A Comparison of the Australian Aborigines and the Na'Vi in 'Avatar'

Aboriginal Rights & Freedoms When European colonists settled in Australia they treated the Aboriginal people extremely different to that of their fellow white men. The Aboriginals were not seen as first class citizens through the European eye and as a result were victims of extreme oppressions and had nearly no rights or freedoms. Since then Aboriginal people have fought to be treated equally to the white men through various different ways. I will discuss the previous struggles faced by the Aboriginals, the Australian strife for equality and finally the level of success and degree of rights and freedoms given to Aboriginals in modern Australia.

The construction of Aboriginality in Australia has been achieved through a variety of processes, in various places and at various levels of society, giving rise to a complex interaction between the constructions. At the local level, the most striking line of tension may seem to lie between what Aboriginal people say about themselves and what others say about them. But crosscutting this is another field of tension between the ideas of Aboriginality (and non-Aboriginality) that people of all kinds construct and reproduce for themselves, and the constructions produced at the national level by the state in its various manifestations, the mass media, science, the arts and so on (Beckett, 1988).

There are countless similarities as well as differences between chapter 12 of “Creating America: A History of the United States” by McDougal Littell and the movie “Avatar”. Among the topics of “Avatar” and chapter 12 that share similarities and differences is why the whites wanted the Native American’s land, and why the humans wanted the land of the Na’vi people. Also, how the Natives tried to adjust. Furthermore, how the natives resisted. These are just a few examples of many that show both how different and at the same time how similar “Avatar” is to chapter 12.

MO’AT Avatar required 10 years to complete and was a visually stunning. A film with visionary technology, graphics, and film techniques. Director James Cameron developed and pioneered many of these techniques while creating this film, and propelled motion capture technology and film to a new level. The characters were well written and the actors chosen fit their roles very well. One of the characters in this epic film was Mo’at the spiritual leader of the Omaticaya clan. (Khare, 2009)

This Assessment will be my personal reflection and analysis of contemporary issues raised for post-colonial Indigenous Australians through two programs on the National Indigenous Television station (NITV), Living Black and NITV News. I will reflect on how these issues have impacted on the relationships between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians, and how Indigenous culture impacts 21st century Australia. Through this I will also consider my own feelings and opinions on how these issues are raised and considered.

This essay will discuss the issues for Indigenous Australians only, this however, can be related to any culture, but for the purpose of this essay I will be referring to Indigenous Australians only.

It is clear from these beliefs that spirituality and religion played a major role in the Aboriginal culture. There were many myths and rituals connected to both the tribe's ancestors and the creators of the world, none of whom ever died but merged with the natural world and thus remained a part of the present. These myths and rituals, signifying communion with nature and the past, were known as the Dreaming or the Dreamtime, and reflected a belief in the continuity of existence and harmony with the world.

In the year 2009, James Cameron wrote and directed one of the most remarkable films I have ever seen ‘Avatar’. This science-fiction saga has a story line that is engaging and captivating for its audience. Avatar took place on a moon called Pandora. Humans discovered very valuable natural resources on Pandora and did whatever it took to obtain what they needed from Pandora. The people of Pandora are Na’vi’s, a 10 foot tall, blue-skinned humanoid alien group that lived in the rainforest or Pandora. The Humans found a way to interact with the Na’vi’s by artificial yet organic avatars that were controlled with a human mind and conscience. Jake Sully, a paraplegic marine who was given the task to manipulate the Na’vi’s into leaving their home. Sully entered

A great sense of trust supports this mutual ‘give-take’ relationship. ‘If you take care of country, country will take care of you.’ These beliefs are totemist and animist, which basically means Aboriginals perceive all natural objects to possess a spirit or soul. While totems are quite significant within Aboriginal culture as they act as symbols in a system of beliefs, signifying a relationship between an individual or group and an animal or plant. Thus, creating a link between the human, natural and supernatural worlds. As the word ‘totem’ comes from a Native American language where it represents group membership; and literally means is ‘he/she/it is a relative of mine’.

This essay discusses the many similarities and differences between Avatar and Alberta oil sands. We can explore this through social sustainability, meaning that development should increase people's control over their own lives, cultural sustainability, a development that takes into account the values and beliefs affected by

The Europeans had became greedy and selfish. They had become reliant on the native Americans to do everything for them. They had made them do necessary tasks that they could have done themselves, but chose not too. They had made them carry them when they didn’t want to walk, feed them, fan them,carry their hammocks,etc. They had become conceited, thinking they were too “royal” to do anything for themselves. They had made the Native Americans slaves and servants to their every bidding no matter the circumstance. They had become puppets to the Europeans and they controlled the Natives and forced them to do whatever they wanted. They had made the Natives lose their dignity and sink so low by making them complete their every request. The Natives had been worn down and degraded to be known as nothing to the Europeans but servants and people who they could call to do something for them. Countless Natives had died because of what the Europeans had brought to them

Most Aboriginals were not given a “fair go” due to conflicts and their culture, which the Europeans believed

Christopher Columbus, Jacques Cartier and Henry Hudson, all famous European explorers and settlers who helped establish colonization in Canada. Without the Colonial Era one would think Canada would not exist but in fact Canada did exist and was inhabited by native nations. So at what cost does colonization have? Just the mere destruction of a prosperous indigenous population. The famous Canadian director James Cameron and his talented team, set out to bring their perspective on the sensitive social issue of colonialism using the movie Avatar as the focal point. Avatar presents a painfully accurate take on how and why colonialism occurs, in conjunction with the impacts on aboriginal societies. Colonization results in the exploitation and extermination of indigenous communities which are brought to light by the producer’s of the movie Avatar over several audience outreach methods, including a dvd cover, posters and a trailer.

The Na'vi people in Avatar are having immense conflict with people and the first nations in Canada are having problems as well. First of all, because of the infrastructure lots of the land of the first nations and Navi is being cleared out. In the Oil Sands thousands of acres of land has been cleared out in the boreal forest for the industry and in the movie the bulldozers have destroyed thousands of trees and animals. Furthermore, the Navi lose their habitat the home tree during the movie because of the people's attacks on Pandora. Also in both situations the first nation groups and the Na'vi are not interested in the resources. They are willing to allow the companies and forces to take the resources as long as their environment and themselves don’t get harmed. However, along with similarities there are some differences in both worlds. The government is willing to help out the first nations who live near the oil sands. There are over 17,000 first nations who live in the surrounding areas who work in the oil sands. On top of that, the government has gave 5.4 million dollars in support of the first nations. Instead of providing help in the film the Na'vi people get treated badly. Pandora gets attacked several times by humans to force out the Navi. We kill thousands of Navi for our own good. Furthermore, we attack their habitat and engage in battle with them. Another difference between the two

 The aboriginal culture an aboriginal child culture and identity comes from their family and relationships with the land.in early times there were many spoken aboriginal langue’s spoken but has dwindled down and now there is only around 250 that are still in use.