Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 2, 1 February 1993 — Moving beyond conquerors' labels [ARTICLE]

Moving beyond conquerors' labels

The term "Aborigine" is one applied as a general label to the native people of Australia by Europeans. Says Lydia Miller: "That's theirs, that's a generalization. We know where we're from, but when you get in outer society, they like to define and label." It is the equivalent of calling indigenous people "Natives," and ignores the fact that at one time Australia was inhabited by 750 different clans (since contact the number has diminished to about 200). Miller said she is a Murri, from Queensland, whose lineage comes from three clans: Kokopera (that of her raother's mother), Kukujelandji (that of her father), and WandjiKalkadoon (her father's mother's mother). "We are a nation composed of different countries with different clans. We're quite a diverse people."