Eve Mumewa  D. Fesl

A member of Gubi Gubi clan (mother’s side) and Gunglu clan (father’s side), is the first Koori to
receive a PhD (1989). In 1989 she also received the Order of Australia Medal for her work on
Australian languages and work with ethnic communities of Australia. Information about her life is
rather difficult to find on the internet. She gave her personal testimony at BASA conference in
Cambridge in 1994: she was removed as a child from her family ( ->Stolen Generation), grew up in an
institution. Later she was lucky to have been adopted by a white family who encouraged her to get
proper education.

In the Introduction, Fesl says about the term “Aboriginal” : .. the process of oppression (meant)
de-identification of the intended victims and a replacement of their names with labels such as
“Indian”, ”aborigine”, “native” “black” or “nigger”. The general noun “aborigine” has been used to
replace our names which the colonisers never had the courtesy to use.”

1.Conned!  = persuade someone to do or believe sth. by lying to them

2.Why did E.M.Fesl use this word as a title of the book?

3.How many languages (approximately) were spoken when the whites came?

4.What does religious autonomy in connection with Aboriginal societies mean?

5.What does the term Koori refer to?

6.How different was /is Aboriginal communication from our/Western ways of communication?

7. Do you remember some taboos in Aboriginal communication?

8.How were messages sent?

9.What rules were /are there as to marriage?

10.What made Aboriginal children be bilingual?

11. Why were/are the patriline and matriline important for the descendants?

12.What were toas?

13.  Can you think of examples of the ways ethnocentrism was applied to Aboriginals?