio rooms, personal trainers, group fitness classes, twenty-five meter swimming pool, and dedicated staff and personnel dedicated to make a difference in the indigenous community. The presence of a fitness center for the indigenous community center is extremely beneficial and proactive way to fight against their weight issues. Having a fitness centre with knowledgeable and dedicated staff is essential to physical well-being. More cultural centers similar to this should be installed more regularly around indigenous communities. These centers could reinstall pride of being aborigines as well as spark a desire for change in the community.

Week 3

Week 3 Blog: Identity Crisis A visiting Canadian expert on Indigenous healing says the mining sector may be threatening the survival of Aboriginal culture in the Kimberley. Michael Chandler came to Australia to meet with leaders in Indigenous communities in order to provide assistance on suicide prevention and ways to heal at-risk communities. Indigenous leaders in the community fear for the preservation of culture in the resources-rich environment; "I've heard in my short visit here many concerns about the survival or the perpetuation of culture in the face of kind of an influx of industry and money and job opportunities that carry people away from their families," he said. "These communities are often on or near national resources. This short article is incredibly interesting because in the past politicians have publicly announced their sorrow and recompense for the mistreatment of aboriginals during the colonization of Australia, however they are continuing to do the same thing today. Politicians are willing and ready to being mining in an aboriginal town, regardless of what the results will be for the already struggling community. I guess the term “history repeats itself” proves true. Ironically enough it seems as if the mistreatment and exploitation of aboriginals by white men is recurring again. How can we expect a community to progress when every time they settle down in another area they are pushed out for white men’s monetary gain? BLACK LABOUR, WHITE GUILT; established 1800’s.

Week 2 Blog

Week 2 Blog: Education Fails Indigenous Kids

Australia has to improve its education constantly, performing better from year to year in international benchmarks, to support productivity growth and quality of life. In the National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy tests and My School website, Education Minister Julia Gillard has not only provided parents with vital information about their children's schools but given Australia an invaluable evidence base for school improvement. Generally speaking Australia’s schools as a hole perform reasonably well, however indigenous education is failing dismally. It is reported that forty percent of Australia’s indigenous students are not even achieving minimum national standards. According to the government's draft of Indigenous Education Action Plan research shows that "the realistic time-frame that should be considered to achieve outcomes for indigenous people equal to the rest of the community is to focus on the outcomes that should be expected for the children to be born in 20 to 25 years from today". In other words, the union's time frame to achieve the same pass rates for indigenous as for non-indigenous children is more than 30 years. Many of the indigenous schools are in the Northern Territory, with some in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia. Education departments now know which of their schools are not performing. Many students who graduate from these schools cannot read, write or count. In these schools, 70 per cent to 80 per cent of students in years 3, 5, 7 and 9 fail to achieve minimum national standards. Indigenous year 9 students in many remote schools have literacy and numeracy equivalent to mainstream students in year 3. They are six years behind and never catch up. About 20,000 indigenous students attend these schools. Being a foreign student I can’t help but relate the issues with indigenous students to African American students in the United States. Currently African American studies are at a low, and similarly it will take significant time before there is any improvement. I have done some research on the topic, and many issues are contributed to problems at home. School districts and government need to do a better job influencing students who come from trouble backgrounds. They need to understand that they will never excel if they do not take their schoolwork seriously. No company will employ a twenty year old who is illiterate. Immediate reform needs to be installed before any progress will be made. It horrible and incredibly sad for the indigenous and African American culture, however recognizing there is a problem is the first step.

Week 1 Blog

Week 1 Blog: Imparja Cup Lifts Indigenous Cricket Boundaries: Reportedly a record number of teams and players will partake in the Imparja Cup this week. Cricket Australia reports that Indigenous representation is stronger than it has ever been, especially with all-rounder Dan Christian playing in the Australian one-day team. Popular athletes such Josh Lalor and Short have had a strong presence at the event, hoping to spark an increase for aboriginal players in first-class matches in the future. Kelley Appleby believe that the higher number of elite Aboriginal cricketers will encourage younger players to become more involved. “I think having really positive role models playing at the top is always something young players look up to” (Kelley Appleby). Kelley makes a very important point when she speaks about having really positive role models playing at the top for the younger generation to look up to. Having a positive role model for children is incredibly important because they need people there for them encouraging them to never give up and to show that even though you are a minority anything is possible. A great example of this is Mr. Sarra from the documentary we viewed in class. Mr. Sarra inspired an entire community, by demanding hard work from his students. It is important to have aboriginal children become more involved in sport because it could also help with lowering the rate of diabetes in their community as well as weight issues. By seeing other aboriginals in sport, the younger generations can become inspired and ultimately strive to be just like the other athletes.