Hi lovely people, I was wondering if you prefer to be referred to as “Aboriginal”, or “Indigenous Australian”?

I’ve seen people say that the term “Aboriginal” is offensive and just another name that colonisers gave you, that being said I’ve seen varied opinions on the term. I’ve never heard anyone have any issues with the term “Indigenous” or “Indigenous Australian”

I’ve also always felt awkward referring to you as Blakfellas, and I’ve never known if that’s a term you prefer everyone to use, or if it’s a term you’d prefer only mob or close friends to use.

But yeah, I usually just use the term Indigenous Australian, but I thought I’d ask you guys directly because I never truely know what to say.

Thank you for taking the time to answer me, and I hope this isn’t a stupid question xx
Have a beautiful day

I'm going up to FNQ next week and generally around home (Adelaide) I will wear clothing the gap/billabong etc flag shirts and hats - I like to show i'm an ally and I like to think I'm making the racists feel uncomfortable. I'm just a white gal so haven't actually spent all that much time with Aboriginal Australians and don't want to look like a twat or think i'm taking the piss if I do the same up in QLD where I will be spending time with traditional owners etc. Thoughts? TIA

Good day everyone, I am creating a presentation on cultural safety for an university assignment and I was looking up themes on Canva for inspiration. The themes I found however feels like it culturally appropriates Aboriginal art and so I want to gather your thoughts on this matter. Is it culturally appropriate to use these designs? My gut says no.

What do you use to help keep your curls or waves in check?
I started using my partner’s clever curl leave in conditioner and it’s really started bringing out my waves.

I unfortunately have an Irish and Indigenous combination hair type snd had lost hope of bringing out my beautiful Indigenous hair type until I started seeing results.

So I’m curious what do other mob do who are mixed with combination type hair do to keep it looking healthy, curly, wavy?

Mines Dhalgirridhunyal it’s so overkill and I love to use it on my mates when they piss me off I’ve used it so much that all my friends know the word lmao

Hey all,

Bit of a long story, but I'm starting to realise that the best years of my schooling were when I was in Mackay and Gladstone, and was very much surrounded by the Indigenous community.

I don't know how else to explain it, but coming to Brisbane for school has a shellshock to my entire system. In a lot of ways, but lack of mob presence was a big one.

I don't have a drop of Indigenous in me, sadly. The closest thing I've got is Irish lineage, which share a LOT of similarity (we have non-blood Aunties, and hate the British).

There is something so magnetic about mob culture that is truly something to be beholden. At the same time, I'm scared of saying or doing the wrong thing all the time. I wanna know if there are any things I can do to actually meaningfully engage without it being performative or make me look insincere.

What can I do?

I heard a joke about a white Australian going to the UK and his hayfever stopped, and that he never saw/heard of an Aboriginal asking for Zyrtec (hayfever medication).

Is there any truth to that?

What about when you travel abroad or different climates?

I know plenty of people in the UK who get hayfever there.. which must really suck as the weater is only good a short time and then some are allergic to outside when it is.

Hey mob, light hearted question for you all.

Was having this discussion with my sister and realised its quite hard to pick just one. All are so unique. But I think I landed on my favourite being the red tail black cockatoo. Something about it just sits right with me, no clue why.

Whats your favourite Australian animal? Can be any reason.

Fellow mob, what do you want a future Australia to look like?

Where I am in the NT currently we’re in the build up, which just so happens to be my favourite season. For me it’s because of the heat lighting we get in the evenings after a long day. It’s magnificent to watch and makes for awesome photography.

Hi guys

Quick question - How do blackfellas feel about being associated with Palestine?

I often see protestors waving the aboriginal and palestinian flags side by side.

I do not see the relevance as Jews are indiginous to Israel long before the Palestinian arabs came along

Hi All

I’d like to acknowledge the original custodians of the Land in which I am writing to you, I’d like to extend my respects to elders both past present and emerging, I’d like to extend my respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in this forum

I am non Aboriginal however I work in Child Protection. I am wondering if it would be considered offensive or wrong for me to wear an “always was always will be” merch at work such as shirts lanyards etc to show Aboriginal staff and clients that I am an ally/of the perspective that sovereignty remains with Aboriginal people

I am hoping for some clarification and thank you all for your responses respectfully

Have a great day

What do you wish was taught in schools?

