Learning and Living Aboriginal Culture in Tasmania by Christopher D. Berk A dissertation ...

257 Pages·2014·33.19 MB·English

by  Christopher Berk

Long Way, Long Time: Learning and Living Aboriginal Culture in Tasmania

by

Christopher D. Berk

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
(Anthropology)
in the University of Michigan
2014

Doctoral Committee:

Professor Andrew J. Shryock, Chair
Associate Professor Barbra A. Meek
Associate Professor Elizabeth F.S. Roberts
Professor Raymond A. Silverman
Dedication

To Carolyn and Zoey, Mom and Dad, and Madeleine
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Acknowledgements

This dissertation would not have become a reality without the support of many special
people. I would first like to thank my committee at the University of Michigan for the support,
guidance, and feedback, they have given me over the past many years. To say I would not have
finished my PhD without their support is not an exaggeration. Liz Roberts possesses an
intellectual rigor that is both inspiring and motivating. Beginning with her “Science and
Modernity” seminar in the Fall of 2008 she has provided a unique and insightful perspective and
encouraged me to think more deeply about the complications, and histories, of cultural
categorizations. My cognate Ray Silverman has provided an outlet outside my department.
Additionally, he has provided strong advocacy and extensive knowledge and insight into cultural
institutions. I have been fortunate to teach with Barb Meek on two occasions. Shes i a fantastic
teacher and has been a great example in my own teaching. Her expertise broadened the scope of
my theoretical foundations, and her support has been unwavering. For this I am immensely
thankful. My advisor, Andrew Shryock, exemplifies the typeo f academic I aspire to be. He is
brilliant yet humble, and this dissertation benefited greatly from his insight and suggestions .
My first engagements with anthropology were at Union College, and I thank the faculty
there for their dedication and attention. In particular, I thank Karen Brison, Linda Cool, and
Steve Leavitt. I also thank George and Sharon Gmelch, with whom I first travelled to Tasmania
in 2004 and have since helped me navigate the discipline outside of the Michigan bubble .
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Friends, from Concord to Tasmania, have been wonderful. From back home I thank
Andrew Clarke and Matt Lynch. From college I thank Alex Corcoran, Chuck Kreuter, and Mike
and Nicole O’Neill. From Michigan I thank the rest of the 2006 anthropology and the 2007
Museum Studies Program cohorts. I particularly thank fellow dissertators Josh Friedman and
Nishaant Choksi for their camaraderie. In Tasmania I thank Darren and Kristin Warr, who I re-
connected with in 2010 and quickly became great friends. Marilyn and John Pugsley and Laurel
and Rolf Davidson gave me a home and a Tasmanian family, and I am so thankful life put us in
touch. I thank Janet Steele for her conversations and hospitality during fieldwork. I thank the
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery’s great staff for making me feel at home during 2008 and
2010-2011. It’s a fantastic institution, and I hope my love for it shines through in these pages. I
also thank Mitchell Rolls and the Riawunna reading group for great conversations and
discussions.
This project would not have been possible without the support and openness of the
Tasmanian Aboriginal community. I thank them for the opportunities afforded me, many of
which didn’t make it into this dissertation. I am thankful to all the people with whom I spent time
and have felt the responsibility to portray them in a respectful, but not sanitized, manner. I did
not hesitate to write about home truths and blemishes, and spent many hours, days, and even
years contemplating how to frame them in a productive and truthful manner. I expect many
Aboriginal people may not wholeheartedly agree with some points I have made, but I am hopeful
they will nonetheless acknowledge the validity of my position and understand where I am
coming from. In my view, this is a central marker of worthwhile and meaningful anthropological
work, and is something I have aimed towards. I especially thank Patsy Cameron, Leonie
Dickson, Rodney Dillon, Sharnie Everett, Greg Lehman, Jamie Langdon, Dayne Langdon, Verna
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Nichols, and Theresa Sainty. I thank Julie Gough for her conversations and tenacity. The cultural
work done by Tony Brown and Zoe Rimmer is impressive and inspiring, and I thank you for
your help and kindness over the past many years.
I thank my family for their unwavering support throughout this entire process. To my
new family, I thank my mother-in-law Suzyn Jacobson, my father-in-law Alan Levin, and my
brothers-in-law Sam and Jake Levin. I also thank Amit Ariel Berkowitz. I thank my sister
Carolyn Berk and my niece Zoe Berk. It’s not possible to thank my parents, Dennis and Liz
Berk, enough. I will simply say you have always supported me in following my own path and I
love you. My wife, Mattie Berk, has been by my side for almost the entirety of this journey. You
are passionate, loving, smart, and beautiful. I’m thankful you are my copilot.

