Oodgeroo Noonuccal

Oodegroo Noonuccal poem ‘’Racism” is a political and personal poem about white and blacks wars from the black perspective. The poem uses a lot of strong political language such as frustrated,screaming,moulds,enslave,erupt,rotting,hatrid and putrid to reinforce the idea that racism is a world-wide issue and that it needs to be dealt with . Although Noonuccal genrally does not use a lot of poetic devices she did a metaphor when she wrote ‘ Moulds that enslave’ she used the metaphor to show that black people are contained and jailed and that it’s not okay. She also used exclamation marks when he said ‘Take Care ! White Racists!.’ It is as if she is shouting the poem into my ear. She possibly put them there to attempt to really make sure the

Through the use of poetic devices, the author has successfully encouraged the audience to explore their thoughts on Australian identity and to reflect on our nation’s history.

The referendum campaign effectively focused public attention on the fact that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians were second class citizens with all sorts of limitations - legislative and social - on their lives. This decade-long campaign to change the Constitution came to symbolise the broader struggle for justice being fought during these years. Activists presented the case for a Commonwealth government

Gilbert’s poem portrays many Aboriginals plight’s within Australia and conveys notions of despair, anguish and anger for his fellow Aboriginal comrades. Again, Gilbert uses strong visual imagery in “the anguished death you spread” which helps convey the persona’s feeling of horror and anger at the Europeans. This is further emphasised through the poet’s vehement and repetitive use of second person pronouns in “you” which conveys a sense of blame and accumulates into an accusatory tone and generates a strong sense of detachment between the author and the European settlers. Furthermore enjambment enhances the accusatory tone in “you pollute all the rivers and litter every road” because the lack of punctuation and pauses makes the lines sharp and quick, creating a sense of anger in the author. In addition the author’s use of metaphors in “humanity locked in chains” creates a sense of struggle and inability to escape the oppression the Aboriginals are in, whereby the word “chain” is symbolic for trapped and lack of freedom. Kevin Gilbert’s emotional poem brings light to the pain and suffering Aboriginals are going through, which is a stark contrast to the image of Australia, being a free and accepting

Good morning and welcome to the Sunday afternoon poetry session. The alienation of individuals and groups within society is a tragic feature of Australian life. The despair and despondency experienced by those individuals allow for artistic endeavours that address issues that have left them outcast and marginalised from mainstream society. The isolation of minority groups such as migrants, Indigenous Australians or those deemed to be “other” from Australia’s dominant, white culture, provides an interesting lens through which our society can be viewed and examined. Two poems that explore and address the alienation of a minority group are Lisa Bellear’s Women’s Liberation and Uyen Loewald’s Be Good, Little Migrant. Through the use of the highest form of literature, although with differing emphases, the two poets put forth the harsh reality of the estrangement their own social and ethnic group face.

The poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal, draws the realistic image of the confronting realities of alienation and displacement of Indigenous Australians. It is because of such experiences that has empowered Noonuccal to express and advocate learning from experiences by positioning the audience to view the horrors that occurred, creating a platform for her poetry. Through the emphasis of identity, it allows the audience to deeply connect with the past, determining and illustrating a profound link between the ancient past and contemporary present. Oodgeroo’s deep connectivity with art and poetry highlights the importance of learning from experiences, for not only the Aboriginal culture but, for all cultures, and that colonisation does not destroy self-identity. Through the poems The Past and China…Woman, it has allowed the individual to promote change, encouraging the survival of cultures through learning from past experiences

The rights and freedoms of Aboriginals have improved drastically since 1945 with many changes to government policy, cultural views and legal rules to bring about a change from oppression to equality. Unfortunately on the other hand, some rights and freedoms have not improved at all or have even worsened.

