I note that a lot of people today are questioning Aboriginal history and culture. So, here's some modern 'ancient' 'Truth-telling', some you may know, some not: - Dot paintings were invented in 1971 by Geoffrey Bardon who then taught the style and technique to Aborigines. - The Welcome to Country Ceremony was invented in 1976 by Ernie Dingo and Richard Walley to welcome Maori performers. - There is no Aboriginal word or phrase for Welcome to Country, unlike the Maoris’ welcome/wardance, the ‘haka’. As such, it cannot have been invented prior to colonisation and the introduction of English. How, in ancient times, would they have asked “Who’s doing the Welcome to Country Ceremony?” if there were no words in Aboriginal languages for it? - The Acknowledgement of Country was invented in the 1990s - There is no film or video evidence of any of these ceremonies existing at important events such as Royal Tours, the 1956 Olympics, etc. prior to the 70s. - The not mentioning the name of deceased Aboriginal people or showing an image or providing a warning in an article is also modern. As recently as 2011 when boxer Lionel Rose died, not even the ABC did this. - ‘Walkabout’ is now considered an offensive term, since it implies someone is late or lazy, despite it being an integral part of initiation ceremonies. - ‘The oldest living culture’ is not just factually incorrect, it defies logic. The branch of the tree cannot be older than the tree itself. Humans evolved in Africa. There are African tribes that live almost exactly as they did 100,000+ years ago, without welfare, 4WDs, mobile phones, etc. Aborigines are descended from these tribes as humans moved out of Africa and around the world. As such, Aboriginal culture cannot possibly be older than the cultures from which they are derived. (See: diagram) - Aborigines were never categorized or classified in Australia under the Flora and Fauna Act, despite Linda Burney and many others claiming this. This has been fact-checked and verified by the ABC as a complete and utter myth. - The term ‘First Nations’ has been culturally appropriated from North American natives. - The term ‘totem’ is used now widely. Many Aboriginal people adopt or are given a totem. But if this is, as claimed, an ancient tradition, what are the Aboriginal words, in any of the many languages, for ‘totem’ or ‘totems? ‘Totem’ is word from the Ojibwa tribe of North American natives. It is not an ancient Aboriginal word. It, too, is appropriated or 'stolen', ironically. - ‘Deadly’ is not an Aboriginal word. It was a popular term in the 60s: ‘deadly good’. It was often used to describe a bicycle: ‘a deadly treadly’. - Uluru (Ayers Rock) is, according to the area’s most senior elder, Paddy Uluru, of no cultural significance and is not sacred. Only recently has this been claimed to stop people climbing it. - The Lake Bolac ‘eel’ rock arrangement required a machine to move the rocks. Which is more likely: that Aborigines arranged the 100+kg rocks 1,500 years ago or it was created more recently in the 20th Century to promote the Annual Eel Festival? - Neologisms: ‘On country’; ‘Blak’; ‘First Nations’, ‘Blakfullah’, ‘Blak’, ‘First People’, ‘Welcome to Country Ceremony’, ‘Smoking Ceremony’, ‘Rainbow Serpent’ and ‘Dreamtime’ – all English-language-derived, not Aboriginal, such as ‘gangurru’ (kangaroo). - Things that have fallen out of fashion: ‘Pointing the bone’; curses; photography stealing the soul. - In almost every instance, the occurrence of a ‘massacre’ was settlers’ retribution for Aborigines stealing sheep, killing workers and/or raping wives and daughters. The notion that settlers or troops went out riding to kill Aborigines for ‘sport’ is a myth. - The notion of a government-mandated, sanctioned or planned ‘genocide’ isn’t supported and the scale of Aboriginal deaths is widely disputed. Estimates vary so wildly that they cannot be replied upon: from over 1,000,000 to around 200,000 to 100,000 to just 10,000. - Rainbow Serpent is not translated from any Aboriginal language. Similarly, ‘Dreamtime’ is not translated from any Aboriginal language. (See: diags) So, what hasn't been made up in the past 50 years? You tell me.