TEAC 7156 Aboriginal Education: Past, Present and Future

Module 3:
Racism, anti-racism,
stereotyping,
cultural safety and identity.

Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and First Nations students are advised resources shared in this PowerPoint
Contain images, voices and/or names of deceased persons.

Unit Coordinator: Michelle Locke

Acknowledgement of Country

Artwork by Bundeluk used with permission of Aunty Edna Watson

Introductory notes.
• We are choosing to use Aboriginal throughout this presentation and not Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
as we are teaching in NSW on Aboriginal land.

• We acknowledge that both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders make up the First Nations of this country we
call Australia. I acknowledge all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders, present and emerging as well as
the ancestors from whom our strength and resilience is inherited on these unceded lands.

• We acknowledge that all First Nations peoples of this country we call Australia have in the past and still do
experience racism in many forms.

• We acknowledge that Australia is a multi-cultural country and that many migrants to Australia have, since
1788, also experienced racism on all levels.
 Module overview

Module 3: An overview of racism, anti-racism, stereotyping, cultural safety and identity.

• Acknowledgement
• What is race?
• The ‘Aboriginal Race’
• What is racism?
• A history of Aboriginal racism in Australia
• Myths & Stereotypes
• Anti-racism policy in education
• Cultural safety and cultural competency: there is a difference
• Aboriginal identity in Australia today
• Culturally responsive approaches
Vernon A
h
Kee 2003
What is race?

• Race is considered to be the grouping or categorising of humans based on similarities of physical

features such as skin colour, hair texture, facial features, and eye formation, as well as behaviour and
broad cultural attributes. This is different to ethnicity which recognises differences between people
mostly on the basis of language and shared culture.

• The terminology of “races” of humans first began to appear in scientific papers in the 17th century.

• It became a tool used by anthropologists and philosophers in the 18th century, defining race by
geographical location and phenotypic traits like skin color to place people.

• By the early 20th century scientists were using classifications of race to identify, describe, and document
the differences and the relationships between them. Some scientists even used the term race to mean
sub species which were presumed sufficiently different biologically that they might later evolve into
separate species. This theory supported inherrent prejudices of the scientists involved.
Race (continued)

• Scientists and anthropologists do not agree

on the number of races of humans in the
world nor on a means of identification.

• In the late 20th century scientific analysis of

genomic testing has shown that humans do
not fit into any common racial model that
we assume. Instead there is overlap with
genetic difference between individuals at
less than one percent.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/04/race-genetics-science-africa/
 • A social construction is something created by
society; that is not a natural development; it is
Race as a constructed or created for a social purpose.

construct. • However, using race as a political or social

category to study racism is valid, although filled
with lots of challenges it remains an important
method of understanding how structural inequities
and discrimination produce disparities between
groups of people.
What is racism?

• Paternalism
• Silent apartheid
• Exoticism - noble savage
• Parallelism
• Abrogation of responsibility
• Ethnic profiling
What is racism?:
Individual racism

Individual racism grow out of personal bias, learned prejudice, unconscious acquisition of
societal norms and media reinforcement. Expression of individual racism includes both face-
to-face or covert actions toward a person that intentionally express prejudice, hate or bias
based on race. In most instances though, individual racism is insidious and unconsciously
shapes beliefs, attitudes and decisions.
Examples of individual racism include:
• Walking across the other side of the street when someone different to you is in your path
• Telling jokes and putting people down for being too sensitive
• Serving someone who is different to you last
• Being condescending towards the different ways and beliefs of others
• Saying something like “You’re really good looking for an Aboriginal.”
What is racism?:
Institutional racism
This refers to the policies and practices of organisations, institutions and governments, intentionally or
not chronically discriminate or favour one group in society over another, giving advantages to one and
marginalising others. Institutionalised racism is often difficult to recognise and counter as they uphold
dominant society norms and rarely recognise that racism is being perpetuated by their practices.
Racism experienced by students at school may result in early school dropout and lower educational
outcomes. Together with discrimination in employment, this may lead to fewer employment
opportunities and higher levels of unemployment for these students when they leave school. Added to
this young Indigenous Australians are 17 times more likely to be arrested than their peers
(Soutphommasane, 2017).
‘In the [Aboriginal] Australian context, the high rates of unemployment, lower average income, high
rates of arrest and imprisonment, of poor health, low education and low life expectancy are, in part,
indicators of the consequences of entrenched institutionalised racism (Dudgeon, Garvey & Pickett,
2000).’
What is racism?:
Everyday racism

Philomena Essed (1991) first coined the term ‘everyday racism’, refers to
the everyday the taken-for-granted racist practices ingrained in our
society. It refers to the commonplace interactions with people, services
or systems that leaves minorities including Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islanders feeling racially judged through covert putdowns, barriers, and
condescension. These can be both intentional or unintentional and
delivered by both individuals and institutions.
 Being colour blind:
“I’m not racist, I don’t see colour.”
How can colour blindness – the idea that race does not matter – be racist?

