Ask us anything: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

"Ask us anything"? How about, Why are you so maddened and "triggered" by innocuous and convivial questions probably just intended as friendly ice-breaking? "Ask us Anything"?? More like, "Don't Bother Talking To Us!"! Which I won't. Thanks, University of Sydney!

What is the ?Yarban? celebrated instead of Australia Day? Intrigued!

in fairness people Do ask "oh, how much irish are you"

Change the date to the 25th, to celebrate Aboriginal people were living in peace before the white settlers. It wouldn't cause any of the inconvenience with holiday times or driving to relatives because it's literally the day before.

I am new to Australia, hence I am not familiar with aboriginal Australians.

What is the systamic racism occurring to you.

For me it seems AA suffer systematic racism, and the gov covers with some facade about how they like and appreciate AAs

I like that comeback "Well, you didn't look racist till you said that"

Love the coffee analogy. Great clip, thank you!

I’ve come across people who wouldn’t sit next to me on the bus because the color of my skin. Good, more room for me and my bag.

As a Māori girl from Aotearoa NZ I loved hearing from the Aboriginal people of Australia!

As a non Aboriginal person who lives in Australia, I'd like to say sorry and I want to learn more.

is it ok to ask an aboriginal person which side of their family is aboriginal? i assume they lose the pigment in their skin from having a child with a white person? is this right?

I'm half white latina and half indigenous, and I always felt a need to know more about my roots, even though I didn't receive the cultural education and mother language, I always felt close to home whenever I wore my traditional clothes and whenever I listen to some mistical stories. I've received the look of confusion whenever I say I'm indigenous because I am a little lighter than the average guna woman, and that has made me feel a little unsecure. I feel identified as an indigenous woman, but I wish I was more confident of who I am. I needed the content of this video. Thank you so much! 💗

I live in Southern California and my parents are from México. I don't know really anything about Australian history or aboriginal history of thats the right term to use but this made me interested in learning more about it. Great video. Keep fighting on.

People ask each other about there origins all the time.

I’m a proud Wakka Wakka & Darkinjung young man 🖤💛❤️

"How well can you throw a boomerang?"


I'd ask that question with any Australian, not gonna lie.

Im a first generation white immigrant to Australia (been here since I was 5) and I really wish I could have been shown more things like this going through school. Thank you for doing this and I hope you do more like this going into the future. I hope we can move into a space of understanding and reconciliation.

Coffee is not DNA.

I'm not Australian, and I'm still learning things. So if I may ask, is aborigine a racial slur?

the aboriginal people i’ve encountered have been as racist towards me and my heritage ( asian ) than white people so like the irony man but oh well one day it will all be fine

I genuinely don't understand how not sitting next to someone is "racist". As far as I know, a LOT of people living in the city appreciate having their space to themselves and NOT feeling crowded. Someone does not sit next to you? Well, enjoy not having your personal space violated. We all already live on top of each other in apartments and high-rise dwellings; it is a blessing to have some time/space for oneself.


I'm a 100% Black Afro-European woman (Childhood in Central Africa, Teenage years in Western Europe) living in Australia and most of the dodgy/ambiguous behaviours I have experienced are from:
1. People who don't have the same social codes as I do and make genuine blunders (like wanting to touch my hair, for example).
2. People who fear out of ignorance and often quickly change their minds once they are at ease (like when they see I speak English and don't hold them responsible for all the evils in my world, for example)
3. People who are on their self-validating mission to "save minorities" from (a pandemia of) mental health issues born out of racism (like when they start the "peep talk" and won't allow me to look sad/tired that I missed my bus, for example).


As much as I understand the importance of "understanding" other cultures, there will always come a point where the outsider reveals him/herself as an outsider by virtue of thinking/living differently. And this will always translate into misunderstandings. Therefore, I see mo point in wasting time overthinking these punctual mishaps.

Informative. Always good to listen to lived experience ❤

It is actually quite sad to see the similarities between Canada and Australia and how they treated their aboriginal people

Beautiful 💙💙💙

These guys are pussies!! Native Americans have gone through the same historical and modern problems but they do not have this overall "woe is me" mentality. Quit being pathetic, fix your people's issues, and DO NOT tell people what is offensive and what's not. If you have an issue with something in society, prove that's it's an issue and don't just sit on your ass and talk shit about Australian society. They have said a list of problems, and offered zero solutions to them. Come on guys!! If u want to get better then you have to fight for it, don't cry about it!

