Australia Would’ve Been Fine Without Aboriginal People

It’s time for a bit of so-called truth-telling, the oft quoted term used here in Australia with regards to Aboriginal activism as well as the reconciliation movement. According to Reconciliation Australia, “Telling the truth about our history not only brings to light colonial conflict and dispossession, but also acknowledges the strength and resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures.” Well, in this video, I do some truth-telling of my own.

Anybody who has lived in Australia will probably know about these so-called Acknowledgements of Country. “Taking the time to Acknowledge Country, or including a Welcome to Country at an event, reminds us that every day we live, work, and dream on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lands.” I’d say that it less reminds people, but rather serves to annoy people. Or perhaps that’s just me. For example, on the Woolworths Supermarket website, on the front page, they state, “We acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country throughout Australia.” Obviously, they’re just saying this. They don’t actually care about the traditional owners, because if they truly believed that Aboriginal People are the traditional owners, well they’d give away all their supermarkets which sit on Aboriginal land, which is all of them. But they don’t, because the only thing that really matters to Woolworths is making money… obviously! They’re a business after all.

But the word I want to focus on is this one: “Custodian”. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Indigenous people are always referred to as the custodians of the land. “Custodian: A person who has responsibility for taking care of or protecting something.” It gives the impression that without Aboriginal people, the land wouldn’t be able to look after itself, which I think rationally we all know is just not factual.