Perspectives of Aboriginal issues among non‐Aboriginal residents of rural Victorian communities

Bourke, Lisa; Malatzky, Christina; Terry, Daniel; Nixon, Raelene; Ferguson, Karyn; Ferguson, Peter

doi:10.1002/ajs4.16

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Ignorance of “Indigenous issues” was amongst the topics measured in a 1996 national study (Johnson ), but since then, there has been little Australian research that either measures White ignorance or describes its consequences. Both the Australian and international literature focus instead on its deliberate nature; on the “cognitive distortions,” myths (Bourke et al ) and “motivated irrationalities” (Mills :246); and on the epistemologies that produce and sustain ignorance (Moreton‐Robinson ; Mills ; Pack, Tuffin & Lyons ). The Northern Territory Emergency Response stands as only the most recent example in which government constructions of a “humanitarian emergency” in remote Indigenous Australia contributed to the social production of collective White ignorance (Howard‐Wagner :1).…”

Section: White Australian Capacity and Race Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Widening the gap: White ignorance, race relations and the consequences for Aboriginal people in Australia

Taylor

Habibis

2020

Aust J Social Issues

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White ignorance has a critical impact on race relations and is implicated in the maintenance of Aboriginal disadvantage. Addressing this ignorance is a largely overlooked capacity‐building opportunity within Australia's non‐Aboriginal population. It warrants consideration as a key component of strategies targeting Aboriginal disadvantage. Despite the established links between race relations and Aboriginal well‐being, Aboriginal perspectives on non‐Aboriginal people rarely feature in public discourse on “Aboriginal problems.” This paper draws on data from 180 in‐depth interviews with 44 Aboriginal people in Darwin on the topic of White Australian people, culture and race relations. It reports Aboriginal perceptions of White Australian ignorance across areas of great symbolic and practical significance to Aboriginal people's lives. Their experience is that most White Australians are ignorant of the history of colonisation and the complexities of its aftermath. They are ignorant of Aboriginal law, cultures and languages, and of the extent of their own ignorance. The call to address White ignorance subverts assumptions about whose ignorance and capacity must be dealt with in order to progress national goals of reconciliation, address Aboriginal disadvantage and achieve justice and equality for Aboriginal people.

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Section: White Australian Capacity and Race Relationsmentioning

confidence: 99%