White people have no face: Aboriginal perspectives on White culture and the costs of neoliberalism

Australia has a significant Aboriginal population but while much is known about how White people view Aboriginal culture, Aboriginal perspectives on White culture are not well known. Drawing on survey (N = 474) and in-depth interviews (N = 43) we aim to reposition the normativity of White culture by asking a diverse group of Aboriginal people what they think of White Australian values and behaviours. Regardless of social position, as a subaltern population, respondents have a heightened sense of the alienation inherent within contemporary neoliberalism. Most respondents believe most Australians live in ways that go “against nature”, at high cost to the social fabric and environment. The contrast with the respondents' own sense of connection to each other and to the natural world provides an opportunity to reset the race relationship because it demands a re-evaluation of the hegemonic assumptions within the reconciliation dyad. The findings disrupt the identities of Aboriginal and White people, and position Aboriginal people as both deserving of inclusion and as proferring knowledge of benefit to all Australians.