Reflective Essay On Aboriginal Australia

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

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.

The Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people are Australia’s first people. They’re the Indigenous and traditional owners of our beautiful land. However, until the last few decades, this hasn’t always been recognised. The Indigenous people of Australia have faced colonization, oppression, the Stolen Generation, and all kinds of disrespect to their cultural heritage.

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.

Neville Bonner and Mandawuy Yunupingu are known for being resilient Indigenous Australian leaders, paving the way for the improvement in quality of life for generations of Indigenous Australians, and becoming ‘firsts’ in their respective fields (National Portrait Gallery, 2016). Bonner was the first Indigenous member of Australian Federal Parliament, representing Queensland as the Liberal Party Senator in the 1972, 1974, 1975, and 1980 elections (National Film and Sound Archive, 2015). While Yunupingu was the first Indigenous Australian to become a school principal, and shed light internationally on the mistreatment of Australian Indigenous people through his band ‘Yothu Yindi,’ (National Library of Australia, n.d.). Both men were strong Indigenous rights activists, and inspired a nation to bridge the gaps between Indigenous Australians, and contemporary Australian society.

Aboriginal History and Culture Aborigines are believed to have lived in Australia for between 60,000 and 40,000 years, their early ancestors coming from South-East Asia. Precise population details for the period before European colonisation are unavailable, but it is estimated that there were between 300,000 and 1,000,000 Aborigines in Australia when European settlers first arrived in 1788.

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

The Australian Indigenous community hold extremely significant corrections to the land of Australia, of which they refer to as ‘Country.’ Indigenous people acquire deep meaning from the land, sea and the countless resources derived from them. This special relationship has formed for many centuries. To them ‘Country’ is paramount for overall wellbeing; the strong, significant, spiritual bonds embody their entire existence. Knowledge is continually passed down to create an unbroken connection of past,

The term ‘Native Title’ refers to the right of Indigenous people to their traditional land. In Australia it has a legal significance of the right to an area of land, claimed by people whose ancestors were the original inhabitants of the land before European settlement. Also who can prove that they have had a continuous connection with the land. Native Title is the term given by the High Court to Indigenous land rights by the Court in Mabo and others v State of Queensland (No.2) [1992] HCA 23. The case required

Annotated Bibliography: Denial; History Betrayed. Tony Taylor 2008: The work written by Tony taylor is a reliable source, however it does contain some bias on the subject of Aboriginal history. The source is used as an example of how bias can affect revisionist history, and that revisionism can be affected by outside factors. The source is quoted several times throughout the report, and can be seen as an example against the work written by Keith Windschuttle, The fabrication of Aboriginal history. However throughout his work there are numerous slanderous comments made towards the historian as a person, which could showcase an ulterior method to the work, in which the historian uses the work to target a person, rather than the information that he has provided. Overall I believe the source in most parts is reliable, however the Validity of his statements is questionable and are rebutted by keith Windschuttle quite easily. The most prominent strengths of the

• Is there information available on Indigenous Australian events happening in the community? (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2010)

The Yirrkala Bark Petition of 1963 was a result of Governments giving native Aboriginal land to mining companies on a mining lease. The Aboriginals claimed that their land was being taken away from them without compensation. The aim of this particular protest was to gain back the land that had been given away through the mining lease and be apologised to by the Australian government. These aims are summarised in the aborigine’s simple desire to be accepted into the Australian community and to be granted rights as well as acknowledgment that they have ties to the land. The local Yirrkala elders signed an ornate and artistic petition to have the mining lease revoked. As a result, the government set up a committee to oversee the decision made and to mediate future decision on similar matters. Despite the lease going ahead, it was acknowledged that there were Aboriginal sacred sites on the land where the lease was valid and it was agreed that those sites would be protected. This decision alone didn’t have a great effect however it showed the Aboriginals that the Australian government acknowledged there ties to the land and it showed the Australian government that the Aboriginals did have rights to regions throughout Australia even if those rights were not to be recognised for almost 30 years.

There have been many significant cases that have dealt with the issue of jurisdiction. Among these cases was the Sparrow case of 1990. The Court determined that “Aboriginal Rights were constitutionally protected, and that those rights can only be extinguished with First Nations consent.” Moreover, the Court ruled that

Introduction Aboriginals or indigenous Australians are the native people of Australia. Aboriginals were nomadic people who came to Australia about 40,000 – 60,000 years ago from Southeast Asia. Religion is a great part of Aboriginal culture. The essay answers these questions: What do Aboriginals belief? What is a Kinship system? What is Dreaming and Dreamtime? What rituals does Aboriginals have?

I would love to go and visit their land one day, it's filled with many riches. They go to that plentiful land for food, medicines and traditional rituals importance. I come to understand flowers and plants is important parts and meaning of Gamo Ethiopians lands of dwelling. They even take great care of their livestock with certain types of plants. Livestock nurture and help the universe by nourishing it like cows when they manure on the ground that cause grass to grow making beautiful green grass. They all seem to have ritualistic and beliefs in the supernatural traditions Aboriginal Australians (the ancient painting carvings from the ancestors holds spiritual knowledge), Papua Guinea (praying to the hire spirits planting seeds in the land)