Australian Aboriginals Attitude Towards Disability.
Created | Updated Oct 19, 2012
Australian Aboriginals are wary of white people at the best of times, having had their country, how shall one phrase it, 'purloined' once already. There is, however, one section of people they do not seem to see as potential land-thieves; people in wheelchairs.
Whilst most Aboriginals have now migrated towards large cities and towns, there are some who still wander nomadically through the vast outback as generations of their ancestors have done. This 'walkabout' behaviour is meant to give them insight into the land, it's animals and people. Should a 'bush' aboriginal come into contact with a white, or even non-black 'fella', they will not tend to interact with them. They would certainly not, unless in dire need of aid, talk to the other person, though they have a rich verbal language as is evident in the numerous place names now in Australian maps. So why only disabled people?
One wheelchair-using researcher came into contact with a 'bush' aboriginal on the outskirts of Kalgoorlie in WA. The native-Australian marched towards the man in the chair and his able-bodied, walking, companion, glaring at them both. He stopped ten feet in front of them, still glaring. He then advanced, glaring at the able-bodied man, grinned quickly at the man sitting down whose shoulder he slapped in a friendly greeting and carried on past.
The explanation? It transpires that Aboriginals, as an entire race (all tribes), view people in wheelchairs (of whatever colour or place of birth) as being as downtrodden as they themselves are.
This behavioural and philosophical trait appears unique to the Australian Aboriginal.
Whilst most Aboriginals have now migrated towards large cities and towns, there are some who still wander nomadically through the vast outback as generations of their ancestors have done. This 'walkabout' behaviour is meant to give them insight into the land, it's animals and people. Should a 'bush' aboriginal come into contact with a white, or even non-black 'fella', they will not tend to interact with them. They would certainly not, unless in dire need of aid, talk to the other person, though they have a rich verbal language as is evident in the numerous place names now in Australian maps. So why only disabled people?
One wheelchair-using researcher came into contact with a 'bush' aboriginal on the outskirts of Kalgoorlie in WA. The native-Australian marched towards the man in the chair and his able-bodied, walking, companion, glaring at them both. He stopped ten feet in front of them, still glaring. He then advanced, glaring at the able-bodied man, grinned quickly at the man sitting down whose shoulder he slapped in a friendly greeting and carried on past.
The explanation? It transpires that Aboriginals, as an entire race (all tribes), view people in wheelchairs (of whatever colour or place of birth) as being as downtrodden as they themselves are.
This behavioural and philosophical trait appears unique to the Australian Aboriginal.