Racial or colour blindness reflects an ideal in the society in which skin color is insignificant. Colour blind ideology arose out of the civil
rights movement and is based on rule of law, non-discrimination, and equal opportunity by merit.
Support for this view was developed in recognition of a society where millions of blacks live in the middle and upper classes and
millions of whites live in poverty, race is no longer an accurate indication of privilege. Recognizing someone's social class is more
important than recognizing someone's race, indicating that society should be class-conscious, not race-conscious.
Criticism comes from the concerns that majority groups use colour-blindness as a means of avoiding the discussion of racism and
discrimination.

“Those who attempt to create dialogue around issues of race and racial inequities risk being labeled racists themselves. In sum, frames of color
blind racism enable a perspective that allows color blind groups and individuals to ignore their own complicity in maintaining the privileges
associated with the status quo.” Understanding and Dismantling Privilege Margaret Austin Smith 2013

The idea of a colour blind society, while well intentioned, leaves people without the language to discuss race and examine their own
bias.
Colour blindness relies on the concept that race-based differences don't matter, and ignores the realities of systemic racism.
Racism in Australia

Racism is an ongoing problem in Australia. It

directly affects significant numbers of
Australians. In annual surveys, about one in
five Australians report having experienced
racial discrimination during the previous 12
months. Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people and certain migrant
communities (such as African Australian
communities) are much more likely to
experience racism than other people.

https://itstopswithme.humanrights.gov.au/documentary/let-s-talk-
race-guide
The ‘Aboriginal Race’.

What images come to mind when you think

of Aboriginal people?
Myths & Stereotypes
Stereotypes are characteristics
imposed upon groups of people
because of their race, nationality,
and sexual orientation. These
characteristics tend to be
oversimplifications of the groups
involved, and while some people
truly do embody the traits of their
stereotype, they are not
necessarily representative of all
people within that group.
Stereotypes are not always
accurate and even if positive, can
be harmful. Nadra Nittle 2020

See more of Steven Oliver on

identity here and here and here.
A history of racism and discrimination
towards Aboriginal Australia

Terra Nullius
The premise of British colonisation was terra nullius, a legal term which
claimed the land (Australia) belonged to no one. This blatantly denied the
existence of Indigenous Australians as human beings.

This premise formed the basis of the relationship between Indigenous people Click on the Right Wrongs link above to
take you to an ABC website on the
and the nation state from its very inception. This problematic relationship personal stories from the history of
racism directed towards Aboriginal
has never been fully resolved, even in light of the Mabo decision and Australians.

resulting Native Title.

Click here to go to Racism Timeline in Australia (by racismnoway)

Attitudes of deficit

• Attitudes that rate Aboriginal people as

deficit in almost everyway led to slavery
and removal of children.
• Aboriginal people were dealt with under
laws that inferred they did not exist or
were not human such as the Flora and
Fauna Acts and Fisheries Acts in varies
colonies and later states.
• Aboriginal people were given no chance of
autonomy and were considered so
impoverished in mind and physicality that
they required a Protector.
The Aboriginal Protection Board

The Victorian Aboriginal Protectorate was first established in 1836 under the well
meaning premise that the ‘Aboriginie’ needed to be protected from molestation of
the violent common settler. In reality it was an institution that regulated the lives of
Aboriginal people.

The Aboriginal Protection Board of NSW was established in 1883 [know as the
Aboriginal Welfare Board from 1940]. This board administered various acts,
particularly the 1909 Aboriginal Protection Act on dealing with Aboriginals, half
castes etc which ultimately led to the stolen generations. They controlled freedom
of movement, personal finances, approved who could marry who and removed many
children to Kinchela Home for Boys at Kempsey and Cootmundra Home for Girls (and
later Singleton and Bombaderry). They supervised visits to Aboriginal homes to make
sure they were neat and clean and looked for many reasons to take children away.
Half caste and more

Australian Aboriginal people are the

most studied and classified people on
earth. This is due to the prejudiced
views of the 19th century Europeans
who saw the Australian ‘Aborigine’ as
the missing link in human
development from the stone-age to
modern times.
Assimilation

Adopted in the late 1930s Assimilation was the idea that Aboriginal people not of
full blood would be absorbed into the community with the intention that they
were expected to attain the same manner of living as other Australians and to live
as members of a single Australian community, enjoying the same rights and
privileges, accepting the same customs and influenced by the same beliefs as
other Australians. (Reynolds 1972)

“Assimilation relied on the well-established and widely-accepted view that we

were inferior to white Australians, that our way of life, our culture and our
languages were substandard... Embedded within the policy of assimilation was a
clear expectation of the cultural extinction of Indigenous peoples.” (Dodson 1996)
Dog Tags

• Aboriginal People could serve Australia in

war but could not have free passage. They
were denied settlement rights given to other
returning soldiers.

