Indigenous Australian Land Rights

The discourse of whiteness has severely impacted on the educational outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (herein referred to as Indigenous Peoples). The discourse is based on an ontology founded on overt racism, discrimination, prejudice, exclusion and dispossession and towards all Indigenous Peoples. Subsequently, the history of Indigenous Peoples experiences in relation to education is extremely negative. They have been denied the right to the same education as non-Indigenous students, frequently expelled and continually forced to deny their cultural identity. The discourse of whiteness has resulted in pedagogies and pedagogical practices that are overly racist and not inclusive of Indigenous Peoples culture. To improve future educational outcomes it is necessary to decolonise Australia and rewrite the curriculum so that it is inclusive for all students.

The Australian Curriculum currently is struggling with incorporating indigenous perspectives as a key focus in the curriculum properly. It is lacking the ability to normalise indigenous knowledge and instead represents

The rights and freedoms of Aboriginals have improved drastically since 1945 with many changes to government policy, cultural views and legal rules to bring about a change from oppression to equality. Unfortunately on the other hand, some rights and freedoms have not improved at all or have even worsened.

Indigenous Australians have been fighting for their civil rights since European colonisation in 1788, in particular, for their rights to land ownership. Prior to the Mabo land rights case, there was very little success when it came to indigenous Australians making claims. The Mabo case took land rights to the highest court in Australia. It succeeded in achieving land rights and overturning Terra Nullius. The Mabo case helped to continue to chip away at the barriers of civil rights. The Mabo Case was a step towards Indigenous equality.

Teachers in Australia have the responsibility of catering to the learning needs and abilities of the students in their classroom. Additionally they are also responsible for catering to the unique cultural backgrounds of each student, in particular the cultures of Indigenous Australians. The teacher can cater to the diverse and complex Indigenous cultures by creating a learning environment that is based on effective student engagement for Aboriginal students. Studies have shown that Aboriginal students are currently not academically achieving as well as non-Aboriginal students (What Works: Core Issue 5). Closing the academic performance gap is considered a national priority. As a result, the Aboriginal Cultural Standards Framework has been developed to ensure that schools are delivering the best possible education to all students, specifically those who identify as Aboriginal. During term 3, 2017, I completed my final practicum at Baler Primary School in a year 4 classroom. The students in my class came from a diverse range of cultural backgrounds, many of which identified as Aboriginal. Throughout this essay I will use examples from my final practicum at Baler Primary School in South Hedland to discuss how to make learning engaging, accessible and culturally responsive for Aboriginal students.

Through my life, I have seen several different approaches to Indigenous people’s rights and importance in Australia. I have been fortunate enough to visit Ayers Rock and undertake a tour which allowed me to see Aboriginal culture in art and drawings as well as hearing Dreamtime stories from guides. I have also witnessed family friends who have been severely racist and disrespectful of Indigenous heritage and history. I also was lucky to work with some Indigenous students who were in Reception during my Professional Experience 1, and I was able to see first-hand how a culture clash can affect a student’s behaviour. I feel that even before entering this course, I have had the privilege of being able to observe both positives and negatives

Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in the curriculum has now become a high priority amoungst schools across the nation. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) (2013), recognises “that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority is designed for all students to engage in reconciliation, respect and recognition of the world’s oldest continuous living cultures”. By including this, the curriculum will continue to see Indigenous culture throughout school become part of the norm. Furthermore Indigenous Australian perspectives can and should be included in the classroom and any barriers that arise can be overcome.

Education is fundamental to growth, the growth of the individual, and the growth of a nation. Anthropologically this can be seen from the earliest of developments of human societies where practices emerge to ensure the passing of accumulated knowledge from one generation to the next. In the centuries since the invasion and colonisation of Australia in 1788, colonist authorities and governments have dominated the making of policies regarding most major aspects of Australian life, including the lives of Indigenous Australians. The enactment of these policies and legislation, whether targeted at society as a whole or directly at education, has had significant and most often negative causal impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, resulting in not only poor educational outcomes, but the loss of cultural identity, the development of serious issues in health and wellbeing, and the restriction of growth of Aboriginal communities. Moreover, there has been an ongoing pattern of the adoption of ill-informed policies in Australia, resulting in these poor outcomes and cultural decimation. Aboriginal people have developed a wariness, a mistrust, and even an attitude of avoidance to engage with non-Indigenous officials and those who they associate as their representatives, i.e. personnel working within

