Being Raised in a Cross Cultural Home

My little 'granny' (my 4 year old grand-daughter) is being raised in a cross-cultural home environment where most friends and associates who visit us here are Indigenous people.

I have never 'taught' her any of the differences between mainstream 'wadjela' (whitefellah) and Indigenous culture and I have taken particular care in not pointing out that there are differences. I often wondered how she might firstly come to notice any cultural differences. I took careful attention to never mention skin color when she was around.

I have much to do with my grand-daughter and am like a co-parent. When I am in the city I live in a renovated garage in my daughter's back garden.
I when I returned home from my 'farm' around six months ago I was having a cuppa on the verandah with her, my daughter and 'Uncle". My little granny said to me, "Nanna you have very brown skin".
Interesting I thought.
Later my daughter told me that she and Uncle had been talking about my skin color.
I said no more.

When I returned to my farm a couple of days later a friend came down from the bush and stayed in my 'shed' (affectionately known as 'nanna-mia" - pronounced as nanna-miyah). My friend has quite dark skin. My granny said to her, "your skin is very dark" - to which my friend replied that, "her ancestors used to walk the bush out in the sun all day long". "Ah", said my granny, "so that means you don't get sunburnt".

So now my little granny thinks that skin color has much to do with how much time your ancestors spent walking in the sun and that if your skin is dark you don't have to worry too much about getting sunburnt.

She also now knows that some music, stories, people and dances are 'aboriginal'. This is the current extent of her cross cultural awareness. She is somewhat multi-lingual too but has not yet worked out that there are many people do not understand Indigenous language.
It will be interesting to see how the cross cultural awareness naturally unfolds for her.