As a 3rd year Anthropology and Sociology student I could not pass up the opportunity to learn more about the relationships between the Federal and State governments and the ongoing battle for recognition and protection of the cultural heritage of Indigenous Australians. From January to February of 2017 I undertook a 5-week Aurora Internship with the North Queensland Land Council (NQLC) based in the Townsville office, and although I have spent over half my life in North Queensland and have a broad knowledge base of Indigenous Australia throughout my travels around the country, friends, family, and my studies, I was not overly familiar with the field of Native Title. I had of course heard of Native title but mostly in short seditious media references …show more content…
Overwhelmingly the staff were enthusiastic about my participation in the office and took it upon themselves to all educate me on the different aspects of Native Title claims, I learnt about the legal processes, the logistics work of project officers, PBC Officers, anthropological practice, ethics, research techniques, and gained a deeper understanding of the connection to country that Traditional Owners have, all of which opened my eyes to the true nature of Native Title and cemented my aspirations to work within the industry in the future. During the remainder of my internship, I was fortunate to be given access to historical documents in the James Cook University Special collections library and tasked with the important job of searching for the history of people in the North Queensland Region to further assist the staff anthropologists with lines of ascent and their connection reports which are imperative when it comes to facilitating native title determinations. I was also tasked with studying the NQLC’s copy of Norman Tindale’s 1938 expedition journal and organizing the data I collected into an updated index for future research and Native Title claims undertaken by the
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.
In 1976 the Fraser government passed the Aboriginal Land Rights Act. Several state governments passed their own Land Rights Acts, which recognised aboriginal and Torres Strait islander claims to land and guaranteed them royalty payments from mining companies working there. Some laws enforced by the government became challenging for most indigenous people to abide by. Through the analysis of this information we understand the impacts the government and its laws had towards the indigenous society of
Is there information available on Indigenous Australian events happening in the community? (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, 2010)
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
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
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 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.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have faced disadvantages in various areas, particularly housing. The disadvantages these people face now are the result of policies introduced by the European settlers, then the government. The policies introduced were protection, assimilation, integration and self-determination. It is hard to understand the housing disadvantages faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people if their history is not known.
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 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.
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,
Over the past years, Canadian courts have repeatedly urged that aboriginal title conflicts should be resolved through negotiation, rather than litigation. The primary reason being that litigation is costly and time-consuming. For example, the decision for the Delgamuukw case took a duration of thirteen years. Furthermore, litigations that deal with the issue of aboriginal rights and title are “generally narrowly focused” and “ultimately leaves the question [posed about] how aboriginal rights and title apply unwarned.” For instance, the courts of Canada repeatedly failed to come up with a clear definition on the legal scope of Aboriginal rights despite the fact that they have several opportunities to do so. The Delgamuuku case clearly illustrates this when the Court “did not define how aboriginal title applied for the First Nations involved.” Instead, the Court came to the conclusion that a new trial was required, which ultimately will be more expensive and take longer.
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?
Australian Aborigines are thought to have the longest continuous cultural history in the world. Yet, within a hundred years, the near extinction of the Aboriginal culture almost occurred. This single event, the invasion of the Australian continent by European settlers, changed the lifestyle, the culture, and the fate of Australian Aborigines. Their entire lives were essentially taken away and they were forced into a white, European world where the lifestyle change could not have been any different. Aborigines in Australia today are struggling to deal with a past in which they lost touch with their culture and now are trying to regain some of that cultural identity.
Aboriginal cultural custodians, knowledge owners, community leaders and the Indigenous academia has realised the need to act to preserve the evidences of the Australian Aboriginal heritage and also their culture itself to give young and future