Rod Hagen. Tradi&onal Naming Prac&ces & Indigenous Birth Registra&on: Its not just a ma;er of ge=ng the numbers up!

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1 Tradi&onal Naming Prac&ces & Indigenous Birth Registra&on: Its not just a ma;er of ge=ng the numbers up! Rod Hagen PhD Candidate Law Faculty Monash University Achieving Universal Birth Registra&on Symposium 2 December 2014 Melbourne

2 Iden&ty and Iden&fica&on Tradi&onal Australian Indigenous naming processes Personal naming and iden&fica&on processes are culturally constructed and therefore culturally specific. To understand some of the problems which Indigenous Australians may have with Anglo- Australian naming & iden&fica&on processes you need to understand how they have tradi&onally dealt with the business of personal iden&fica&on and names within their own social universe.

3 Western civil registra&on and ID systems generally have the clear & stable iden&fica&on of the individual to the state as their primary purpose. In tradi&onal Aboriginal communi&es this is rarely at issue and names can be used to convey very different informa&on such as status, kinship rela&onships, the rela&onship of the speaker to the person named, and current personal circumstances of the individual concerned.

4 Dousse; iden&fies ten primary categories of names used by the Ngaatjatjarra: Sec&on names (commonly called skin names ) which although possessed were less frequently used as a form of address than in many Central Australian groups Bush names, derived from the Tjukurrpa and generally heavily restricted or prohibited for public use. Names passed through the Kalyartu rela&onship, in which a grandparent transmits his or her names and personality to their grandchild. Names based on a place or a parent. Used to avoid using a bush name - based on a place name with the affix - nguru or nguraru - of the place or the name of a parent with - kurnu - child of. A birth name - given at birth but not used un&l a child is walking / leaving tracks. various non secret- sacred iden&fiers based on fauna, flora or physical elements and characteris&cs.

5 Aboriginal nicknames - called yinni watjarnu equa&ng to spoken name. In this area generally only used for reference, rather than to directly address a person, who may be offended by its use (in contrast with Thomson s comments about such names amongst the Wik Moŋan) and generally related to a physical characteris&c of the person. descrip&ve names, especially at &mes of bereavement (for example, equivalents to the man who lost his sibling ) European names - used with increasing frequency in public situa&ons, but not displacing other forms of more restricted name. Both first names and surnames are used, though surnames do not necessarily follow the male line if poli&cal advantage lies elsewhere. Subs&tu&ons and transforma&ons in the event of a death. In this area kumarrnara fulfils the same role as kwementyay. when a name or its homophone is prohibited as a result of a death. Other homophonically similar words to the name of the deceased person may also be phone&cally changed to reduce the dissonance produced.

6 Names used in Anglo- Australian culture are generally quite stable throughout life (or have predictable changes, such as, for some, as a result of marriage or remarriage) & the number of changes in a life&me is generally limited in number. Names in tradi&onal Aboriginal communi&es are highly variable they change with age, status, the death of similarly named people, even the death of a parent or significant other. A single Aboriginal individual is likely to be known publicly by a wide variety of names, depending on their rela&onship to the speaker, the circumstances, etc.

7 Formal, enduring, names in Anglo Australian society can generally be spoken freely, and form the basis of civil registra&on processes. Use of formal, enduring, names in tradi&onal Aboriginal communi&es is usually highly proscribed forbidden except in specific ritual contexts, only used by specific, highly creden&aled, speakers, and even then offered in hushed terms especially if the subject of the name is present.

8 Accordingly in tradi&onal communi&es the more tradi&onally formal names are never used for birth registra&on or government iden&fica&on. Ephemeral, Anglo- Australian nicknames are used instead. Even when Anglo- Australian names are used, prohibi&ons can arise if a person of the same or a similar name dies.

9 While in Western socie&es the clear iden&fica&on of people serves the needs of the state at least as much as the individual, there is some balance in the process. People perceive real rights flowing from the iden&fica&on & registra&on process (pensions, inheritance, vo&ng, etc). For most of the &me since Anglo occupa&on of Australia, though, official iden&fica&on processes by Gov & Missions for Indigenous Australians has focused on refining social control, assessing assimilability, measuring the extent to which people need management, or selec&ng for the applica&on of discriminatory policy.

10 Dissonances in the literature? A body of human rights law that, quite rightly, points to the problems that can occur today when people have no access to an official personal iden&ty. A body of anthropological and socio- historical literature that, quite rightly points to the effects, ohen deleterious, of the imposi&on of non- Indigenous (primarily Western) naming and iden&fica&on processes on tradi&onal socie&es. A body of historical & poli&cal science literature that points to the misuse systems of personal iden&fica&on, especially with respect to Indigenous & other minority groups.

11 Human Rights ac&vists and agencies such as the UN have tended, with some jus&fica&on, to see processes like birth registra&on and cer&fica&on as unequivocally good. Different uses that state iden&fica&on processes have been put to, though, especially where Indigenous minority groups are concerned, doesn t always provide a pre;y picture.

12 Iden&fica&on processes DO go wrong: The Canadian Project Surname of the 1960s & 70s intended to replace the equally disastrous 1930s dog tag system for Inuit people. The abuse of racial informa&on contained in birth registra&on records in Nazi Europe. Forms of iden&fica&on which can lead to s&gma&sa&on, or worse, for minority groups generally, whether they be Indigenous peoples, Asylum seekers, religious minori&es.

13 The rela9onship between birth registra9on and access to other children s rights and services was found to be complex and context specific. It is important to recognise that birth registra9on is only one component of a governance and legal system that could protect and promote children s rights. Birth registra+on should not be implemented in isola+on. Any birth registra9on ini9a9ves should be integrated with other measures to fulfil children s rights, such as governance, protec9on, educa9on and health care and should be part of a comprehensive civil registra9on and vital sta9s9cs (CRVS) system. (Plan Interna9onal 2014) Apland, K., Hamilton, C., Blitz, K., Lagay, M., Lakshman, R, Yarrow, E. Birth Registra+on and Children's Rights: A Complex Story Plan Interna9onal, 2014 p.4 - hyp://plan- interna9onal.org/files/global/publica9ons/campaigns/birth- registra9on- research- full- report.pdf

14 Its not just about ge=ng numbers of registra&ons up! Are more nuanced approaches required to prevent civil registra&on causing harm as well as good to Indigenous groups in Australia and elsewhere? Is it possible to develop systems that are be;er a;uned to tradi&onal processes than the systems we see in place in Australia and much of the rest of the world? How do we be;er balance contemporary societal demands for personal iden&fica&on with Indigenous processes and historical concerns?