Mark and I had dinner with our very good friend, Alison, last night.
[sidebar...a bit of history: when Mark and I met nearly four years ago, he and Alison were studying for the Master of Laws degree within the Indigenous Peoples Law & Policy Program at the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law. Alison was there on a Fulbright scholarship, and Mark as a Rotary Scholar. (Goodness, I'm surrounded by smart people.) Alison ended up moving around the corner from us in Tucson's historic University West area, and we all became the closest of friends. After they graduated, Alison returned to Perth and Mark to Sydney. Thankfully, she and her equally wonderful partner (fondly referred to as "the hippy," but formally known as Ian) moved to Melbourne a few months ago, so we get to see her more regularly.]
Whenever Alison and Mark get together, it invariably (and understandably, considering their research interests and work) leads to fervent discussions about the state of Aboriginal affairs in Australia. As an "outsider" I usually sit, goblet in hand, and remain in awe of the effortless manner in which they radiate their knowledge and the mellifluence of the discourse. They tell me it's the same way they feel when I start talking about music with my colleagues. Hardly seems equivalent to me, but I'll take their word for it.
Sometimes I courageously open my mouth and attempt a contribution to their discussions. On occasion I have walked away feeling a bit proud that, 1) I could keep up well enough to do so, and 2) perhaps I'm not just a dumb singer after all. Last night, however, was not one of those times, and I went to bed feeling naive and evilly duped by the knowledge I've gained throughout my life.
The topic had to do with the idea of collaboration with Indigenous Australians in rural communities to achieve a higher quality of life for them. Now that is hardly a revolutionary issue these days, but it is a burning one. If you live in Australia or even remotely keep up with the politics and cultural landscape here, there is little way you would be unaware of the problems in rural Indigenous communities and the Liberal government's crushing methods of dealing with them.
Alison and Mark were discussing ideas as to how these communities might be helped by shifting from the false ideal that Native Title is all that rural Indigenous people really need to claim their rightful heritage as true Australians, to thinking of ways in which these Australians could achieve a better quality of life. Truly, in some communities it seems it couldn't get much worse. Anyway, I opened my mouth and raised the issue of Aboriginal Australians as "custodians" of the land. After their very kind admonishments and redress, I began to see how shaped my ideas are by the media, (white) anthropologists and public opinion. As smart and cynical as I like to see myself, I then realized that many of my thoughts are simply the product of what I've been fed...and that is something that scares me.
It is always enlightening, inspiring, challenging and eye-opening to be around Mark and Alison in the same room at the same time.