THE term “Indigenous” appears to scare Mr Pethick half to death.
It seems the only way he thinks he can strip it of its power is by claiming it is synonymous with a few generations of white occupation.
There is no confusion here.
If you prefer the term Aboriginal over Indigenous, by all means, use either.
Those of us who understand the common usage of our language have no trouble communicating the difference between a few generations of white settlement and a thousand generations of continuous Aboriginal culture.
Mr Pethick’s claim that only good things have come to Aboriginal people from British settlement is clearly nonsense.
The advances in health and education that have improved the lot of the human species are the very advances that are not universally available to Indigenous people.
But of course, Mr Pethick would claim it’s their own fault.
There’s a term for that – it’s called victim blaming and it’s used shamelessly by those with power against those without.
Geoff Drummond, Gawler West
