‘Dreamtime’ over in Aboriginal studies
Justine Ferrari & Lauren Wilson; 12/5/08
Dreamtime is no longer an acceptable term to describe the collection of Aboriginal creation stories, and should be referred to as The Dreaming or The Dreamings. And the structure of traditional Aboriginal society should not be described as primitive - but as complex and diverse, and the term “native” should be replaced by “indigenous groups” or “language groups”. Advice for teaching indigenous students, which has been prepared by the West Australian and South Australian education departments, contains lists of appropriate words to describe Aboriginal people and culture. The West Australian document, part of its Aboriginal Perspectives Across the Curriculum project, contains the headings “less appropriate terminology” and “more appropriate terminology”, and sets out unsuitable words and their substitutes.
See; http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23682161-5013404,00.html
Tags: Aboriginal, Australia, Culture