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Indigenous Homelessness Report

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1. THE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY OF VICTORIA

The recognition of Aboriginal cultural identity and the unique historical position of Indigenous people remains a major unresolved issue. The effects of colonisation - the dispossession of land, the disempowerment of Indigenous people and the loss of cultural identity – have had a deep and long-lasting impact. A document of the Aboriginal Housing Board of Victoria states that “with European occupation Aboriginal groups throughout Australia were forced to adapt to an alien society that was in conflict with our own”.  Aboriginal people constantly discuss these unresolved issues:

We talk about this all the time. It’s just that we aren’t recognised as traditional owners of this land. It goes back to all that sort of stuff, you know.

The policies and practices of successive governments have contributed to the problems experienced by Aboriginal people and more often have been a part of the problem than the solution. The historical impacts and effects should not be underestimated. The uniqueness of Indigenous identity is captured in the comment:  “…and we are different. It does not matter what word they put on it. Aboriginal people are different and that’s the end of the story”. This is shown whenever Indigenous people have given voice to their concerns, but it is also evident in the social indicators used to monitor the health and well-being of Australians and the various sub-communities of the nation. On all these indicators, Aboriginal communities experience more poverty and unemployment, poorer health, often a weaker sense of self-esteem and emotional and social well-being, as well as higher levels of family violence and substance abuse. Aboriginal welfare, which includes the issue of homelessness, remains a contentious subject in public policy debate.

In the past, ‘Aboriginality’ has been used as a racial category not primarily as a term of cultural identity and belonging. Racism and discrimination are frequently reported as everyday life experiences despite an end to most overt forms of exclusion and discrimination in law and regulations. However, the media has contributed to a false but commonly held view that Aboriginal people in Victoria are a tiny, largely assimilated group. On the contrary, Indigenous people comprise a vigorous and distinct community of communities. A comment in the workshop raised the question of how assumptions are made about assimilation, on the basis that Indigenous people participate in the workforce and other aspects of community life, like most other people. Indigenous people themselves assert their identity in the following terms:

Being Aboriginal is not primarily an economic issue. The Prime Minister’s view seems to be that once you get a certain amount of money, you’re no longer Aboriginal. Aboriginal people with good incomes are treated just like any  other non-Aboriginal person with no account of cultural difference – ‘like poor white fellas’.

While it is true that the Indigenous community is smaller by comparison to other Indigenous communities, there are distinct communities of Aboriginal people who belong to the different sites and areas around Victoria. The needs of the Aboriginal community of Victoria may be different from the needs of other Aboriginal communities in other parts of Australia. As one participant in the December workshop said: “It’s about ‘a sense of belonging’ and being part of a community – when I go home to my community or when I go to my father’s country, I know I’m going home”.  According to statistics presented by the Indigenous Heritage Trust, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population in Victoria today consists of about 25,000 individuals. A further breakdown of Aboriginal statistics indicates the following percentages: 49% for the under 20 year age group; 45% for the 20-54 year age group; and 6% for the 55 and over age group.  Around 2500 - 3000 families belong to about 35 major clans.  The age profile of the Indigenous community is different from the population at large in that about half are teenagers and a majority are young people under the age of 25 years. By contrast, young people are a slowly declining group in the general population.

The Aboriginal community of Victoria is not a homogenous group connected to one area or having exactly the same needs and cultural practises.  Difference is raised by the notion of a multicultural society, but the diversity within the Indigenous community is not widely acknowledged. While all Indigenous groups feel part of a common association with common issues and problems, there is an underlying historical diversity of cultures, languages, and traditional practices which explains the complex make-up of the Indigenous community in Victoria.  This diversity is represented particularly by historical tribal ties and a present day sense of belonging to particular clans or extended families. Some of these communities and historical sites are: Rumbalara, Lake Tyres, Ebenezer, Framlingham, Lake Condah, Mt Franklin and others. Most communities are spread across country Victoria and two – Lake Tyers and Framlingham – meet the definitional criteria of ‘remote’. In addition to Aboriginal people whose origins are Victorian, there are people who have moved to Victoria from other parts of Australia, particularly the Torres Strait Islands. To ignore this diversity is to begin from a culturally inappropriate standpoint.

Although it is well known that in pre-colonial times Aboriginal people moved around on traditional lands, it is not well understood how contemporary Indigenous culture incorporates an important element of moving between one’s place of residence to the place in Victoria which is identified as ‘home’. This may be a place where relatives now live, as well as the area that previous generations lived. In many places family groups remain settled near traditional lands. This element of mobility is considered a cultural norm and family members will, from time to time, rejoin family groups in other parts of Victoria on important occasions. This normal mobility of Indigenous people is not well understood by other groups in the community.

Cultural practices of Indigenous people, which express comfort using outdoor space, may conflict with the rules and regulations of the mainstream community. For example, different Indigenous groups may make choices about indoors or outdoors cooking and sleeping, in line with a perfectly acceptable cultural norm, and not necessarily due to a lack of shelter. On the other hand, local government by-laws may prohibit this behaviour by imposing laws on sleeping and drinking in public areas, and in doing so, undermine a cultural and a behavioral norm and thus put indigenous communities in a bracket of homelessness.

The issue of family is fundamental to understanding Indigenous needs and cultural practices:

A fair number of people move between Melbourne and their communities of origin, or to stay with other family members – moving about from place to place is not considered strange – it is fairly common.

Family obligations are very important:

When people go to funerals to meet family obligation,s they don’t just go home and attend the funeral and then go back to work, they go and often stay amongst their family and relatives for longer. Family members extend hospitality and it is expected that they will do so.

Another important cultural value is the way extended families share and care for children. The emphasis on material things and money, which is a central message of contemporary mainstream culture, is not as important for Aboriginal people. This can be as true for Aboriginal professionals on relatively high incomes. Also, material wealth is shared, as in many families but within much more extended family networks. The family is a broader concept than for most other groups. This sense of extended family has implications for how income is used:

The kids in town have driven my old man’s cruiser and they use up all the petrol.  That vehicle isn’t just for my own access.  If they want to go to the river and have access for a while it means my income is less.  If you walk into a pub on pay night you have people with rock and roll there and shouting because you are working. Because of the culture, you can’t say, “No, go and get stuffed.  This is my pay, I worked for this.”  If I did that in the town, the next thing it would be around town “That bastard didn’t shout”.

Aboriginal organizations play an important role in maintaining Aboriginal cultural values, however, they also must observe the requirements of ‘white’ legal structures and processes, which do not always affirm culturally preferred ways of doing things. Although not all Aboriginal people are active in their community organizations, many are. In Victoria, there are about 100 Aboriginal organizations – cooperatives and associations -- which provide culturally appropriate services and support.  Working together in organizations is important in conserving and creating identity.

However, Indigenous culture is evolving and adapting like all living cultures. As one informant said emphatically: “it never sat and died in the bush 150 years ago”. There are many examples. Although for many Aboriginal people the extended family remains very important, there are lots of younger couples that choose to have smaller families and live in smaller groups. As in the wider society, gender roles are slowly changing amongst Indigenous people, with men more likely these days to be carers of their children than they would have been in the past. Cross-cultural marriages and relationships are common amongst young Indigenous as they are for other ethnic groups and this adds an additional dimension of cultural complexity.

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