Background Paper

by Mark Yettica-Paulson

Also read the main Culture and Identity discussion paper.

Introduction

Note on the eighteenth Session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations
(Geneva, 24-28 July 2000)

Indigenous representatives attending the 18th session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations had spoken at length on the plights and problems of Indigenous children and youth. There was also an International Workshop on Indigenous Children and Youth held in Geneva just prior to the Working Group Session. There were four themes from the workshop: "juvenile justice, employment/child labour, education and especially difficult circumstances." (Executive Summary of Report of First International Workshop on Indigenous Children and Youth, July 19-21, 2000, Salle 25, Palais des Nations, Geneva.)

The following extract is from the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights note on the 18th Session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations.

"Many indigenous representatives expressed their grave concern about the current situation of indigenous children and youth. Indigenous representatives considered some Governments had denied indigenous peoples their right to speak their language, to practise their culture and to study their history. As a result of these discriminatory national policies indigenous children were losing and forgetting their heritage.

Indigenous peoples throughout the world and especially their children were constantly facing grave health risks. Insufficient health care, discrimination and poverty were among the root causes of this phenomenon. Available census data showed that indigenous peoples had the highest rate of infant mortality, birth defects and complications relating to birth. Indigenous representatives expressed their concern that indigenous children were suffering from preventable or curable diseases, such as diarrhoeal diseases, malaria, tuberculosis and respiratory infections. Another point of concern was the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases amongst indigenous young persons in South America, Asia and Africa. Several indigenous representatives spoke about the high number of indigenous youth suffering from alcoholism, drug addiction and malnutrition and called for particular measures to counteract these problems.

Education and access to all levels of schooling was considered a key element for improving the overall
standard of living of indigenous children. Representatives of indigenous peoples explained that there was a lack of educational services and facilities for their children, and that national educational systems were often ignorant concerning indigenous peoples and their culture, considering them to be backward and uncivilized. As a consequence the knowledge of indigenous children and youth about their culture faded and their cultural identity was weakened.

Another problem, according to several indigenous representatives, was that institutions of higher
education were located far from indigenous peoples. For that reason, indigenous students had to study in a different language, far away from their people, and were thus estranged from their cultural identity. In addition, indigenous youth often denied their ethnicity, in order to avoid discrimination in colleges and university, and for social acceptability.

Indigenous representatives expressed their concern that young indigenous people who did not deny their origin had to face a high rate of unemployment. This threatened to aggravate further the living conditions of indigenous peoples. Some government observers expressed their support for a stronger involvement and monitoring of indigenous peoples in education and employment programme, in order to improve the current situation.

Poverty, discrimination, unemployment and lack of education were considered to be the main causes for high crime and suicide rate among indigenous youth. According to several indigenous representatives, this situation could only be remedied if Governments and indigenous peoples cooperated to enhance education for indigenous children and young people and thereby improve their overall situation."

There is no doubt that Indigenous Youth are suffering in many ways throughout the world. In this paper it is impossible to canvas all the issues with any sense of integrity. This paper will not focus on the issues of social conditions, land rights and treaties, education and employment, health and well being or language and spirituality. These topics may arise, but they are not the focus. The Indigenous Youth of the world are engaged in these struggles with, among and for their respective peoples. It is not the intention to lessen any importance to any of these worthy areas of discussion. This paper however, will focus on the issues of Culture and Identity. That is, it will seek to uncover some of the universal dynamics of Culture and Identity that currently exist and further seek to explore those dynamics within the context of Indigenous peoples.

It can easily be seen from the quote above that there are many issues that Indigenous Youth are engaged in with their struggles. It is not a claim of this paper that issues of Culture and Identity are the root of all other problems. However, it is also clear that there is a grave concern among Indigenous peoples about the loss of Culture and Identity among the Indigenous Youth. Issues of identity can and will affect all other issues and are influenced by it. Issues such as development, education, health, spirituality, land and water rights etc. The politics and the personal conviction of culture and identity will have a significant affect on a person's participation in the struggles for these issues. Also it can be recognised that a 'search' for identity is a path that all humans are engaged in. We all seek
the answers to the questions of, "who am I?" and "where did I come from?"

It will be shown in this paper that while the Indigenous Youth are engaged in that universal human pursuit, they are also subject to increased pressure and dimensional differences in their journey.

Approach and Location

There are two important points to state at the beginning of the paper.

One is the approach that has been taken in dealing with a multi-dimensional topic such as Culture and Identity. The approach taken has been to pitch at the more universal dynamics of Identity and Cultural issues and relate those dynamics to Culture and Identity issues of Indigenous Youth. The intention is that all participants will be able to engage with the broader concepts, such as 'belonging', and the Indigenous participants are able to engage with the more specific contexts of 'belonging to Indigenous peoples'.

The second important point is to locate myself. This information in western academic papers is usually reserved for the biography section. However, I believe it is important to locate myself in terms of my own identification markers. The identity markers themselves form a significant window into who we are and how we want to present ourselves. It is also an important context for readers to understand where I am coming from in approaching Culture and Identity issues.

