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

257 Pages·2014·33.19 MB·English
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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 ii 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 . iii 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 iv 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. v 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 vii 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 viii 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 1 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 2

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