15 things you should know about Aboriginal people of Australia
1. We are black. (wiki) (Black As TV show). We are a black and Indigenous culture that has no relation to the African diaspora.
2. We are Indigenous to the land known as “Australia” our stories go back eons. Most of these stories have been wiped out with the cultural genocide that is still ongoing.
3. Every single place you go to in Australia has a black name and a black history. Don’t let the white people fool you.
4. “You don’t look aboriginal” and “how aboriginal are you?” Are NOT okay to ask. and it’s also highly discriminatory given our history with the “White Australia policy” and the stolen generation where black kids were literally stolen from their families to “breed the black out of them”. This is still ongoing at twice the rate it was before. We believe that regardless of skin colour, black is our culture (Aboriginal culture). The saying goes “no matter how much milk you put in your coffee, it’s still coffee.”
5. Aboriginal people are automatically double minorities, as both Indigenous and Black. We suffer from twice the racism and genocide. god forbid you’re a women or a member of the lgbt community or both. (for example we have to fight against land rights as well as police brutality. This is not to lessen other peoples fights against racism but to outline that we could use as much help as possible because we are TIRED.)
6. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people refer to be called by either the name (Aboriginal/Torres Strait Islander). or Indigenous. never EVER shorten it to Aborigine. It’s racist. or tsi, ts islanders or anything like that. Indigenous is more formal. Also please don’t call us Native. I understand it’s normalized in America but in Australia plants and animals are called native and it reminds us of when we were literally treated as less than animals.
7. “Sis” may be an AAVE word that was “popularized” by gay twitter but DO Not call an Aboriginal woman/girl sis if you don’t know them. brother, sister, aunty, uncle and cousin are AAE (Aboriginal Australian English) terms of respect for our people. It’s incredibly offensive if you call someone that without their permission (esp if you’re not Aboriginal.)
8. Mob is an AAE word which usually means group or people, sometimes family or kinship. Sometimes Aboriginal people will ask each other “who your mob?” to ask who you’re related to. It might also be used in general “you mob”.
9. despite the racist rhetoric Aboriginal people do not drink more than white people in Australia do. They’re roughly about the same with Indigenous people being more likely to abstain than non Indigenous people.
10. C*on and B*ong are racist words that Australians have been using against Aboriginals since they came in their boat. sometimes the N word too. C*on is definitely the one used the most and has the same power as the n word. Don’t say it even as a joke I will fight you. (and I know some racist white dog with no brain and no culture will send it on Anon, sorry you have no life, I hope covid wipes out your family so you’re the only one left. I hope nobody loves you and you die alone and forgotten. )
11. Don’t play the digeridoo/yidaki if you’re not Aboriginal, especially if you’re going to profit off it and especially if you’re white. AND ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE FEMALE. Extremely racist. don’t do it. Also…you’re not good at it. I’m sorry, someone had to tell you.
12. Boomerang DOES NOT mean “come back”. it’s literally a weapon. It means ‘curved wooden weapon that you throw to kill things’. That is it’s literal meaning. Instagram is a money hungry hole sucking piece of shit. and you guys sound super embarrassing and cringey every time you use the word outside of it’s meaning.
13. don’t ask someone “how Aboriginal are you?” - racist.
“do you speak Aboriginal?” - racist. Also there were more than 250 Aboriginal languages originally though now there are less than 120. Which language are you referring to?
14. Aboriginal people exist in modern Australia. there are Aboriginal archeologists, doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers, journalist and etc. We don’t just exist out in communities and we aren’t some traditional myth.
15. Always was, always will be, deadly.