I must begin with an acknowledgment of my own boundaries as I write. I am an Indigenous person from Australia. My peoples are Bunjalung and Birri Gubba of Southeast Queensland and Northeast New South Wales. I was born in Gurindji county in the Northern Territory. I now live in Wiradjuri country in NSW. My grandfather was taken from the South Pacific Islands of Vanuatu and made to cut sugar cane in North Queensland. He settled in Australia and the rest of my family come from Aboriginal peoples. I am the youngest of five, with one brother and three sisters. I am married to a Samoan woman and have a son named Malik Talia Graham Yettica-Paulson. In western academic papers the above information is delivered in a biography. However, in a paper on Indigenous
Youth Identity Issues it is imperative that my own identity information begin the dialogue.

Culture and Identity issues for Indigenous youth

We are standing in a time like never before. The technology and the social implications that arise have never been encountered by humans ever. We are able to be linked in real time from all over the world. The growth of the "global community" is ever increasing in size. The sensation of "community" is diminishing. Neighbourhoods and real life connections that matter among people of the same geographical area are becoming increasingly rare. The urban, fast tracked pace of life is driving
western value based societies further away from the intimacy of local community relationships. Furthermore, this lifestyle is becoming, if not already, the model for ideal society. Claiming to be full of freedom and opportunity.

The rapid change of the face of the earth in the last six hundred years has in many cases placed many people groups in situations experiencing irreversible change. The lifestyles, cultures, language and traditions that had survived for hundreds and thousands of years have been, in some cases, changed beyond recognition. In other cases lost altogether. Yet for many peoples the importance of Identity and Culture remains central to their hopes for the future. For them and indeed for all peoples, the complexity of identity formation in 2000 has only increased with recent historical changes. However, they, like us, form their identity based on what they know to be true.

Identity exists for all of us in a series of layers. At the International Youth Parliament 2000 you will be
representatives of your countries. You will also represent your peoples. You will express membership or belonging to your clans and families and tribes. You are students or workers. Partnered or not. The list goes on to include all manner of criteria that we 'tag' ourselves for self definition. Yet in and through all of them we hope that we remain true to who we are and who we want to be. That true self exists in a multi-dimensional banner where all the terms are up for reinterpretation and re-invention. Terms like "Nation", "nationality", "ethnicity", "ethnic background", "culture", "race", "tribe" and "peoples" adopt shape-shifting qualities in meaning and significance when applied to various contexts around the world.

Identity exists for us all in many forms of contradictions. It is only possible to mention a couple in this paper. Global cultural participation tells us via mass information in all forms of media that our colour and ethnicity do not matter. All that counts is whether we fit in, whether that means in the style, the class, the wealth, the behaviour or the language. However, the colour, gender and ethnicity continue to affect access, acceptance, freedom and fairness. There is also a contradiction in the ideas of the individual and the group dynamic. Who are you if you are not part of a group? All of us in one way or another face the tension between being an individual with our own choices and self-determination, and being part of the larger group that we have been born into. It is as natural as nature itself. The growth of the global community has also meant that our place in the world also factors into this tension.

Issues of identity and formation are part of the universal issues of Youth. There are many angles and positions to take. I have outlined earlier the approach that I have chosen. The sketch of issues above exist for all of us, however, the way these issues are alive in Indigenous communities takes on different dimensions. We will now look at those differences and deal with them in more depth and the relationship between the universal and the Indigenous specific.

The identity issues are universal however, specifically Indigenous Youth face:

(i).Politicised nature of Identity - within community and externally; "Who are the real ones?"
(ii).Importance of belonging within Indigenous communities - belonging to people groups, clans, tribes totems etc; this is in a dimension radically different to the belonging offered by economic participation.
(iii).Indigenous Youth have an added dimension to the generational differences that all youth experience - the values of parents and grandparents are not simply out of date, they are the continuation of ancient cultures and traditions; How do the Indigenous Youth continue these cultures and traditions and maintain participation?

What does it mean to say, "I am"?

In this section will be the discussion of the dynamics of self-declaration. I am.
What does it mean to say that you are an Australian, American, African or Argentinian?
What does it mean to say that you are an Eastender, Highlander, Islander or Southerner?
What does it mean to say that you are Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Asian, European, Polynesian, Caucasian, Karen, Sami, Cree, Roma, Walpiri, Yorta Yorta, Wiradjuri, Black, White or Mixed?
There are simple meanings that cause no great harm to individuals or people groups. In one dimension they are just name tags placed on people by others and by themselves. However, they are also powerful determining tools of language. They are used to declare that you are one of them. You belong. For the individual it is a tool of self-definition. For the group it is a tool for recognition and acceptance. For the 'outsiders' it a tool of classification. They are the language tools to identify the "Real Ones". This dynamic is used internally and externally. Internally communities decide on criteria to define the boundaries. Externally communities have boundaries set for them using criteria, not necessarily in accordance with their own. If you declare that you are, are you a Real One?