• Certificate of Exemption otherwise known as

Dog Tags were issued only to those who
agreed to give up all connection to kin and
culture.

• Dog licence – Aunty Dorrie Moore

 The fight for rights
• 1938 Day of Mourning – began fight for right to vote
• 1949 right to vote in Commonwealth elections if their state had
given right to vote
• 1957 NADOC supported by Commonwealth
• 1962 Right to vote in all elections
• 1967 referendum right to be counted in the census
• 1976 Aboriginal Land Right Act (NT)
• 1985 Uluru handed back to traditional owners
• 1988 Bicentenary protests
• 1991 Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
• 1992 Mabo
• 1993 Native Title Act
• 1997 Bring them home: Stolen Generations Report
• 2008 The Apology to the Stolen Generations
• 2017 Uluru Statement from the heart
Stolen generations & Hidden generations

• The Stolen Generations refer to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who
were removed from their families by Australian Federal and State government agencies
and church missions between 1910 and 1970 through a policy of assimilation, however
many children were taken before 1910 and since 1970. Currently more Aboriginal children
are being removed from families. Aboriginal children are nine times more likely to be in
out of home (foster) care than non-Aboriginal children. Listen to Wards of the State here.

• Hidden Generations – a term used to describe the many, many families that did everything
to hide their Aboriginality because their skin was light enough coloured to get away with
it. The choice was made to hide because it stopped children being taken away and they
could make their own decisions.
Listen to Hidden Away by Bruce Pascoe here.
 Clean, clad & courteous:
Racism in Education
• Maria Locke & the Native Institution 1819 –
A reporter noted: ‘…a black girl of fourteen years of age between three or four years in the school, bore away the chief prize, much to the satisfaction of
the worthy judges and auditors.’ Sydney Gazette 17 April 1819, cited in Brook & Kohen (1991) p 251.

• 1849 NSW decided Aboriginal students could not be civilized by education so cut funding
• Mission Schools
• 1880 free and compulsory education for all and Aboriginal students enrolled
• By 1885 non-Aboriginal parents were complaining about Aboriginal students and had them removed from schools.
• 1886 Aboriginal children were excluded on the basis of bad hygiene in other words if they were not clean, clad
and courteous.
• 1893 Aboriginal course of study was downgraded to a lower standard and took place in Aboriginal only schools,
mission schools and Children’s Homes and was mostly provided by untrained teachers.
• 1902 exclusion on demand in NSW Public Schools made law.
• 1902 – 1972 continued exclusion from schools, removal of children to Homes & use of Aboriginal only schools
Cont’d
• 1965 First Aboriginal university graduate – Charles Perkins
• 1967 Referendum
• 1968 Aboriginal Welfare Board dissolved
• 1972 NSW Department of Education no longer allowed to exclude Aboriginal children
• 1975 Aboriginal teachers aide course begins
• 1975 Anti racism education for teachers
• 1977 NSW Anti-discrimination Act passed; NSW AECG formed
• 1982 First Aboriginal Education policy
• 1987 Aboriginal studies in schools introduced
• 1991 Aboriginal studies offered as an HSC elective
• 1999 The Coolangatta Statement on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights In Education
• 2005 Aboriginal Languages Curriculum introduced
Anti-racism:
Policy in Education.

• ARCO – Anti-racism Contact Officer at least

one staff member at all schools
• Aboriginal Education Policy
The Aboriginal Education policy is
mandatory in all government schools. The
policy has a dual purpose: to promote the
educational achievements of Aboriginal
students and to educate all students about
Aboriginal Australia.
Anti-racism:
Terminology

• Aborigine – has negative connotations imposed during colonisation

and is often used to perpetuate prejudice and discrimination.

• Indigenous – historically indigenous was used to describe animals and

plants. It generalizes mainlander and islander cultures which are
actually quite different.

