Which Part of Me is Aboriginal?

This article is not about what it means to be an Aboriginal person. That topic is a minefield, and one I have written before. With claims of being Aboriginal guided more these days by vague but impressive sounding notions of “it’s what I believe in my heart and my connection with culture” and less so about actual Aboriginal ancestry, it is difficult to have a rational discussion without someone quickly taking offence. If you want to claim you are an Aborigine because one of your 16 great-great-grandparents was Aboriginal, that’s fine, go right ahead. I have something else to discuss here.

This article is for those who don’t know what it means to be part-Aboriginal or misunderstand what it means. A part-Aboriginal person is someone who, in addition to Aboriginal ancestry, has others as well. It hardly seems necessary to explain such a common term, but from time to time, I hear the assertion “You’re either Aboriginal or you’re not!” Such a claim is usually spoken…