Australian Aborigines Until this paper, I never even knew there was such a word as “Aborigine” let alone it being a race of people dating back to the prehistoric times. I thought that all Australians were of Anglo decent, but I was wrong about that assumption. The Aborigines were the first and only inhabitants of Australia, until the late 18th century when European settlers came. Because of the Europeans, the Aborigines lives would change drastically. In this paper, I am going to talk about the Aborigines, describing their origins up to the present. The Aborigines came originally from somewhere in Asia and have been in Australia for at least 40,000 years. The first settlement occurred during an era of lowered sea …show more content…
They did not grow crops or domesticate animals so whenever food was scarce, they were forced to move in order to find more (Blainey, 20). They were nomads who traveled from site to site within their home territories. Most of the time they hunted and gathered in small groups. When the food resources were high, though, they would organize large gatherings. At these gatherings is where social and religious business of the society would be transacted over a two- to three-week period of intense social activity. This pattern of aggregation and dispersal was fundamental, but because of the living conditions, they had no choice but to follow this pattern. Their food supply was not always abundant (Tindale, 31). Even though they were the only ones inhabiting Australia, the Aborigines spoke more than 200 different languages. Most of the Aborigines were bilingual or multilingual. Both languages and groups of people were associated with stretches of territory. There may have been as many as 500 such named, territories (Broome, 27-28). Their members shared similar cultures and interacted more with one another than with members of different groups. These groups were not, however, politically or economically tied to each other. While language groups as labels may have commonly used names for one another, individual and group identity differed greatly from how they were labeled by other groups. The Aborigines were not
The indigenous cultures of Australia are one of the oldest living cultures in the world. Indigenous groups across Australia have many oral stories about their past, which form part of a great tradition of knowledge. These stories explain the Aboriginal genesis in a different parts of the country and reveal the shaping of a formless land by great ancestors. Aboriginal people of Australia have suffered through many crises, when the British colonised Australia in 1788. Many Aboriginal people from different cultures died at hands of British colonial. There were not a lot of Aboriginal people in Australia in 19th century. Mostly, they inhabit in NSW, Queensland and Victoria. There are many cultures in NSW, one of the oldest culture in Sydney is the Darug, they are the traditional owners of Western and south Western areas of Sydney. The Darug nation is large in size and boasts many clans of Darug people. One of the clans called the Cabrogal. Cabramatta takes its name from the Cabrogal band of the Darug-speaking people that lived around Liverpool and Fairfield when the British first came to Australia.
Aboriginal families are often negated within society. Even when media places the important and attention to understanding the struggles that Aboriginal people face, they are often seen as a broken, alcoholic and violent community. The struggles that Aboriginal people face are purposefully painted and structured in a way that individualizes and blames them for their own situation. What this narrow societal view of Aboriginal people’s lives is that it allows for an escape from the uncomfortable reality that what they face have been shaped by design. It allows for their histories to be erased from the past history of European colonialism to the land. It negates the evident
During the Frontier period, Indigenous peoples resisted the non-Indigenous settlement of Australia, throughout 1770-1890. During approximately throughout the 1890’s to 1970’s, the non-Indigenous retaliations occurred, resulting in protection, segregation and the stolen generations. Which initiated an ongoing impact on Indigenous communities.
Being born on Australian soil for the Indigenous was regarded very important culturally, if a baby was born on the land, they were considered traditional owners of the land. Australian Indigenous women birthing was renowned traditionally as “Women’s Business”. The birthing process involved preparing a hole in the ground, covering the hole with soft leaves and grass as well as red, soft sand. The midwives that assisted the mothers in labour were grandmothers and other women in the community who could offer physical and emotional support that alleviated the discomfort, pain and fear of the birthing process (Jones 2012). Pre-colonisation evidence suggests that Aboriginal women very rarely had medical complaints during pregnancy, the diet women had was very strict and would consist of
Imagine for a moment, if everything you owned was taken away from you. The Indigenous people of Australia have unfairly been robbed of their land, culture and people. They were among the first people to inhabit this country, and sadly their land and culture are under threat of being lost forever. To the indigenous people, land is an important part of their life, their substance needs and spiritual belief all come from the land. However, we owe the Indigenous people a lack of compensation but then again not giving any back. Therefore, it’s time for us to treat them fairly and give respect to their land.
