Indigenous Identity
Addressing Disadvantage is No Identity Game
Given that the dust has settled to some degree on the Bolt case I thought it appropriate to move on and explore the important issue of the greater disadvantage suffered by some Aboriginal people
and what part Aboriginal identity might play.
Identifying as Aboriginal can Hurt
I am a lecturer at the University of Sydney. I also identify as an Aboriginal Australian. The
purpose of this article is not to defend Andrew Bolt, but rather stimulate thought on the
important and controversial topic of Aboriginal identity in Australia.
Indigenous Identity Distracts from the Real Issues
Aboriginal identity is a topic I have written on previously here on The Drum and elsewhere.
Most recently, some of my thoughts were published in an article by Caroline Overington in The Weekend Australian Magazine of the Weekend Australian (March 2425, 2012). On the front page of The Australian, there was a story that spoke about fraud where nonAboriginal people pretend to be Aboriginal. Why would they want to do this?