What is Blood Quantum?

Blood quantum is the fraction of a certain ethnicity someone is, or basically how much blood of a certain ethnicity they have in them. This was weaponised by colonialists who used it to "breed the black out" of Indigenous children. Therefore, the notion of blood quantum can be very offensive and upsetting to Aboriginal people.
In Aboriginal culture, we do not judge your right as an Indigenous person based on percentages or skin colour. If you are Aboriginal, you are Aboriginal.

This is where the saying of "Tea is still tea no matter how much milk you put in it" comes from.

There are a lot of ways an Indigenous person might call themselves, including Black, Blak, Blackfella/Blackfulla, Indigenous, Aboriginal, First Nations.
They may also just use the name of their mob. A mob is like a tribe. There are over 500 different mobs in Australia, all with their own specific culture, languages and customs.
After colonisation, some of these mobs went extinct, but many are still alive and well today, and still dardy.

The term Blak is used for a few different reasons, and its usage dates back to the 1990s. The main reason the term Blak is used is to reclaim a word commonly used in a derogatory manner against Aboriginal people, and even still today.
Another reason is that the C in Black could represent colonisation (in the same way it was used derogatorily), and as not all Indigenous people have black skin.

Dreamtime, or The Dreaming are Aboriginal people's traditional spiritual beliefs.
They believe that the Dreamtime,, was a long time ago, at the start of time. The land and people were created by Spirits that made everything, the Spirits are the Ancestors.

Some Dreamings told of mythical creatures that disappeared, but only from human sight. They still hide in the rocks, water and trees. Some became lightning, thunder and rain.

Some Popular Dreaming Stories

The Rainbow Serpent
The Mimis
Giant Devil Dingo
Tiddalick the Frog

Invasion Day, known to the general public of Australia as Australia Day is a national holiday that takes place every year on the 26th January. Does that date sound familiar? Well, thats because that is the date of the First Fleet landing and the first Union Jack raising in Sydney Cove by Arthur Phillip, the date that marked the beginning of a long struggle for freedom for Indigenous people.

That means that this date marks a very important day of grief and mourning for Indigenous people. Against the wishes of the first and original inhabitants of this land, Australia day continues to be observed every year on the 26th of January. Some people believe that the date should be changed, or that the holiday should be completely abolished. Support for changing the date has been a minority position, and usually only held by Aboriginal activists up until recent times, where its becoming a more present and accepted position to hold. In the end, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should have their voices amplified on this issue.