I was trying from the begining to suggest that archaeologists and historians need to link the past with the present.
Hence, raising Rottnest is not just in the past but in the 'Here-and-Now' (See Stanner's 'White Man got no Dreaming' for how this might relate to Aboriginal Dreaming philosophy, or a famous man in Perth Joseph Lyons who in the 1840's predicted that the great, great, great grandchildren of the 1829 on, white settlers would curse what their ancestors had done to Aboriginal people) since the lack of knowledge and publicity about how it was used is a block to reconcilliation now.
the length of my reply about Cabble Street was simply to hammer the point home that 1.It wasn't a few people standing on a bridge 2. People were well aware and fight facism long before Toms 'ten years later' 3. At this means that uncovering the past has a huge impact on fighting predjudice in the 'here-and-Now'4. Archaeology is hugely political etc, etc, its very clear to me and I'm surprised its clear to others.
In Perth as in every Australian cities there are drunken Aboriginal people in the Parks.
One has to look back how the 'Irish' were potrayed by the press in England in the 19th Century. The same steriotypes and cartoons based on a people at the bottom of society, the same claims of inability to take drink etc.
Its poverty.
One of the annoying things about Howard sending the troops into the remote Aboriginal communities is not that there is not a problem with substance abuse and child abuse, there is.
However, and this can be equally true of the demonising of the Travellers in Ireland or of honour killings highlighted amongst some migrant communities in the UK.
Without deminishing the particular problems of any one community the fact is substance abuse, child abuse, violence against women etc, are infact massive problems which cut across all classes.
As a community psychiactric nurse I see this because I enter rich and poor homes and statistically it can be checked out on the Australian ABS web site (government stats).
Down and out crime is very visible and Aboriginal down and outs are very vissible in parks leading to many people without a full understanding of the causes leads people to say "why can't THEY help themselves"
In fact the biggest and most dangerous problem we face (as I suspect everywhere in the world) is Methamphetamine because of its price its more likely that I will be killed by a dropped out rich UWA law student than a drunk Aboriginal person down from Darwin.
Unfortunately the lessons of history (such as prohabition) are only remembered by some.
Everyone despairs at the 'Aboriginal Problem' [sic] in Australia but if any government was to simply copy Canadian and New Zealand policies (and not for one minute am I sugesting that these societies are perfect!) we might too as has occurred in these countries reduce the white Indigenous gap from 20 to 9 years difference.
Archaeology/history, the evidence from the past even recent past can help us today.
How does this relate to archaeology look at substance abuse amongst Indigenous people throughout thye world and how the frontier colonisation of Australia was fueled by T-totalised who survived on Morphine based none alcoholic beverages, opium, Aboriginal pitturi when they could get it and etha (sicne no where in the Bible was Etha bad mouthed!).
In Australia we have random testing for drink and driving, they were going to bring in Random drug testing in the same way. However, they pulled back from that and have simply targeted people going to clubs.
Shame really I'd like to see a check of everyone in the high court, since the Meth and cocaine would test high with the legal proffession...
Also an examination of former gold-rushes both here and the US are very informative.
But now I suspect the smart money ourght to be researching the archaeology of economic collapse since around every Australian city there were places where people survived the 1930s by hunting (rabbits, Kangaroos, Fish) and gathering (native plants and rich people garbage).
Australia has a proportionally very high number of Aboriginal activists and even higher numbers of higherly political artists
See
http://www.artgallery.wa.gov.au/collecti...morgan.pdf
for example.
But instead of listing a load of names I will ask some of my Aboriginal activist friends to read these postings.
Finally, Tom you seemed to have missed my question, an oversite I'm sure.
So one more time
"Tom please explain excatly what you meant by
"Considering where you're starting from you'll get nowhere if you appear to be laying the sins of the past at the feet of white Australians today." "
The saddest thing about all this debate is that the only other Australians who have commented on either this debate [at time of writting]seem to have been sensitive fraggile individuals who have simply got angry that a Citizen who was not born in Australia (and in particular a winging Pom) has rhe gall to criticize their wonderul country and have not discuused the institunalised racism which is so apparant here.
Let me make very clear this is not my experience of the majority of white archaeologists.
But just think, if a foreign born British citizen archaeologist put the boot in about the many examples of racism which exist in Britain would Tom or HOST get the hump and make comments more based on the ethinc origins of the person criticising?
No I really don't think they would even think of that angle, instead they would have joined in the attack on racism, possibly (though I doubt it) using nicer language than that terrible rude arthus...
And in the spirit of that crass rude bugger, its Australia Day on Saturday ("Australia, Australia we love you") and I'm thinking of burning an Aussie flag on the foreshore of the Swan River....
Not really...
Anyway, I will contact my Aborinal friends and ask them to read these posting and comment if they have time and I can't guarantee if they will have time because the archaeologist I know may be uncontactable in the bush and my main source of info is leading the fight against 'our' Labor governments appeal of the highly significant Perth Urban land Claim.
Arthus
