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Essay On Aboriginal Identity

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The separation of aboriginal people from their land, kinship and children from families have had a devastating effect on aboriginal spirituality. Indigenous people are connected to the land physically and spiritually, Aborigines land is their home and when colonisation began by the white settlers in 1788 they claimed ‘Terra Nullius’, land that belonged to no one. This separation from land meant that they were not able to access food on the land and cultural practices and ceremonies associated with the land could not be carried out. Seen in source 1 the separation from the land is a disrespect to aboriginal spirituality, this effect did not only hurt the remaining loved ones, however the ancestor themselves as quoted from the source “Our ancestors travel with us all the time, they'll travel with us when we go back home ... till we get back to our land and put them back where …show more content…

The dispossession disturb the natural and cultural celebration for kinship groups to formally celebrate their ancestors and the dreaming through the land. Each language group is connected through ancestral beings through the land as laws were handed down to kinship groups. Tribal elders could not efficiently do ceremonies related to kinship due to the separation as cultural information, obligations and taco’s were lost. This caused a loss of identity and belonging to each other and the land. The Europeans did not understand the cultural attachment Indigenous people had to their kinship groups. In addition the Australian Government today as seen in source 1 “Birmingham City Council deputy leader Ian Ward said his city recognised the importance of returning the remains 'so that they are now able to finally rest in peace in their homeland’.”, This provides for language groups to re-join with their ancestral beings and the allows identify to aborigines to be welcomed back as well as their

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