This page is still under development – please check back soon.
The whiteskinblackheart project is an idea born out of personal experience and observation.
Since the turn of the century, the total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population has continuously demonstrated increased growth from census period to census period greater than would would be expected from birth rates alone. The most likely explanation for this growth is that more and more people have discovered Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander ancestry within their family line, and have subsequently chosen to identify themselves.
Within the context of the invasion of the land now known as Australia, the evolution of a multi-cultural society, and the subsequent inevitable, inter-racial interactions that occurred, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today are of mixed descent – that is, they have one parent of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander descendency, and of a non-Indigenous background. Historically, these people were classified into a caste system – a European concept alien to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Those of mixed descent were classified as half-, or quarter-caste, or a lower denomination. Policies of the day aimed to assimilate these people into “mainstream” (at the time referred to as “white”) society, the aim being to eventually “breed out” the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander races. What resulted was a Stolen Generation – peoples who had lost, in part or whole, their families, their Laws, their culture, and their identities as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Many of these people identify as being Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander, despite (or perhaps, because of) their mixed heritage. Many do not for a number of reasons, including: they have no knowledge of their Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander heritage; they do not know how to identify, or even if they should or can identify; or they fear identifying lest they be ridiculed, persecuted, or otherwise disadvantaged.
Sadly, these events have left generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have lost their culture, their identity, and their sense of self, who are now trying to reconnect with those things. “Mainstream” Australia is also struggling with this issue, both in terms of recognising and taking accountability of historical practices and policies, and understanding and addressing the modern-day issues they have created. Both within and outside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, peoples are struggling to understand who really is Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander, causing significant confusion, anxiety, heartbreak, and even resentment and conflict between individuals, families, communities and the nation as a whole.
whiteskinblackheart has been created as a way to address some of these issues. It’s purpose is threefold:
- to be a culturally safe space for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, especially those of mixed descent, to explore their identity and provide resources to help them with this journey;
- to facilitate education and understanding for non-Aboriginal and -Torres Strait Islander peoples on the issues which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples face daily in regards to identity and cultural preservation; and
- to facilitate discussion between all peoples of Australia as a means of generating mutual understanding and respect, and thereby progress all of us towards true Reconciliation.