'Koorie Dhoulagarle's story; except for its conclusion, is that of all Aborigines the world over. He accepted white culture as observed in his half-conscious process of acculturisation. Drink occupied a central place, as did the local 'tough-guy' version of machismo. The ability to drink, to fight, to play football proved manliness and worthiness for acceptance.
Koorie's alienation made alcoholism inevitable. Universal wherever ancient cultures face destruction, alcohol is a double edged sword. Hospitals in America, Europe, and Australia are bulging with the disoriented, and bewildered, no more able to cope with an incomprehensible civilisation than Aborigines are. The wheel is nearly full circle.
Koorie plumbed the depths, landed in prison, lost his family, and the d.t.'s nearly killed him. He found the strength, without help, to reverse the process. Today his loving family is with him and his white work mates, who fob him off when he wants to talk about serious matters, laugh and go off to the pub without him.'(Source: back cover)
'This article approaches the question of how Aboriginal Australians describe their own experiences of drinking alcohol, sometimes to excess, and how they recover, through a reading of seven autobiographies alongside the scholarship on Aboriginal drinking. The evidence contained in these life stories stresses personal factors and adds to the picture we glean from the scholarship, whether academic or governmental, epidemiological, anthropological or historical, which explains Aboriginal drinking habits in more social terms. Thus, the autobiographies themselves make an important intervention into the scholarship on Aboriginal drinking. Beyond this, negotiating with the stereotype of the “drunken Aborigine” is unavoidable for Aboriginal people who write about their drinking and these autobiographies represent a challenge to this popular image. This article examines a previously unexamined discourse on Aboriginal drinking that goes some way towards undermining the public representation of a drunken Aboriginal culture while simultaneously giving individual Aboriginal Australians greater voice in describing their past and current experiences.' (Publication abstract)
'This article approaches the question of how Aboriginal Australians describe their own experiences of drinking alcohol, sometimes to excess, and how they recover, through a reading of seven autobiographies alongside the scholarship on Aboriginal drinking. The evidence contained in these life stories stresses personal factors and adds to the picture we glean from the scholarship, whether academic or governmental, epidemiological, anthropological or historical, which explains Aboriginal drinking habits in more social terms. Thus, the autobiographies themselves make an important intervention into the scholarship on Aboriginal drinking. Beyond this, negotiating with the stereotype of the “drunken Aborigine” is unavoidable for Aboriginal people who write about their drinking and these autobiographies represent a challenge to this popular image. This article examines a previously unexamined discourse on Aboriginal drinking that goes some way towards undermining the public representation of a drunken Aboriginal culture while simultaneously giving individual Aboriginal Australians greater voice in describing their past and current experiences.' (Publication abstract)