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Table of Contents

Dedication ii

Acknowledgements iii

List of Figures vii

Chapter One: Rupture and Cultural Production in Anthropology 1

Chapter Two: Tasmanian Aboriginality and the Prison of the Paleolithic 20

Chapter Three: “If You Call Me a Hybrid, I’ll Kill Ya”: 49
Race, Community, and Aboriginality in Tasmania

Chapter Four: “We Are Living Our Culture and Learning Our Culture”: 91
Material Culture, Tradition, Meaning

Chapter Five: palawa kani and the Valuing of Language 126

Chapter Six: Tasmanian Aboriginality at the Museum: 151
Primitive Pasts, Indigenous Futures

Chapter Seven: Cultural Landscapes and the (In) Formation of 183
Consensus: A Discussion of Heritage in Tasmania

Chapter Eight: Gaps and Counter-Narratives 218

Works Cited 225
vi
List of Figures

Figure 1.1 Maps of Australia and Tasmania 2

Figure 1.2 Hobart and surrounds from Mount Wellington 14

Figure 2.1 Map of Tasmanian Tribes 25

Figure 3.1 Truganini Memorial on Bruny Island 59

Figure 3.2 Truganini Conservation Area sign. Mount Nelson 71

Figure 3.3 The Corner. Cape Barren Island 77

Figure 3.4 Map of Cape Barren Island. Cape Barren Island 78

Figure 3.5 Wybalenna Cemetery 86

Figure 4.1 Tony Brown holds a muttonbird during an outdoor program 102

Figure 4.2 Kelp Water Carrier. © Trustees of the British Museum 106

Figure 4.3 Miniature Bark Canoe. © Trustees of the British Museum 108

Figure 4.4 Canoe construction at the Wooden Boat Festival 111

Figure 4.5 Shell collecting 119

Figure 5.1 Top of Mount Wellington (kunanyi) 144

Figure 5.2 palawa kani usage at TMAG (courtesy of Zoe Rimmer) 147

Figure 6.1 TMAG group exhibit 165
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Figure 6.2 Patsy Cameron and Vicki Matson-Green 181
at tayenebe demonstration

Figure 6.3 My wife at tayenebe demonstration 181

Figure 7.1 Preminghana petroglyphs 202

Figure 7.2 Cover of TAC pamphlet 211

Figure 7.3 Open House Day 213

Figure 7.4 Dancers at Open House 214

Figure 8.1 ballawinne program 221

Figure 8.2 “Always Was, Always Will Be” 224

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Chapter One

Rupture and Cultural Production in Anthropology

I’ve spent my entire life defending who I am.
-Rodney Dillon, former ATSIC representative for Tasmania, advocate for Amnesty International (personal
Communication)

Introduction

On a sunny afternoon in April 2010 I sat in Salamanca Place, reading the newspaper and
enjoying a cup of coffee and a bite to eat .A young man who noticed that my shirt read “Go
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Blue” came over and told me that he was from Ohio. He then asked what brought me to Hobart.
I told him I was there to do fieldwork on Tasmanian Aboriginal people and how they were
revitalizing their culture. He was noticeablyc restfallen when I said this. With a hint of sadness
he said he didn’t think he would see any Aborigines in Tasmania. I suggested that he probably
had already seen a few, but that they wouldn’t be wearing signs that said “Aboriginal.” “I
suppose so,” he responded, “but I would prefer to see them in their native habita.t”
A few days later I attended the opening ofL ittoral, an exhibition inspired by the work of
Charles-Alexandre Leseur, one of the artists on the Baudin expedition to Australia in 180-10804.
One of the participants was a Tasmanian Aboriginal artist and curator, a friend of mine, whose
work is often focused on race relations and nineteenth century colonial encounters in Tasmania.
Over drinks and dinner afterwards we had one of our extended chats about my project and our
overlapping interests. These talks were a constant source of inspiration and camaraderie during

1
An indicator of insider knowledge based on what, and where, it is in reference to.
1
my fieldwork. We were often working through similar issues. I told her that, because I worked
with Tasmanian Aboriginals, I felt that I needed to justify my research project more explicitly
than other anthropologists did. I mentioned that, upon reading my application for research funds,
a reviewer at a major granting agency had expressed surprise at my project, remarking that s/he
“had always been told [Tasmanian Aboriginals] was an extinct people.” My friend’s eyes lit up.
“So you understand how we feel!” she said.

Figure 1.1. Maps of Australia and Tasmania.
Anecdotes like these are important analytical and contextual nodes around which
contemporary Tasmanian Aboriginality takes shape. The past is often burdensome, and this is
certainly true for the Tasmanian Aboriginal people. The myth of their extinction, wilhe laid to
rest locally as a result of formal commonwealth recognition, remains strong outside Australia,
where it has attained iconic status. My initial encounters with Tasmania, during my senior year at
Union College, were revealing in this regard. I attended an anthropological field school that
emphasized living in the community (as opposed to dorm housing) and I was expected to
conduct my own research. As an anthropology major, I found this truly exciting. Our professors
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