Terra Nullius was once apparent in Australian society, but has now been nullified with the turn of the century. With the political changes in our society, and the apology to Indigenous Australians, society is now witnessing an increase in aboriginals gaining a voice in today’s society. Described by Pat Dodson (2006) as a seminal moment in Australia’s history, Rudd’s apology was expressed in the true spirit of reconciliation opening a new chapter in the history of Australia. Considerable debate has arisen within society as to whether aboriginals have a right to land that is of cultural significance and whether current land owners will be able to keep their land.

The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act in 1976 established a basic on which to build upon for Aboriginal peoples, for the first time, they have the to right to claim land based on their traditional culture. The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act was the first attempt by any Australian Government to legalize the Aboriginal systems and land ownership. This Act allowed for Aboriginal peoples to practice their traditional ways, which had not been allowed since the white settlers had come to Australia and taken away that right over 200 years ago. The land that is granted to the Aboriginal people cannot be bought, acquired, mortgaged or ‘compulsory acquired’ by the government.

The issue of land rights has been a consistent issue for the Indigenous people of Australia. In the colonisation of Australia, the European settlers deemed the land terra nullius which is defined as ‘Land belonging to no one’, this was due to their inability to understand the how the Aboriginal people used the land and their spiritual connection to it. The myth of terra nullius was a common misconception throughout Australia’s early years and remained until the ‘Mabo vs Queensland’ trial occurred. This was the first step in recovering the land rights that were stricken from the Indigenous people as it acknowledged their ownership to the land prior to the colonisation in 1778. Although there have been many improvements regarding land rights

Indigenous Australians hold the status of original peoples of this land. By the Australian Government, laws now state that Indigenous Australians have the rights to:

In order to achieve equality for Indigenous people, there is a need to reconstruct society to provide for changes to education, health services and employment (Larson, Gillies, Howard & Coffin, 2007, p. 328). Teachers have attempted to address the issues regarding intercultural relationships between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities, in order to close a gap of discrimination and discrepancies in learning (DET, 2009). An attempt has been made to alleviate issues of disassociation of Aboriginal students to the current school system, as seen in current policies such as The Aboriginal Education and Training Policy (DET, 2009), where there is a requirement for teachers to commit to Indigenous education, demonstrating

For many years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been deprived of receiving land rights within Australia. Before the colonisation of Australia in 1788, they had been faced with an ongoing struggle to achieve legal and moral acknowledgment and possession of land rights (Pascoe, 2012). Their connection to the land and country is an essential part in establishing their cultural heritage, including their social and economic development. It is only through their laws and customers in which they able to connect and adapt to the world and land around them. On 20th May1982, Edward Koiki Mabo an Indigenous land rights campaigner, together with his fellow Mer Islanders, presented a case to the Australian High Court (Pascoe, 2012; Reilly, 2002). Due to Mabo’s fight for the possession and ownership of land rights, the Court stated that Meriam people own rights to their traditional lands and that these rights should be recognised and protected by the Australian law (Pascoe, 2012). After several years of struggling for land rights and ownership, the Mabo decision overturned the notion of terra nullius as the Australian High Court dismissed the idea that Australia belonged to nobody before British Settlement. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people across Australia were finally recognised and respected as the ancestors of the land and the first people of Australia (Pascoe, 2012; Reilly 2002). In 1993, the Native Title Act was passed

The role and place of Indigenous Australians in perceptions of national identity is generally neglected. Contemporary issues among Indigenous people in Australia include racial discrimination, poor health and access to health services, levels of employment and education (Hampton & Toombs, 2013). The traumatic diaspora of the Stolen Generations and the negative impacts of racial and economic disadvantage such as segregation and displacement have contributed to Indigenous peoples feeling of mistrust (Queensland Health, 2015). According to Kelly (2013), a fundamental challenge faced by educators today is planning and teaching for a future where the tragedies of the past are overcome for Indigenous students. This essay views these topics as interrelated and discusses them in reference to whole school best practice to support teaching Indigenous students.