Arnhem Land Influencer

By Dr Jeanne Shaw

About Lorraine Kabbindi White. From her remote family Outstation in Arnhem Land to a secondary school in Melbourne, Kabbindi’s steady voice rises clearly above centuries of racist oppression in Australia. Her grandfather, world-renowned Aboriginal artist, Wamud Namok, taught her to paint and instilled in her a capability to navigate her way in White Australia. This quintessential tale of struggle and redemption is told from the perspective of a privileged white teacher at her Melbourne school.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Inspiring Publishers / ASPG
• Release date: Jan 5, 2023
• ISBN: 9781922920027

Book preview

Introduction

Art connects us with others too. Whenever we view a specific artwork, which was painted by a person with a particular idea in mind, the viewer will feel or think a certain way, which is informed by the artwork (and artist’s) message. As a result, art becomes a universal language used to speak, paint, perform, or build that goes beyond different cultures, religions, ethnicities, or languages. It touches the deepest aspects of being human, which is something we all share.³

This book tells the story of how Lorraine Kabbindi White, whose Aboriginal name I use throughout this book, was encouraged by her non-Aboriginal father and her Aboriginal grandfather to travel to Melbourne to complete her secondary education. Both believed that Kabbindi could, by receiving an education in Melbourne, better support her community in West Arnhem Land, and, while preserving her ancient culture and heritage, take her place in contemporary Australia. The book then explores how Kabbindi, having attended school in Melbourne, has subsequently been able to move between two worlds, during a time in Australia that has seen great social and political changes in the relationship between the two cultures.

One of the legacies from Kabbindi’s grandfather Wamud Namok⁴, is his bond with Kabbindi which is described in the book and which has, in turn, had a profound impact on me. That is, as a Balanda (white person), I have formed a close personal friendship with Kabbindi. This friendship has allowed me to ‘break the silence’ about my whiteness and discuss something I have not talked about before and to acknowledge that, like most Australians, I have lacked a context to discuss racism in this country; a discussion which is pivotal to Australia moving forward as a nation.

About two years ago, when I first conceived the idea of writing this book, I suggested to Kabbindi that it would be nice to have a book about her that could be read by people with an interest in her art. Kabbindi was lukewarm about the idea and, with unstated scepticism, asked the pointed question: ‘Who are you writing it for? You or me?’

While I was quick to reassure Kabbindi that I was writing it for her, I soon realised that Kabbindi was calling my bluff. Instinctively, she understood that, notwithstanding that from a European perspective, I was well educated, the task of writing about the lived experiences of someone from an Aboriginal background was a futile and near impossible task. Certainly for contemporary commentators on race relations such as Atkinson, (2003), Diangelo, (2018) Kendi, (2019), Morton-Robinson (2000) and others, the premise of this book may well be questionable. Thus it has been a painfully challenging journey to taking a tentative step towards a more humble and open-minded perspective. In particular, Aileen Moreton-Robinson’s Talkin’ Up to the White Woman challenges the capacity of a white woman, such as me, to fully appreciate the non-white position of a young Aboriginal woman such as Kabbindi, as she fights for, and establishes her selfhood and agency in society. I believe Moreton-Robinson’s work is relevant and a timely reminder to me of my limitations.

Having acknowledged my limitations, I should add that this book is not intended to be an academic, political or militant work; rather, it is my honest attempt to promote a better racial order by striving to allow an Aboriginal woman’s voice to be heard.⁵

This book takes its shape from a poem I wrote as a reflection on Kabbindi’s achievements in making her grandfather ‘proud’ through perpetuating the art and stories of his clan. In this poem, I affirmed the way Kabbindi is finding her way in non-Aboriginal society, as was Wamud’s challenge to her as a young girl. As I set about writing the book it became increasingly apparent to me that my notion of how a young Aboriginal woman would make her grandfather proud was insensitive and patronising. For this reason I rewrote the poem with less pretense about what would be ‘nice’ for Kabbindi while, at the same time, attempting to capture the diverse and multifarious legacies that Kabbindi inherited from her grandfather.

Each chapter of this book is introduced by the unfurling of a stanza of my reworked and renamed poem, Hearsay. Each stanza and related chapter presents an observation about the legacy left by Wamud as it has impacted on Kabbindi’s life, and which has, through Kabbindi, impacted on the Balanda people who have been privileged to know her. The repetition of ‘I hear..." at the beginning of stanzas, reflects my limited appreciation of Kabbindi’s experiences in Arnhem Land⁶; much of my understanding of her early life relies on snippets of comments and anecdotes conveyed to me by Kabbindi, fleeting encounters with her family members and others who know her.

My relationship with Kabbindi started out as that of a schoolteacher and a Year 10 student, boarding at my school⁷. With the best intentions, but with no appreciation of Kabbindi’s traditional learning, my aim was to help her complete Year 12⁸ and obtain her Victorian Certificate of Education. Now, with my better understanding of Kabbindi’s culture and appreciation of the traditional education she had already from her grandfather, I would have approached the task with humility and an open mind about the value of her culture and learning.

As Kabbindi’s English teacher, I soon realised that my attempts to teach her to analyse novels and poems and write essays according to the school curriculum and conventions, were at odds with Kabbindi’s traditional learning. Notwithstanding that I was an experienced and accomplished literature teacher, I found myself being challenged by Kabbindi’s unique truths and wisdoms that had been bequeathed to her by her grandfather and generations of his ancestors. As her teacher, I often found myself confounded by Kabbindi. Over and again she left me almost speechless, wondering, ‘Who is this girl? Who exactly does she think she is? What do we have here?’

In writing this book and having reflected on my experience in teaching Kabbindi, I now realise that Kabbindi has, in many ways, ‘turned the tables’ on me. Not only do I believe that I have learned more from her than I taught her; she has forced me to concede, in the context of my own ‘white fragility’, that this book is about the journey she took me on rather than being a book only for her. I have had to rethink both my precepts of racism and my understanding that excellent teaching requires a cultural sensitivity that had previously eluded me.

When considering my precepts of racism, I have reflected on the changes in relationships between Aboriginal Australia and non-Aboriginal Australia that have occurred in Kabbindi’s lifetime⁹. Indeed, as I write this book there is movement towards a more empathetic acceptance of the 2017, Uluru Statement from the Heart and the movement for a referendum to enshrine an Aboriginal ‘Voice’ in the Constitution and in the Australian Parliament. I can only hope that my journey with Kabbindi, and the journey this country is embarking on, signals new opportunities for reconciliation in Australia.

While Australia is still undeniably a society that suffers from the lingering impact of European settlement, cultural genocide, racism and ignorance, there is a noticeable shift in the community discourse about the relationship between non -Aboriginal Australians and Aboriginal peoples. There is a growing understanding in the community that, at the time of European settlement there were