Dr. John A. King, an Australian Imbrani man living in the US, shares how he navigates curiosity and misconceptions about his culture. He describes the reactions he gets to his background and his work educating non-Aboriginal people about Imbrani culture and the importance of respecting sovereign land.
I've lived in America for 20 years now. When they find out I'm Australian, they're fascinated by it. But when they find out that I'm an Aboriginal man, Imbrani man, they really get interested. They want to know what that's about. And, you know, because it's a rarity. It's a— there's not many of us. What's really interesting is hopping on a plane now to fly back to Australia. I'm going to meet some people, some Australians that have never ever had a conversation with an Aboriginal. And when I wear my I'm wearing a flag hat, I'm in a flag shirt, they always second look. There's always a second look of wonder and there's a hesitancy and there's a not sure. And you can see there's generations of questions and concerns and wondering what it's like and all that sort of stuff. So I find it very interesting and an incredible opportunity to wave the flag in a real way and have conversations with non-Ambraani people about what it is, what it really is like for Australian Aboriginal, for Ambraani, what it's like for us, what we believe, what we're like, that You know, we're not gonna punch someone in the throat, and we don't all think that everything's systemically racist. And yes, we would like better opportunities for what we— for our people. And yes, there are some things that we're concerned about, but we're concerned for everybody. Because Imbrani culture is about taking care of everybody that steps foot on our land, regardless of the pigmentation of their skin. And when I talk to them about that, they are fascinated, moved deeply that our concern as a people is not just for us. But it's for everyone that walks foot on sovereign Ambryni land.
