I've been told so many times "Oh we are all Australian" which is a bit of a problem if you are Indigenous with a history and culture that was denied for so long along with our humanity, right to be citizens in our own country. The generic "Australian" becomes another way of making us invisible in the same way that saying "we are all American" denied the Darkness that connected to the Slave history, lynch mobs and the history and psychological/political relationship to the broader American society that this engendered.Things are getting better here, but still our history, our connection to land, our identity, are defined through a European construction. Dark is part of who we are and with that acknowledgement exists our history, our culture, our politics and so on. It is always amazing that people can say "oh she is Italian" or "she is Greek" without not only no problem, but a great deal of interest. Yet Dark (Blak) identity seems to be one of those areas which is resiled from, "oh she is human like the rest of us" as though there is a need to be reductive when colour becomes part of the equation. Interesting story: whenever I have gone through customs or anything in the past I get stopped and often searched. I've been told it is because I have a 'Middle Eastern" appearance. Since I've had my hair blonded I have had NO TROUBLE AT ALL!!! So what the hell is THAT all about? Dark or not?