ABSTRACT
Working through a politics of differentiation in relation to culture is highly fraught and oftentimes problematic. In our work at both of the research schools we could not help but be impressed by the programs and initiatives that focused on recognising the culture of marginalised groups. Given the high levels of educational disadvantage experienced by the Indigenous students at these schools, many of these programs, as we have already indicated, centred upon the recognition of Indigenous culture, for example, the flagpole initiative at Red Point High and the instating of Acknowledgement of Country practices. Recognising Indigenous culture at Crimson High was a key priority, and there were many and varied programs designed to support this, including extracurricular activities such as the Proud Sisters and football programs, curricular activities such as integrating Indigenous perspectives into various subjects, pedagogical approaches such as storytelling or yarning circles and other programs, for example, mentoring Indigenous students and supporting Indigenous student leadership. These programs were clearly driven by a well-intentioned social justice agenda. In this regard, they were significant in increasing the valuing of Indigeneity through greater cultural recognition and political representation (Fraser 2008). However, our deeper investigation of the politics of differentiation framing this recognition revealed particular complexities and problematics that are captured in the opening quote by McConaghy (2000) in relation to when and how notions of Indigenous culture are useful and when and how they might be limiting. These issues are what we focus on in this chapter.