Is there any culture was taught in schools? Im a primary teacher, theres a lot you can link it to. But i was wondering where to start.
For example teaching about using the stars for direction and seasons in science. Not necessarily history, im looking for cultural things you wish were carried out more.
Theres so many interesting things, but i want to go deeper then just dot painting!

Example: Nudity/genitalia

Sorry if this is a bit awkward

Just a fun simple question for us all as a little break from the usual shit, what movies feature our mobs and what are your favourite's? The first ones that come to mind for me being from WA mob are rabbit proof fence that I saw one or twice in school and one of my favourite movies me and my dad use to watch together when it came out, Bran nue dae. Also can't forget the Sapphires. What are your personal favourites and if you had to show only one to someone which movie would it be?

Hi everyone,
I’m hoping someone might be able to give me some guidance, as this is something that means a lot to me and I’m honestly not sure where to go next.
For generations, there has been a story passed down through my family that we have Aboriginal ancestry through one particular family line. The story told by our parents and older family members is that a young girl in our family became pregnant to an Aboriginal man when she was around 14 in 1917. Because of her age and the fact that her father was a police officer, the pregnancy and the identity of the baby’s biological father were apparently covered up, with her parents raising the baby as their own.
I’ve started trying to piece together the records myself. I can confirm that the family were living at 10 Salisbury Street, Leederville, WA in January 1917. The baby was born in 1918 and was later recorded as being born in Mount Hawthorn, although I haven’t been able to find his original birth certificate. Our family has also always been told that he was actually born at an Aboriginal camp.
I’ve since learnt that Aboriginal people were camping around Galup/Lake Monger during this period, very close to where the family were living.
I’m not trying to claim a particular Aboriginal family or community without knowing the truth. I genuinely want to understand where we come from and find the evidence behind something that has been passed down through our family for generations.
I would eventually love to be able to properly establish my Aboriginal ancestry, but I don’t know how you prove a biological line when the father’s identity was deliberately left out of the records.
If anyone has been through something similar, or knows where I could turn for help with historical Aboriginal records, DNA or confirming ancestry when an ancestor’s identity is unknown, I would be incredibly grateful for any advice.
Thank you for reading. ❤️

I live and work on Arrente country, frequently travelling to community around the NT and APY lands. Why is littering so prevalent in these areas? It seems like a massively avoidable blight on the environment in so many communities.

The only factors I can think of are the prevalence of packaged food in communities due to transport costs and lower educational levels regarding food intake, but surely the infrastructure in larger areas like Mparntwe are sufficient to prevent this.

My reddit feed use to be mostly memes, gay shit and the occasional news story. A lot of the time lurking but interacting from time to time. Most interactions coming from communities like the Aboriginal sub reddits or the gay subreddits. Just subs that always felt welcoming with mostly good mob to speak to.

Lately though I feel like my feed has become targeted as fuck. I'm seeing so much more stuff about us mob around reddit now, being suggested to me from subs that I'm not even in and that aren't even Australian focused. It use to be rare that I ever saw us brought up on reddit. Normally I'd say fuck yeah, people are learning about us but it nearly always some ignorant shit being posted or ignorant shit being commented by people, most of which don't sound like they have even met an Aboriginal fella let alone stepped foot on Australian soil.

Anyone else noticed this and seeing more stuff about us or just more targeted content in general? Is reddit just ragebaiting now?

Hi,

I am not an Aboriginal person. I live on Ngunnawal land.

I have listened to an Aboriginal person speak about traditional practices on back-burning, and I was inspired by their presentation and I would like to write an essay which may be read by other people (the audience may be anyone). The essay is not about the practice of back-burning, Aboriginal peoples, Australian peoples or even Australia; its a personal essay about my own experiences and what I have learnt.

To be more accurate, I was hoping I could describe the blackened landscape after a bushfire through an local Aboriginal word (like a noun to describe the landscape after a bushfire). I would use the word like this: "In the Aboriginal language ___ of the __ peoples, the word ___ describes the (ashen, blackened landscape after a forest fire)." 

Firstly, could somebody please please please let me know if it is okay for me to do this?

Secondly, if it is okay for me to use such a word, could somebody please please let me know if there is a suitable word to use?

I deeply apologise if this is wrong or offensive; I mean no harm and I am just an extremely confused student who would appreciate any guidance.

Thank you

Hi I don't live in australia but I'm curious as to whether aboriginal communities have cultural practices surrounding their hair? Was there nation-specific hairstyles? Do they differ between men & women?