Two-way food: bush tucker and whitefella's food

Abstract

Abstract From earliest colonial encounters Aboriginal people supplemented bush foods with food rations issued by governments, missions and pastoralists. Over time rations became the primary source of food. Taking two central Australian missions as case studies I analyse the challenges facing both the providers of rations who wanted to encourage assimilation while preventing Aboriginal dependency; and the Arrernte and Pitjantjatjara/ Yangunytjatjara who tried to provide themselves with an adequate diet as they juggled the inherent contradictions of a system which issued rations at a fixed location while requiring mobility to enable them to access bush foods.