Oodgeroo Noonuccal was an Australian poet, activist, artist and a campaigner for Aboriginal rights. Her poems ‘We are going’ and ‘Let us not be bitter’ conveys the loss of the Indigenous culture and how much they suffered because of this. Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s perspective on Aboriginal rights is impassioned, concern and worry for the loss of her family and home. She expresses these emotions using imagery, poetic structures and poetic techniques, such as inclusive language and symbolism, to strongly represent what she is feeling and how much the Indigenous people have suffered through.

Oodgeroo Noonuccal (51) expresses through her poem Son of Mine the themes of racism against the Aboriginal community and hope of harmony between the western and indigenous racial groups. The poem achieves the expression of racism and harmony through the use of rhythm, rhyme, genre and figurative language such as visual imagery and simile. The imagery of racism is created from the very first stanza as the poet states “...your troubled eyes search mine, puzzled and hurt by colour line. Your black skin soft as velvet shine...” (51).

White Australians state “shame when [their] kids they die from colds or from sheer neglect. Shame when [they] live on the river banks. While collectin' [they’re] welfare cheques. Shame when [they’re] blind from trachoma. Shame when [they’re] crippled from blights.” The rhyming scheme in the stanza makes poem flow seamlessly constructing a conversational tone as if the narrator is speaking directly to the audience. This feature purposefully lulls the reader into agreeing with the white Australia’s arguments as it constructs an image that the Indigenous people are refusing to integrate themselves with modern society and suffering the consequences of those decisions. The mention of welfare cheques also contribute to the perspective that white Australians are attempting to mend the lives of Indigenous individuals, however this could not be further from the truth and message of this

It is a commonly known issue in Australia that as a minority group, the people of Indigenous Australian ethnicity have always been treated, or at least perceived, differently to those of non-Indigenous disposition. This can be applied to different contexts such as social, economic, education, or in relation to this essay – legal contexts. Generally, Indigenous Australians face issues such as less opportunity for formal education, less access to sufficient income, more health issues, and higher rates of imprisonment (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service

This poem however can be indirectly confronting to those who don’t share the same viewpoints as Walker. The also poem has a degree of stereotyping in the sense where ‘love your people, freedom to the end’ takes place however there none that really strikes out as it. The white Australian perspective above all is silenced in this text, marginalized are her perspectives of the coming days which may well be shared by many like her.

The notion of the contemporary indigenous identity and the impact of these notions are both explored in texts that have been studied. Ivan Sen’s 2002 film ‘Beneath Clouds’ focuses on the stereotypical behaviours of Indigenous Australians highlighting Lina and Vaughn’s journey. This also signifies the status and place of the Australian identity today. Through the use of visual techniques and stereotypes the ideas that the Indigenous are uneducated, involved in crime and the stereotypical portrayal of white people are all explored. Similarly the notion of urban and rural life is represented in Kennith Slessor’s ‘William Street’ and ‘Country Towns’.

Oodgeroo’s poems imply the significant impact of the post colonisation reviewing Australia’s historical and social context. Oodgeroo’s poem’s “The Past” and “Municipal Gum” portrays the inhumane experience of the Aboriginal people at the hands of the colonisers and educates the audience to reflect Australia’s true identity and its history. Oodgeroo presents the importance of the inextricable link between the past and the present, and further illustrates the significance of the ancient culture of the indigenous aboriginals. The Municipal Gum displays the isolation, confinement, and brutal treatment of the Native Aboriginals and questions the value system of the society. Therefore, Oodgeroo demonstrates the brutal treatment of the aboriginals by allowing the audience to personally connect with her experiences.

Oodgeroo Noonuccal was one of the civilians who made an impact on the lack of civil rights in Australia for Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples. Through a unique way, writing poetry, she protested for freedom and equal rights to be placed upon the indigenous and equalled out with the white. She embodies the quote, ‘Life’s most important question is, what are you doing for others’ empowered and spoken by Martin Luther King Jr. Throughout this analysis, the discussed topics will include, Oodgeroo’s poetry and contribution to the civil rights movement. Many aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander citizens were inspired and motivated as a result of her contribution to the civil rights movement gaining positive outcomes form her work.