The name is absent

oriented Aborigines on their Aboriginality as a positive and
valued characteristic; some, moreover, emphasize pan-Aboriginality
seeing all people of Aboriginal descent, whatever their socio-
cultural circumstances,as sharing an Aboriginal identity".

Watts emphasized the role of Aboriginal organisations as

agents affirming Aboriginal identity, and noted that

The emerging Aboriginal literature also sustains
the search for an affirmation of Aboriginal
identity (1982, 1:131).

1.37 Summary of research findings

Current research literature in anthropology, if it touches
at all on identity, is centred on change taking place in the
structures of tradition-oriented people.

Research literature in psychology seeks either to provide
data on motivation, concept formation, etc., which parallels that
of ’European* studies, or has a 'mental health* approach to the
problems of assimilation.

Both currents of thought may be seen to be broadly
assimilationist, that is, to accept a context in which Aboriginal
identity is absorbed, rather than maintained or constructed.

There is a dearth of sociological literature, but the small
amount that exists points to the growing consciousness of a
separate identity, the need to develop and confirm this, and the .
need to examine the structures of schooling as one context within
which identity is developed.

It is the Aboriginal people themselves who highlight a
consciousness of loss of identity and the need for the construction
of an Aboriginal identity. Research literature, by its nature,
is contexted into a white framework. The Aboriginal voice comes
from the Aboriginal reality and it focusses on identity construction.

<<   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   >>

More intriguing information