tick-a-box Aboriginal

This is a term used as a put-down for someone who fulfils a technical requirement to claim Aboriginality without any authentic engagement with Aboriginal culture.   Other terms are JCL (Johnny Come Lately) and DNA Aboriginal.

The difficulty is that there are people who have been taken from their mob, their culture, and who, through no fault of their own, are left without any proof of their Aboriginality and any connection with culture.  One view of these people is that being Indigenous involves more than just ticking a box to claim Aboriginal ancestry.  It involves them coming to an understanding of Aboriginal culture.

Sadly there are also people who claim Aboriginality simply because they wish to cash in on jobs or grants available to Aboriginal people. 

There is another view which is that once an Aborigine, always an Aborigine.  It if is in your DNA then it is your inheritance.  This is expressed as the idea that tea, however much milk you put in it, is still tea. Some Aboriginal people with pale skin are described as ‘milky tea’.