{"id":20446,"date":"2023-11-27T08:52:32","date_gmt":"2023-11-27T08:52:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/?p=20446"},"modified":"2024-09-27T16:49:10","modified_gmt":"2024-09-27T15:49:10","slug":"maintaining-cultural-identity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/maintaining-cultural-identity\/","title":{"rendered":"Maintaining cultural identity: Key to children\u2019s development, particularly for Australia\u2019s Aboriginal children"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_79_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #121c4e;color:#121c4e\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #121c4e;color:#121c4e\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/maintaining-cultural-identity\/#Key_takeaways_for_caregivers\" >Key takeaways for caregivers<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/maintaining-cultural-identity\/#1_Australias_Aboriginal_youth_face_significant_cultural_challenges\" >1. Australia\u2019s Aboriginal youth face significant cultural challenges<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/maintaining-cultural-identity\/#2_Building_cultural_identity_strengthens_Aboriginal_children\" >2. Building cultural identity strengthens Aboriginal children<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/maintaining-cultural-identity\/#3_It_is_important_across_cultures_to_maintain_cultural_identity_during_youth\" >3. It is important across cultures to maintain cultural identity during youth\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/maintaining-cultural-identity\/#4_Cultural_identity_combats_adversity\" >4. Cultural identity combats adversity<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/maintaining-cultural-identity\/#5_The_many_barriers_to_transferring_identity\" >5. The many barriers to transferring identity<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/maintaining-cultural-identity\/#6_Obstacles_to_learning_within_families\" >6. Obstacles to learning within families<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/maintaining-cultural-identity\/#7_Difficulties_of_maintaining_cultural_identity_at_school\" >7. Difficulties of maintaining cultural identity at school<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Key_takeaways_for_caregivers\"><\/span><strong>Key takeaways for caregivers<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>A strong sense of identity can help children and youth <a href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/building-childrens-self-esteem-without-turning-them-into-narcissists\/\">build resilience and self-esteem<\/a> to cope with challenges.<\/li>\n<li>Cultural identity is particularly impactful for young people who face adversities, such as Australian Aboriginal youth.<\/li>\n<li>Obstacles to building a strong cultural identity include repercussions of the history of colonization and racism, as well as distance from cultural learning in modern urban life.<\/li>\n<li>Cultural identity and being Aboriginal should be seen as assets, and schools are one context where these can be cultivated.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Article contents:<\/h3>\n<ol>\n<li>Australia\u2019s Aboriginal youth face significant cultural challenges<\/li>\n<li>Building cultural identity strengthens Aboriginal children<\/li>\n<li>It is important to maintain cultural identity when children are young<\/li>\n<li>Cultural identity combats adversity<\/li>\n<li>The many barriers to transferring identity<\/li>\n<li>Obstacles to learning within families<\/li>\n<li>Difficulties of maintaining cultural identity at school<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Australias_Aboriginal_youth_face_significant_cultural_challenges\"><\/span><strong>1. Australia\u2019s Aboriginal youth face significant cultural challenges<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>How do we help children thrive when they face a hostile environment \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/links-between-mental-health-and-childs-exposure-to-race-discrimination\/\">racism at school<\/a>, in daily interactions, and in almost every aspect of their public lives?<\/p>\n<p>This is a crucial question, particularly if a key protective factor \u2013 connection to their own culture \u2013 is weakened by public institutions that fail, however inadvertently, to value such connections, and when past experiences have left families fragmented and adults also struggle to cope.<\/p>\n<p>These questions are acute for Australia\u2019s Aboriginal children. Many of their parents and grandparents were traumatized. Not until 1977 did the Australian government end the practice of forcibly removing Aboriginal children \u2013 the Stolen Generation \u2013 from their families, placing them in missions to assimilate with non-Aboriginal people.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, it was only in 1968, following a referendum, that Aboriginal people were classified as human beings and counted in the Census.<\/p>\n<p>How do we ensure that children today develop well when the chronic symptoms of colonization \u2013 and its subsequent fracturing of Aboriginal existence \u2013 endure: alcoholism, drug dependency, poverty, self-harm, suicide, mental illness, and incarceration of family members?<\/p>\n<p>On top of that, Aboriginal children continue to experience high levels of racism. For example, in a study in a Western Australian town, 75% of Aboriginal children and youth aged 11-17 years experienced racism that they wanted to stop, and 74% were too scared to walk around the town (Kickett-Tucker et al, 2018).<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Building_cultural_identity_strengthens_Aboriginal_children\"><\/span><strong>2. Building cultural identity strengthens Aboriginal children<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Very young (aged 6-12) Aboriginal children still encounter racism. Some have reported scrubbing their bodies to remove their dark skin.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\">One vital response to these challenges is to build a young person\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Research shows that the identity of Aboriginal children usually equates with being recognized as the first people of Australia, with identity defined as connection to country (place), family, kinship, language, culture, and importantly, traditional rights to heritage, history and lands.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Research also indicates that building such an identity is an all-encompassing, holistic way to support any child to grow and thrive. But it is a particularly effective and culturally safe way to address the daily costs of historic injustices and the realities of modern-day racism. It can enable young Aboriginal people to take a steady and sturdy journey to adulthood and support other key points in their life transitions.