mikk
>> All Australians should be taught the ways of the real owners of this land as a matter of course. Aboriginal culture is in many ways so much more superior than our insane culture of greed and exploitation. They managed this land and survived on it for 60 000 years or more.<<

Being honest I don't particularly want to learn about tribal aboriginal culture, and do not find it relevant, past the historic significant that it existed. My own cultural background 200 hundred years back also has no real relevance to me. The aboriginal races in Australia are 60,000 years away from their ancestors of 200 years ago, and I merely 200 hundred years from mine, but the culture and lifestyle of 200 years back may as well be alien to me.

You are correct when you said "They managed this land and survived on it for 60 000 years or more". The reason they did not impact the land is because they were a "stone age" culture, the first residents impacted nothing except a few walls in caves with campfire smoke and wall paintings, in all of 60,000 years of habitation.

Tribal culture has no relevance in regard to their 21st century life here and now. Some white fellas kicked my ancestors off their land and that is how my lot got here. Their great great great great grandchildren are still on the loose but I do not hold them accountable for their ancestors. Aboriginals do not want patronizing, as gundubuldany said "Sorry Day? You think that would just fix everything?"

Gundubuldany, Just In 2009/2010 620 million was given to land councils for commercial enterprise speculation, there has been a flow of money to your elders since 1976 and it has all been wasted and stolen. Not dispersed for the good of the community, but just like the Anglo Saxons who administered the funding previously human greed is alive and well, even in the aboriginal community.

If you want to learn your ancient languages just go out and do it, the government can't assist you.

Dear Gundubuldany and Mara,

I've recently re-read the book by historian
Henry Reynolds called - "Why Weren't We Told?:
A Personal Search For the Truth About Our History."
If you haven't read it - you should. Any public or
TAFE library should be able to get a copy for you.

It's a new edition and I can recommend it to
anyone interested in Australia's past or those
who just want to have a better understanding of
contemporary Australia.

The book is written in a clear prose and is very
readable. It covers issues such as native title,
the Mabo and Wik judgements, and the controversy
over the so-called black armband view of history.

It's an important book, at the heart of which,
as the author tells us, "...is the desire to face
up to our history, to embrace the past in all its
aspects, to cease trying to hide the violence,
the dispossession, the deprivation. People now
want to know the truth about the past and to come
to terms with it. They see this as an essential
step along the way towards national maturity."

Reynolds points out," We can know a great deal
about the history of indigenous-settler relations.
But knowing brings burdens which can be shirked by
those living in ignorance. With knowledge the
question is no longer what we know but what we are now
to do, and that is a much harder matter to deal with..."

It will continue to perplex us for many years to come.

All my life I have had blood on my knuckles hurt in my heart and a much lighter wallet in defense of the first Australians.
NEVER tried to hide the dreadful past, from people far different than we are today, please remember we treated our own little better.
If we are to blame everything on yesterday, if we excuse todays Kori's their failures because of events we played no part in we fail our first Australians.
We all can do better.
We all must.
But do we understand the Australian businessmen and bankers plans to employ so many will fail? that we are contributing to its failure?
I know my honesty is seen as bigotry, on both sides, who gets their hands dirty every month helping here.
Wallow in A past we can not change, flog us in the name of long dead people.
Fail to remember those people treated the days criminals, the Irish some times the poor dreadfully.
Pick the bones out of any races history, the English who so badly lost every thing to the Saxons after the invasion.
But focus on today, change what we can and never blame ancient yesterdays for today.
BOTH sides are at fault BOTH sides must contribute to change.

Aboriginal culture.
I question has it existed in the last hundred years in most of this country.
And was it white mans gift flower that took it away or did we force people to give it up.
Is todays Aboriginal focused on the primitive lifestyle his ancestors had or one not unlike ours.
See the culture of American Negro's in todays Aboriginal, is that bad? the dreadlocks?
Or is it absorbing of other cultures just as every nation has seen.
Do we need to say it is wrong return to the scrub?
I had a late night phone call, my young neighbor wanted help.
Covered in blood I cleaned him up drove the long trip to his uncle.
On one of those dreadful missions.
Reported what had taken place uncle said thanks mate.
A drunken group told me at the top of their voice I was white mum and dad never wed, and if I did not leave?
What culture folks?
I would do it again ten thousand times but remember, feeding the idea ALL FAULTS are from us is non productive.

Foxy >> With knowledge the question is no longer what we know but what we are now to do, and that is a much harder matter to deal with..."<<

Foxy, we have tried,...since 1976 anyway, and nothing has worked. Aboriginal health standards in Australia are now to the point that 45% of Aboriginal men and 34% of women die before the age of 45. Child mortality in the wider community is six per thousand, but one in fifty Aboriginal children will die before reaching one year old. Aboriginals are one percent of the national population but are 20% of the jail population. In short a Xmas Island air travelling then boat travelling refugee has a brighter future here than an indigenous citizen.

If we consider the welfare and community prosperity of our indigenous citizens as a business, it has been poorly managed with no accountability. The reason is that it was first managed by public servants whose role is not to generate, but to be the conduit that the funds pass through with no interest in the funds productivity after allocation.

Then the land councils took over. The issues then became the lack of business acumen coupled with local community people immediately put in charge of billions of dollars ongoing. Nepotism and a deficiency in understanding the ongoing worth of making money from money has seen no positive results. Indigenous citizens live more for today than tomorrow, it is the way they are, it is a character trait.

As I mentioned in a previous post, last year alone the gov gave $660 million to aboriginal business ventures, and about the same amount rolls out every year earmarked for aboriginal business speculation. My approach would be to form an indigenous corporation. Bring in a gun CEO with a hands on attitude and track record. Give him a mandate that he can pick 100 execs and managers and the rest of the team must be indigenous. Fifty one percent of the share holding is allocated to the land councils, the other fifty on the ASX.

Foxy,
I am not totally clear on this but from what I have heard from historians by passion rather than career, your good Prof. is a career Historian i.e. his portrayal of history is governed by 1, career 2, keep indigenous on-side for continued support which ensures funding, 3, he can not afford to be contradictory to popular belief 4, has he ever published anything with a focus of the good will by non-indigenous towards indigenous ? I'd like to know it might throw a different light on the man 5, being academic he would merely be an expert rather than someone who knows & can accept reality.
I met one career historian who succeeded in procuring substantial funding from indigenous communities to write their story. A review of one of the books, written by a close fiend of this particular historian was not at all complimentary & pointed out that the historian wrote with a particular political agenda.
It is very disheartening to watch these so-called experts in the media portraying such a filtered view of even the immediate past. The genuine indigenous & non-indigenous get accused of selling out & branded racist.
The real reality is that the whole bandwagon is overloaded with characters of no integrity at the dismay & expense of good people.