There is recurrent tension between the maintenance of Indigenous culture and essentially assimilating to the rules and regulations of the predominantly white society in Australia (Dockrey, 2010). Australia’s Aboriginal culture represented the oldest surviving culture in the world (Aboriginal culture, 2017). The traditions include having at least 270 different language groups and 500 dialects in the indigenous community (Shareourpride.org.au, n.d). The vast amount of languages and dialects were present to represent the intellect of Indigenous Australians. Language is a strong aspect of Indigenous culture as it connects and influences many Indigenous tribes as it is their form of communication. The environment also connects aboriginal people spiritually to their land and provides them with a sense of identity (Jackson 1999). Although there were many different groups and clans in the past, the tribes fighting over the land was a rare occurrence (Treatyrepublic.net 1996). This showcases the connection and respect they exhibited for the land and maintaining structure was their main priority. Additionally common law was a way that Indigenous Australians could preserve the ecosystem and cultural integrity, through their spiritual and emotional connection with the land (Langton 1996, p.10). However due to the colonization, there was less formal acknowledgement for Indigenous
To begin with, a clarification must be made. Although for the purposes of this assessment I will be using the term Indigenous Australians, it is not the most appropriate term to be using, as the technical definition of indigenous is ‘originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native’ (‘Indigenous’, 1987). The more correct term would be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.
Aboriginal people, since British settlement, have faced great inequalities and much racial discrimination on their own soil. Aboriginal Australians through great struggle and conflict have made significant progress in the right to their own land. To better understand the position of the Aboriginal Australians, this essay will go into more depth about the rights that Aboriginal people had to their own land prior to federation. It will also include significant events and key people who activated the reshaping of land rights for Indigenous Australians and how that has affected the rights Aboriginal people now have in the 21st Century, in regards to their land.
Over the past 230 years, Aboriginals have protested in many different ways to gain rights, which they believe they are deserving of. Through aims of what they wanted to achieve, the processes they went through brought them disappointment over the poor results of some actions and pleasure over the success of others. Over those years, very few periods of protest have been as revelational or effective as the protests occurring between 1938 and 1972. During this period many different groups of Aboriginals have fought for the common cause of being recognised as people rather than interferences caught in the midst of Australians expansion as a nation.
Research an aspect of Australian history (e.g. policy, practice) and outline the ways in which this aspect has impacted on Aboriginal people and Aboriginal education.
The colonisation' of Australia by Europeans has caused a lot of problem for the local Aborigines. It drastically reduced their population, damaged ancient family ties, and removed thousands of Aboriginal people from the land they had lived on for centuries. In many cases, the loss of land can mean more than just physical displacement. Because land is so much connected to history and spirituality, the loss of it can lead to a loss of identity. This paper will examine the works of Tim Rowse and Jeremy Beckett as well as other symbols of identity that are available to modern Aborigines in post colonial Australia.
Communities of tribes and people occupying the Australian Land before the British Colonization in the early 1800’s. Dark skin appearance and lived among tribes and communities all over Australia. Traditional land owners.
In Aboriginal culture the language isn’t only a form of communication, it is used to mark territory. It is possible that people from tribe only fifty kilometres away cannot understand the other tribes language at all.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples inhabited the land of Australia for many thousands of years
The process of colonisation by European powers, as might be expected, has had a radical effect on Aboriginal culture. The settlers viewed the natives as barbarians, seizing tribal land and, in many cases, following a policy of pacification by force. Many others died of disease, starvation, cultural dislocation and neglect. Today, there are fewer than 230,000 Aborigines in Australia, less than 2% of the population.