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_It_is_important_across_cultures_to_maintain_cultural_identity_during_youth\"><\/span><strong>3. It is important across cultures to maintain cultural identity during youth\u00a0<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\">The prescription to maintain a strong, positive identity is important during youth across all cultures, according to developmental psychology. It helps create functioning, well-rounded individuals, and boosts positive\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/social-emotional-development\/\"><span class=\"s1\">social and emotional well-being<\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">A robust identity empowers individuals to acknowledge, respect, and define their purpose and role in life, helping them understand who they are and how they relate to others. Research suggests that the transition from childhood to adolescence and into early adulthood is a vital time for interaction with \u2013 and formation of \u2013 identity, though identity continues to develop across the lifespan.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"4_Cultural_identity_combats_adversity\"><\/span><strong>4. Cultural identity combats adversity<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A strong identity is particularly important for children who face adversity. It helps them <a href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/tag\/resilience\/\">develop resilience<\/a>, which promotes the skills, knowledge, and confidence needed to overcome and cope with life\u2019s challenges.<\/p>\n<p>Individuals gain control over their own well-being which has a positive impact on their self-esteem. In a study of First Nations\u2019 youth in Canada, a strong racial identity was a protective factor against self-harm and suicide.<\/p>\n<p>Having a strong Aboriginal identity and self-esteem is like the hub of a wheel. Without the hub, the wheel can go nowhere. Like a hub, racial identity is at the center of an Aboriginal child\u2019s well-being. It is their spirit and without it, they can be steered by outside forces that determine how fast to go and in which direction to travel.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"5_The_many_barriers_to_transferring_identity\"><\/span><strong>5. The many barriers to transferring identity<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>But transferring and bolstering Aboriginal identity is fraught with difficulty. The experiences of the Stolen Generation painfully disturbed identity in older groups, undermining their connection with land, kin, spirituality, and culture.<\/p>\n<p>Chris Jackamarra, one of those affected, explained: \u201cThe mission taught us that we were white, but they never taught us to be prepared for what was out in the world. That there was racial prejudice, <a href=\"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/common-stereotypes-children\/\">stereotype casting<\/a> and things like that. We were robbed of our identity and culture and that bothered me. It is something I was never taught and I am still just learning it now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In my research, I have identified very young (aged 6-12) Aboriginal children who still encounter racism. Some have reported scrubbing their bodies to remove their dark skin.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Schools should be culturally audited for how well they respect, understand, maintain, and teach about Aboriginal identities.<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"6_Obstacles_to_learning_within_families\"><\/span><strong>6. Obstacles to learning within families<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Many modern-day obstacles stand in the way of transferring Aboriginal identity.<\/p>\n<p>Understanding what it is to be Aboriginal involves observational learning by a child, including sitting and waiting with elders. In this situation, an elder carries out an activity, a child models it, and the elder continues the activity until the child has done it in culturally appropriate ways.<\/p>\n<p>The activity might be burning fur off a kangaroo tail and cooking it under the ashes. It might be collecting berries and fruit products. Out in the bush, Aboriginal people look for bush medicine.<\/p>\n<p>Food is vital and many activities take place around a campfire. But today, Aboriginal people, who typically live in urban centers, are not allowed to make fires because of the risk of bush fires. They lack money for gas and few have cars to travel to the bush, leaving many stuck in the city.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, many Aboriginal people are very poor. If they live in state-provided housing, there are rules about how many people can be together under one roof, and neighbors can report anyone who violates the rules.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"7_Difficulties_of_maintaining_cultural_identity_at_school\"><\/span><strong>7. Difficulties of maintaining cultural identity at school<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Schools have a long way to go before they are truly focused on Aboriginal children. Government funding is provided for Aboriginal education, but there is disparity between what is awarded to schools and the sums that are actually spent by schools on Aboriginal pupils\u2019 education. Even less is spent to support the cultural identity of Aboriginal children and youth.<\/p>\n<p>School leaders and teachers have some understanding that they should do something beyond just acknowledging the importance of Aboriginal culture, but ambivalence about teaching Indigenous languages persists. Aboriginal parents are rarely invited to help co-create curricula or inform teaching practices in ways that are culturally relevant.<\/p>\n<p>Simple school practices could make a difference, signalling a shift in perceptions so that being Aboriginal is recognized as an asset, rather than a challenge. For example, when the Aboriginal flag is raised at school, an Aboriginal child should lead the flag raise alongside another student.<\/p>\n<p>Each school assembly should begin with a welcome in an Indigenous language. Traditional authorities \u2013 local elders \u2013 should be invited regularly to attend assemblies. Schools should be culturally audited for how well they respect, understand, maintain, and teach about Aboriginal identities.<\/p>\n<p>These recommendations are just the beginning of big changes that need to occur to develop and support Aboriginal identity in children. Aboriginal children and youth need these actions to protect them in a world that is often hostile and damaging.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It helps children thrive, building their resilience to historic and current racism, and underpinning their well-being and life purpose. But public institutions such as schools underappreciate the importance of supporting identity and often do not do it well.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":264,"featured_media":20449,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5794],"tags":[449,25,476,5793],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20446"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/264"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20446"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20446\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21387,"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20446\/revisions\/21387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20446"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20446"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/childandfamilyblog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20446"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}