Anthropology & Aboriginal Dreaming
So why does this matter today?
A truly postcolonial perspective requires looking beyond the traditional anthropologist's view of examining people's relationships with places "exclusively in materialist terms" (Basso, 1984, 48). Understanding Aboriginal placemaking today then requires an honest examination of Indigenous folklore including the history of the terms "Dreaming" and "Dreamtime."
Anthropology, Indigenous Rights, & Borderlands
One may understand that, drawing from the context provided, the shift in the use and understanding of "English Dreaming" through its eventual adoption by Aboriginal peoples has had significant implications for Indigenous actualization and identity.
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Keith Basso (1984) has highlighted the necessity of utilizing ethnography in linguistic research, noting that there may not be a theoretical line between language and culture in the first place (51). In the context of modern-day Australia, we may have to take this a step further and recognize that a fine line may or may not exist between language, culture, and politics for Aboriginal peoples today. Not only are academic spaces - such as the university - historically colonial spaces but the nationstate in and of itself is an inherently political tool colonialism. This is illustrated by the relationship between Aboriginal folklore and proof to Native titles, or state recognition of Indigenous rights to land and waters. According to Kingsley Palmer (2018), a claimant's relationship to the land can be challenging to describe in legal terms given the deep connection between land and Aboriginal identity and spirituality, which may include a number of seemingly irrelevant beliefs and practices (129-130).
Furthermore, the disregard for secrecy in Aboriginal folklore has resulted in the traumatic process of having to disclose highly restricted aspects of the sacred, indicating the urgent need for a more culturally-sensitive and -informed means of preserving Indigenous rights (Palmer, 2018, 130-131). The creation of Indigenous places in this manner means that borderland spaces have now been actualized as well, giving Australian Indigenous people a space outside of the Dreaming. Yet, given the inclination of colonial authorities to define Aboriginal identity and 'religion' in terms of the Dreaming, it can be argued that the Indigenous 'other' of settled Australia still remain in an 'other,' spaceless place. Only by continuing to explore this space between borders can Aboriginal identity be redefined on Indigenous terms and individuals find the language to be "empowered disputants" against the power of Dreaming - if that is what is needed (Sarris, 1993, 196).