A cultural observation I made during my time in Australia that was more complicated than I initially thought was Australian attitudes towards their Aboriginal population. Before every class lecture and in most places I visited or ate there was an acknowledgment of the country and the traditional owners of the land. This acknowledgment talked about which land I was on and which Aboriginal tribe lived/lives on it. This acknowledgment became an everyday statement I heard and I became used to hearing it everywhere I went.
I never heard of an acknowledgment of land before coming to Australia so this cultural observation made me educate myself more on the Australian Aboriginal population and history. Luckily, I also had two courses regarding Aboriginal history which helped me expand my research and understanding significantly. I learned about the colonization and genocide Aboriginal peoples faced by Europeans despite at least 40,000 years of presence and society built prior.
I also learned that acknowledging a country is the bare minimum a country can do in return for colonization. An acknowledgment reminds people of the names of the land and tribes that inhabit where they are, which is important for the history and presence of Aboriginal peoples to continue being heard. The acknowledgment of the country was just the surface of the cultural significance of Aboriginal people and land in Australia. It caused me to learn about the other structures and amenities put into place for Aboriginal people that help them deal with the intergenerational trauma, injustices, and discrimination they face.
A person from my host country would most likely be used to acknowledging the traditional owners of their land and may see me as ignorant for not knowing about it prior to visiting Australia. It may be hard to realize that other countries don’t give an everyday acknowledgment to their native peoples and land even after facing the same awful colonization that Australian natives faced. But I would also expect the person to come from a place of understanding that the education system in the states and everyday occasions don’t give acknowledgment to our Native peoples and their history and that I lacked the resources that an Australian may have to learn about their Native peoples. I would think the person is proud of me for seeing how differently countries treat their Native owners and seeing how much Australia has taught me about the importance of it. It was confusing for me to understand at first, but not hard to adjust to. It made me reflect on the little knowledge I had on acknowledging traditional owners of land and how one acknowledgment goes a long way for people understanding Native history and its importance.
This exercise helps deepen my understanding of culture by seeing how different countries respect the traditional owners of their land and how I can also begin to start showing respect in my home country. This exercise made me reflect on how caring and passionate Australians are when it comes to respect and understanding, and I never thought to put myself in Australians shoes and see how they would view an American, like myself, who didn’t know what acknowledgment of country was before coming to Australia. This exercise and experience helped me navigate successfully in a multicultural and globalized world by showing me the importance of empathy and the history of the land you live on and how respect for the land you’re on and those who inhabited the land originally is important to acknowledge because culture and presence should thrive as it did before and it is up to us to help keep their stories and presence known.