ABSTRACT
The ‘curtain’ which shields the private lives of Aboriginal people is only one aspect of a long-term cultural struggle between Aboriginals and Anglo-Australians in the central desert. The struggle is remarkable in that the two sides’ munitions are in no way commensurate, and each side concentrates its efforts upon different battlegrounds. The ultimate objective - cultural hegemony for the whites and secured cultural survival for the blacks - has escaped both parties; and it may be said that this struggle, where the issues, resources and consequences are cultural, has so far been a stalemate.