What does it mean to be "one of us" or "one of them"?

This section discusses the dynamics of belonging.
The conceptual issues involved are:

(i) Acceptance
How important is the issue of acceptance? If you are not accepted by the people are you truly able to say that you belong? Acceptance is an important understanding for the relationship of belonging. Basically, it hinges on the group acceptance of the individual and the individual's acceptance of the group. Connected to this understanding are the criteria of acceptance. That is, what needs to be done, said, performed or demonstrated before acceptance can be fully realised.

(ii) Participation
How important is the need to demonstrate that you are part of the group? What needs to be performed as part of belonging to the group? The idea of participation is the defining action of the individual to demonstrate that they are really part of the group. Is the action necessary? Are the traditions important or significant to continue performing?

(iii) Recognition
Is it necessary that others recognise you as part of the group or can you exist without their recognition?
Recognition is an important understanding and it is expressed internally and externally. Within the group, as closely aligned with acceptance, it is their power to openly recognise or reject. Outside of the group, others will define the qualities, features and expectations of being part of the group and shall recognise or reject accordingly.

(iv) Ownership - rights
Who owns what in the group is an important understanding for culture and identity. The ownership of knowledge, art, song, story, clothing, etc, becomes a political issue for debate when the group feels threatened. When the significant markers for the defining boundaries of the group become icons of mass production, the values and meanings change. How does this affect the sensation of belonging when there is no sacred boundary any longer?

(v) Privilege and Responsibility
What are the expectations of belonging? There are certain rules that will offer privilege and expect responsibility. However, in much of the consumer driven lifestyle offered to us in mass culture, the concept of responsibility has a low profile. Yet, someone or something has to pay for the extravagance of inequality of wealth distribution.

What does it mean to live in this Generation?

This is the generation of endless possibilities. It is true that generations before us have thought the same and future generations may also think the same. However, as it was stated earlier in this paper, we are at a time like never before in human history. The sense of global community means all the populations of the world, not just Roman, British or Russian empires. The rise of the western influence on global culture and values is also a very important consideration.

Indigenous Youth like many other young people face the issues of cultural continuation and heritage. What constitutes a "national culture" and how do we maintain our identity in the face of growing global participation and lifestyle based largely on Western values and beliefs? All young people face these issues. In that sense McDonalds has touched us all. In the increasingly rapid and changing world that we live in the values of our parents' generations seem very outdated and largely irrelevant. While this may also be true for Indigenous Youth, they also need to reconcile with the traditional values that have taken hundreds of years to develop, and are crucial for the survival of the people.

Indigenous youth have a certain defining edge to this common problem. That is for many Indigenous peoples their life styles, language and cultures have been irreversible changed or destroyed within one generation of contact with the dominating cultures. Hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands of years of history totally changed within fifty years. Knowledge, language, stories of society responsibility and relationship, stories of the beginning of creation and the continuing participation, are all gone. What is left are the shocked, broken and astonished peoples. As Indigenous Youth, we stand in the legacy of what has happened to our peoples at the hands of the dominating cultures. The cultural heritage Indigenous Youth inherit is not only the ancient, living in harmony with large and active landscapes, but also the destruction and dispossession of peoples and land. That is part of the history of the
Indigenous peoples. It is part of the cultural heritage. It is the history of the country you represent. It is a common history to many peoples.

The transition of generations involves not only seeking out what makes us who we are now, that is, acknowledging our separation and difference from previous generations and giving expression to our current generation. But it also involves the ability to embrace a strange and shattered past that has brought us to this point in human history. Finally, it involves the acknowledgment that we are responsible for the continuation of stories, values, beliefs, quality of water, distribution of wealth, peace and justice, healing, and all that we love and hate about this world that we live in. The question is what will the Youth of tomorrow be discussing about in Culture and Identity?

Suggestions for stimulation and discussion:

Develop stronger alliances at regional levels: There should be greater alliance building at local and regional levels. This is a strategy to combat the loose connection that is displayed at the international forums. It is also part of the strength to influence change for the sake of Indigenous Youth at local levels. Finally, it offers the opportunity to share resources in tangible ways. For example if your neighbour has an excellent juvenile justice programme, then there would be the opportunity to share if there are greater alliances built at the regional levels.

Explore ways to cultivate our own cultural growth and development from our communities
Indigenous Youth need to embark on their own journey to learn from the elders. If we do not go and ask, they may never tell. We have inherited a history that is long and we are at the possible end of it. The responsibility needs to be taken up by us.

Develop strategies for utilising existing political arenas for the benefit of Indigenous Youth.
Act strategically in the political arena for Indigenous peoples. Youth should be active at all levels from the local community halls talking about the school, to United Nations and NGO conferences discussing the rights of Indigenous peoples. If the voice is to be authentically youth, then we have to make it our business to speak up.