• Aboriginal – this is the preferred term. When used it should have a

capital “A” to show respect in the same way when you write about
Europeans or Asians as a group of peoples they are capitalises.
Anti-racism resources
A list of anti-racism resources includes:
SBS, including cultural competence modules and Go Back Where You Came From activities:
• https://www.sbs.com.au/sites/sbs.com.au.home/files/sbs_learn_study_guide_cultural_competence_programs_m1.pdf
• https://www.sbs.com.au/sites/sbs.com.au.home/files/go_back_3_-_teacher_notes_2015.pdf
Australian Human Rights Commission
Australian Human Rights Commission’s Racism. It Stops with Me, including resources targeting school students, case studies
and Building Belonging Toolkit
• https://itstopswithme.humanrights.gov.au/
• https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/education/building-belonging-toolkit-early-childhood-educators-cultural-dive
rsity-and?mc_cid=b1d7cc0a9c&mc_eid=0d49155fac
• https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/whatisracism.pdf?_ga=2.18222129.907326830.1561439411-20306871
96.1559887575
• http://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications
Beyond Blue, including the Invisible Discriminator
• https://www.beyondblue.org.au/who-does-it-affect/the-invisible-discriminator
All Together Now, including an anti - racism app for primary aged children and adults and research on mental
health impact of racism
• http://alltogethernow.org.au/https://alltogethernow.org.au/racism-in-australia/
• http://alltogethernow.org.au/schools/
Where are you from?
• http://scanlonfoundation.org.au/research/video/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw_mRaIHb-M
Challenging Racism, Western Sydney University, includes videos from the bystander anti-racism research -
Bystander effect
• https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/challengingracism/?a=959033
• https://www.youtube.com/embed/xRQfISSp0dQ?rel=0
• https://www.youtube.com/embed/w8EtYRTTqlg?rel=0
Racism No Way
Racism No Way, including anti – racism activities for students K – 12, resources for school planning around anti-
racism.
• http://www.racismnoway.com.au/
Refugee Council of Australia
• https://www.refugeeweek.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/TeachersResourceKit2019.pdf
• https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/get-facts/
Cultural safety and cultural competency:
there is a difference

• Cultural competency is more that just cultural awareness or gaining knowledge of cultural artefacts and practices.
• Cultural competency includes recognising that Aboriginal communities are not just one cultural group and that
similarities and differences exist across and within all Aboriginal communities.
• Cultural competency is also not assuming that one person is the knowledge holder of all the knowledge in that
community.
• Cultural competency means an acknowledgement that not all people are the same and you need to adapt you
interactions with each person.
• Cultural competence in teachers is the knowledge, behaviours, attitudes, understanding of policies and systems that
enable us to work effectively in cross-cultural situations. It is also being generally sensitive and culturally aware.
• Cultural safety incorporates the security of being able to freely transmit an inherited continuing worldview related to
place (Price 2015). Only an individual knows when they are feeling safe and secure. One of the issues that
complicates understanding of cultural safety is that it is determined by the recipients of services as to whether or not
what is being offered can be trusted and is culturally safe. Therefore it is the recipient who holds the power.
 Culturally Safe Places
(Buckskin et al 2008)
• celebrate Koori cultures, heritage and learning with displays in public places
and access points;
• fly the Koori flag and acknowledge country – by a plaque in the foyer, at
meetings and on public occasions;
• provide welcoming points of contact in publications and public places, by
identifying staff members selected for their skills and understandings, to greet
Koori parents and their children, linking both to the workforce and the
governing body;
• invite local Koori leaders to share in public celebrations, to give advice and
acknowledge both their presence and their status;
• work with Koori parents, to establish and publish a clear set of goals for Koori
children, with high expectations known to all staff;
• reflect cultural understandings at all levels. In schools, those understandings
are demonstrated publicly and across the curriculum. These are refreshed by
and maintained annually, with local knowledge; and
• have carefully structured Koori specific work programs, supported by
contemporary resources which are acceptable, engaging and available to Koori
parents and their children.
Aboriginal identity in Australia today
• The majority of people who identify as Aboriginal in Australia today are of mixed race.
• Being of Aboriginal decent is a link to Country and traditions of culture. There are five
interconnected elements of Aboriginal culture - Country, family, law, ceremony and
language. Family, kinship, relatedness and connectedness are the basis of Aboriginal
worldviews in which there are specific roles and responsibilities to the land and each
other that is observed through the law and ceremony.
• Many Aboriginal people from the stolen and hidden generations are only just now feeling
safe enough to put up their hands and say this is my heritage, this is my story.
• Not all Aboriginal students identify in school.
• Not all students who identify as Aboriginal in school know their family connections or
culture.
• Not all Aboriginal parents are not founts of information about culture as they have often
been disconnected due to racist policies such as Stolen Generations and they feel shame
for not knowing.
Proof of Aboriginality
Please note: AIATSIS cannot comment on, prove or provide confirmation of anyone’s Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage.

Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage is something that is personal to an individual.

They do not need a letter of confirmation to identify as an Indigenous Australian.
However, they may be asked to provide proof or confirmation of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander heritage when applying
for Indigenous-specific services or programs such as:
• grants (such as Indigenous housing loans, research and study grants)
• university courses (with specific positions for Indigenous students)
• Centrelink and housing assistance (Indigenous-specific)
• employment (Indigenous identified positions)
• school programs for Indigenous students.
Government agencies and community organisations usually accept three ‘working criteria’ as confirmation of Aboriginal or Torres
Strait Islander heritage. A ‘letter of confirmation’ is usually obtained from an incorporated Indigenous organisation and must be
stamped with their common seal. These are:
• being of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent
• identifying as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person
Culturally responsive approaches

• Culturally inclusive schooling is an essential feature of any approach (Hughes, 2004).

• Avoid deficit models of Indigenous education of past eras (Zubrick et al, 2006)
• Respond to racism and take action
• Be a good ally to Aboriginal people
• Learn as much about culture as you can, take that professional development course, go to
that community day, attend a cultural walk on Country.
• Avoid over generalising behaviour or expecting particular culturally based behaviour from an
individual because that person comes from a certain cultural group or having stereotypical
expectations of people (positive or negative).
• Plan opportunities for all students to contribute input related to their own culture (but avoid
making any student a cultural representative).
• Don’t expect any individual student to speak as a representative of his / her culture.
• Utilise diverse experiences and perspectives as a resource.
 Pedagogical Practices
• Explore Indigenous ways of thinking, knowing and learning and
use teaching principles based upon them for both Aboriginal
and non-Aboriginal students to help overcome racist attitudes.
• Use a holistic approach based on cultural recognition,
acknowledgment and support which builds intercultural
understandings.
• Include curriculum content and processes built on a strong
foundation of local Indigenous cultures, languages,
epistemologies and wisdoms.
• Consider pedagogies such as:
• PEARL
• 8 Ways
3Rs - Respect, Relationships and
Reconciliation

With regards to racism and discrimination towards Aboriginal people:

• Respect Aboriginal people by not using racist epithets, telling racist
jokes, treating their beliefs as exotic wonders, expecting individuals
to know everything ‘Aboriginal’.
• Develop an understanding of your own relationship with your family
and your cultural values, your place on Country and make connections
with the Aboriginal community and individuals.
• Reconcile with individuals so that you don’t just see race (or what
you can get out of the person or group for your benefit) but develop
true friendships and value reciprocity.
References
• ABC Right Wrongs https://www.abc.net.au/rightwrongs/ [accessed 19/01/21]

• Buckskin, P., Hughes, P., Teasdale, B., Gregory, J., Clarke, C., Morgan, D.L. and St Clair, J. (2012), Connecting Cultures Review of Victoria’s
Indigenous Education Strategies: Supporting Indigenous Students through School, University of South Australia.
http://www.aboriginalstudies.com.au/content/uploads/2012/07/2008-Bucksin-Review-of-Victorias-Indigenous-Edn-Strategies.pdf [Accessed
20/01/21]

• https://itstopswithme.humanrights.gov.au/documentary/let-s-talk-race-guide [accessed 18/01/21]

• Kolbert, E. (2018) There’s No Scientific Basis for Race—It's a Made-Up Label

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/04/race-genetics-science-africa/ [accessed 19/01/21]

• Steven Oliver: I’m a blackfella (2015) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSnayKPF1B0 [accessed 19/01/21]

• Steven Oliver: Hate he said (2017) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s7PTFeX3_dc [accessed 19/01/21]

• https://racismnoway.com.au/about-racism/timeline/ [accessed 18/01/21]

• The Aspen Institute, n.d. Glossary for Understanding the Dismantling Structural Racism/Promoting Racial Equity Analysis
https://www.aspeninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/files/content/docs/rcc/RCC-Structural-Racism-Glossary.pdf[accessed 20/01/21]

• Meyne Wyatt - Monologue from City of Gold | Q+A (2020) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys2FTUmOnIg [accessed 18/01/21]

• https://aiatsis.gov.au/family-history/you-start/proof-aboriginality#:~:text=Government%20agencies%20and%20community%20organisations,
or%20Torres%20Strait%20Islander%20person
[accessed 18/01/21]