So, I bought this ring for $1 in Byron Bay from a shop claiming to be full of Aboriginal art and games. It's simple, made from bark with black and red painted patterns. I don't know how legit it was, but I like the ring regardless.

As an American in Oz, I must admit - I really have no clue about the Indigenous culture here. I'm going to assume that it's much like the Native American situation back home, but with a more ancient background and a more recent European takeover. So far, all I've learned is from Wikipedia and my fellow Aussie classmates...adding up to pretty much nothing, considering the prejudice many white Aussies have towards some of the struggling natives. I'm hoping this course will teach me some accurate history sans bias. Anyway, since it's my first post, I thought I'd begin with a fun topic - I went to see Dan Sultan (an Australian musician with Aboriginal backgrounds of the Arrernte and Gurindji people, and member of the Black Arm Band - a collection of Aboriginal musicians) play last week at a local venue. I guess Aussies call him the "black Elvis" of Australia because of his awesome soul-tastic voice - He mentioned this during the show and responded with "I'm no Elvis...I'm just Dan!" Anyway, here is a photo I snapped that night. It was a great show, by the way.