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General Climbing Discussion

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Three Sisters declared an Aboriginal Place 26-Jan-2014 At 8:58:53 AM ithomas

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Simey
What an appropriate topic for Australia Day. The shitload of climbs you mention in NT and elsewhere simply do not exist. Until a route is established it cannot be taken away or banned. There are lots of activities that are not easily conducted on Aboriginal land. It's not just climbing. To gnash your teeth over that is to call into question the rights of determination inherent in those land grants. You are right about there being no easy answers to the question of landscape degradation. Trashed campsites are one small but visible example but that pales into insignificance compared to the degraded cattle and sheep thrashed rangelands that you drive through anywhere from Port Augusta to Katherine - and who owns those stations? And what brain fade caused you to suggest that teaching people to climb is the equivalent of ramming it down people's throats? I guess you must think that the footy clinics organised by Kevin Sheedy are another example of ramming a sport down people's throats. Footy is a good example where a long and concerted effort by a few people, including Sheedy, has made enormous changes to how indigenous issues are perceived by the public. Ask the Australian of the Year if there is still racism in footy. Ask him if outdoor adventure activities were rammed down his throat or if he was stimulated and made to feel welcome because he had a very special Physical Education teacher (Norm Booth) at Horsham High School. Education and inclusiveness is the key. If, after being exposed to climbing, Aboriginal people wanted to climb on their own cliffs then that would be fine. It would not be a question of ethics. It would would simply be their decision.