The misfortune of the original peoples

As an American, it is hard to cast stones about the status of original peoples. The historical treatment of Native Americans was far more brutal than anything suffered by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia.

But a multitude of recent news articles have starkly described today's aboriginals as living in squalor and misery . Youth are apparently at risk of "petrol sniffing." Charities attempt to address low rates of indigenous literacy, and high rates of indigenous suicide. Billboards promoting work for indigenous literacy are popping up all around Sydney. It's no picnic to live on a reservation in America, either, but conditions in aboriginal communities are shocking.

I first tuned into this while reading an article in the local sports pages. A big young aboriginal man, a superb rugby player, had been recruited onto one of the national teams. The article described his origins and his new life in detail. It showed his big smile absent the left front tooth, which is traditionally knocked out as an initiation rite. Then it was mentioned that the athlete had to teach some Pinjinjantjari words to his teammates because he could not speak English. That was an eye-opener.

More recently, I watched a documentary about the life of the aboriginal singer Gurrumul, who has an international following. His difficulty in integrating into modern society was acute, and he is a success only because of the heroic efforts of his producer/accompanist. True, Gurrumul's challenges were more difficult because he is blind, but I had the sense that tremendous obstacles would have stood in his way even if he had been sighted.

The sorry state of Australia's original peoples stands in stark contrast to the Maori of New Zealand. Maori have some separated communities and special buildings called marae, but their English is perfect and they are full participants in New Zealand society and economy. When we met the keeper of a marae in Christchurch, we were honored to be given an extended explanation of the marae's function, history and design. Our guide's English was perfect. Same for a Maori museum docent in Oamaru.

I hope to learn more about the Australian aboriginal situation, and what is being done to make a genuine improvement. Some excellent services are provided, such as the Royal Flying Doctor Service, which mitigates the lack of high quality medical care at distant communities. Much else has evidently been lip service and half-measures. One wonders what aboriginal people themselves would like to see happen, and how well that has been communicated to the rest of Australia.

During the Olympics, one particular commercial was aired over and over . It showed a teenage white Australian girl on a farm, training herself to run. She had scratched a track into the middle of a stubbled corn field. As she ran, a background sound track replayed the final moments of a race, which I later learned was from the 2000 Sydney games. As the young girl finished her training run, a smiling aboriginal woman appeared from out of nowhere to greet her. The woman was unnamed in the commercial; but evidently she needed no introduction in Australia. Knowing who she is now, I love that commercial. Reviving Cathy Freeman's triumph in the 400m as a message of inspiration for young people was a beautiful way of honoring her legacy. I hope that that sentiment sparks Australian efforts to work together with the aboriginal population to establish a decent environment for them.