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There is a lot in this story to consider - if you love Australia, the land, then this sort of story is bitter-sweet. It's about as white and imperialistic an "

There is a lot in this story to consider - if you love Australia, the land, then this sort of story is bitter-sweet. It's about as white and imperialistic an "Australia desert story" as you can get, and induces much cringe. (Potatoes? Really?) For those of you fascinated by this story you should know that camels are not native to Australia, and have been considered a destructive, intrusive species. Sure, they work great in the Australian desert - but they've had a negative impact on that environment, in that they destroy the crops grown by First Nation Australians as part of their tens-of-thousands-year-old land caretaking traditions. So .. Camels are one way to do it. Walking by yourself, another: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-03/clinton-pryor-in-canberra-after-year-long-walk-for-justice/8867968 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-09-03/clinton-pryor-in-canbe...

phillc73 9y ago
There are aboriginal communities who are using camels to their advantage, generating jobs and income for the community.[1][2] Of course that's not the whole story, and these feral animals do create some damage to the native environment.[3] Australia now has the largest volume of wild camels anywhere.[4] There are two sides to every story. Some see only the negative aspects, some see positive opportunities. [1] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-09/camel-economy-for-remote-aboriginal-communities/7496806 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-09/camel-economy-for-remo... [2] https://www.businessinsider.com.au/an-aboriginal-company-is-on-the-verge-of-selling-australian-camel-meat-to-the-chinese-2015-8 https://www.businessinsider.com.au/an-aboriginal-company-is-... [3] http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/12/21/young-aboriginal-students-investigate-damage-desert-feral-camels http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/12/21/young-aborigin... [4] http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22522695 http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22522695
pamqzl 9y ago
> First Nation Australians Please don't do that. Describing tribes as "nations" is a silly neologism when they did it in North America, and it's even sillier when applied to the even more primitive social structures that existed in pre-colonisation Australia.
- fit2rule 9y ago
  Sorry, but no. The only thing primitive about the first nation of peoples that inhabited the land which later came to be known as "Australia", is that they were massacred and brought into non-existence by the invasion of white Europeans who, still yet today it seems, even still seem to think that their way of life is superior, and therefore anything otherwise is utterly inferior. However, this is a matter of great debate.

phillc73 9y ago

There are aboriginal communities who are using camels to their advantage, generating jobs and income for the community.[1][2] Of course that's not the whole story, and these feral animals do create some damage to the native environment.[3] Australia now has the largest volume of wild camels anywhere.[4] There are two sides to every story. Some see only the negative aspects, some see positive opportunities. [1] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-09/camel-economy-for-remote-aboriginal-communities/7496806 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-09/camel-economy-for-remo... [2] https://www.businessinsider.com.au/an-aboriginal-company-is-on-the-verge-of-selling-australian-camel-meat-to-the-chinese-2015-8 https://www.businessinsider.com.au/an-aboriginal-company-is-... [3] http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/12/21/young-aboriginal-students-investigate-damage-desert-feral-camels http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2016/12/21/young-aborigin... [4] http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22522695 http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-22522695

pamqzl 9y ago

> First Nation Australians Please don't do that. Describing tribes as "nations" is a silly neologism when they did it in North America, and it's even sillier when applied to the even more primitive social structures that existed in pre-colonisation Australia.

fit2rule 9y ago
Sorry, but no. The only thing primitive about the first nation of peoples that inhabited the land which later came to be known as "Australia", is that they were massacred and brought into non-existence by the invasion of white Europeans who, still yet today it seems, even still seem to think that their way of life is superior, and therefore anything otherwise is utterly inferior. However, this is a matter of great debate.