National Australian identity, what are we?
May 13th 2008 06:57
National Australian identity, what are we?
Australia as the “child of Mother Britain” has a lot on its plate when it comes to define its national identity. It has certainly its roots in the Anglo-Celtic origins but since then many things have evolved and the cultural identities of Aborigines, Torres Strait and Pacific Islanders, Chinese, Thai, Indian, German, French and many more should be taken into account. In regards to Aboriginal heritage we see Aboriginal motifs everywhere, on Qantas planes, tourism ads, T-shirts and teacups. During the Sydney Olympics games aboriginal’s heritage was predominant throughout the whole event and seen as the primary national symbol by people overseas. Yet, it is only since 1967 that aboriginal people were accorded “basic citizenship rights”, prior to this they were not even counted as inhabitants... they are basically the true Australians; they have been there since ever and nowhere else... However, they make up only 2% of the Australian population... and as the rest of Australian people do not necessarily share their mystical connection with the land, Aboriginal symbols are not enough to define Australia.
Together, we are a multitude of different identities defining ourselves in many different ways such as cultural, ethnic, religious, class-oriented or ideological. With so much diversity how can we create our national identity without excluding anyone? What does it mean to be Australian? What can we use to create a national identity that unifies all of us [ Click here to read more ]
Australia as the “child of Mother Britain” has a lot on its plate when it comes to define its national identity. It has certainly its roots in the Anglo-Celtic origins but since then many things have evolved and the cultural identities of Aborigines, Torres Strait and Pacific Islanders, Chinese, Thai, Indian, German, French and many more should be taken into account. In regards to Aboriginal heritage we see Aboriginal motifs everywhere, on Qantas planes, tourism ads, T-shirts and teacups. During the Sydney Olympics games aboriginal’s heritage was predominant throughout the whole event and seen as the primary national symbol by people overseas. Yet, it is only since 1967 that aboriginal people were accorded “basic citizenship rights”, prior to this they were not even counted as inhabitants... they are basically the true Australians; they have been there since ever and nowhere else... However, they make up only 2% of the Australian population... and as the rest of Australian people do not necessarily share their mystical connection with the land, Aboriginal symbols are not enough to define Australia.
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