Nothing wrong with living in the bush or living close to the land, you guys of all people should know that. You shouldn't disrespect the Aborigines that still do, and/or still can, it's part of your culture.

As an indigenous Native American Indian from North America..I was forced to hear every year about the BS Land Bridge Theory and it was upsetting to me. I asked my grandmother who was very Strong Faith’d in God explained to me that the outsiders were forever questioning our Native existence and attempting to remove it. Love the next generation to treat the Elder respectfully and learning from their wisdom. 🙇🏻‍♀️🙏🏽🔍💗☝🏽💕🕊🤔

As a white person I can relate

I really wanted to learn about the aboriginal culture and history as they have never touched on those subjects in school. I wanted to learn, increase my knowledge, be an advocate... I decided I must educate myself. I went to the tafe and applied to enrol into the course of aboriginal history and art. I wanted to be a part of the culture... I was knocked back. I kept trying and calling and going in to see the lady in charge. I was told I couldn't enrol and couldn't do the course because I'm not aboriginal. I was very persistent and called many times went in many times. I was refused. I felt that was discrimination and exclusion.
People ask questions not to offend but the learn to understand and gain knowledge.
I'm sorry I disagree with some of the answers on this video clip.
I have a great deal of respect for elders on any culture because the pass of their wisdom which makes us more aware and broadens or understanding. So when the Aunty says that there and things they don't want to share because it's theirs and it's watered down, I'm afraid I disagree.

Free education for all. White fellas and Black.

The coffee analogy is a good one, unfortunately it dosent always ring true, raised as a 1st Nation indigenous person raised by amazing strong black women and men, i have been racially abused by fellow indigenous people for my fair skin. Not white enough, but not brown black enough. Expected ignorance from white people, not from my own. Thumbs up for the video it was uplifting.

As an Aboriginal from Townsville, I can confirm the racism here if disgusting

Maybe it's because I've always lived in America but we always ask each other about how much of whatever we are especially when ancestory and 21 and me got popular but yea never seen that as a racist question before

Jeez it's a fucking boomerang

I'm not sure why the white people in this video say they get annoyed when asked how aboriginal they are because they could be lying and people are just curious, I'm white and English and if I went to Australia and started saying I was aboriginal I'd expect something to challenge me on it

Europeans make every continent white.....americas, australia etc......i respect indigenous people....they have the first right on country's resources........

Here’s a question I’d like to ask: Why are Aboriginal people warned about images/voices of deceased people? Greetings from America btw.

Thank you for an amazing video! I'm a non-Indigenous woman from Cairns in Far North QLD and am also a nurse/Educator. I am currently training some mob from Awabakal as health Practitioners. This video gave me some good knowledge on how to be culturally safe and show respect towards my students. If there's one thing I've observed about being in a room full of Indigenous students is that there is such a strong sense of family and connection with mob and that everyone cares about each other equally. Non-Indigenous people can certainly learn a lot about belonging from our Indigenous brothers and sisters, aunties and uncles - I know I have. Thank you x P.S. Aunty Mary I'd sit next to you!

i’m an australian/american dual citizen who was raised in america most of my life- they don’t teach anything about aboriginal culture in america so this video was truly eye opening and informative. i’d love to learn more about your wonderful culture!

As a Pacific islander comming frm a very tiny island with a population of only 2,000 inhabitants everyone is family.

GBU aburginnn love u

🖤💛❤️

I empathize with the Aboriginal People I'm Fijian and have lived in Australia for 90% of my life, and I've lived with passive racism.
My favorite question was about the dancing.
My question is: In Fiji our traditional dances tells a story about our history and culture. This way it cant be changed. If were written down like in Western Cultures it can be changed over the ages.
That's why it's a dance the moves cant be changed which keeps it pure. Are Aboriginal dancing the same?
If I was asked the same dancing question I would just laugh and walk away

Very interesting to hear your stories and point of view and I'm so sorry that you all experience racism every day. All I can say is that there is a growing number of (white) Europeans who really value your culture and history and really wish the white world would listen to you more and appreciate the richness of your culture.

Oh no racism is so terrible! Literally the worst thing in the world! "Someone didn't immediately understand me or my cultural heritage, therefore all white are terrible because of this!" Now I'm starting to see why real Aussies want to see Sydney glassed. Still not 100% sure if they mean bashed with a bottle or nuked though. This video does nothing but make normal people more sympathetic towards "racists" which is already a meaningless term.

Aboriginal people are very beautiful and I am so sorry that Europeans destroyed your language land and stole your culture

I am white, does that mean I am Australia?

As a white Australian this is such an eye opener.