Aboriginal Heritage

Indigenous Australians are probably descendants of the first modern humans to migrate out of Africa to Asia, roughly 70,000 years ago, arriving in Australia around 50,000 years ago.

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 concept of equality and fairness under the overarching theme of justice sets a demanding standard which is difficult to achieve in practice than formal equality before the law, which can be oblivious to cultural differences - an issue most notably highlighted through that of the Aboriginal witness in courtroom proceedings. Cultural and linguistic barriers have affected their ability to understand what is occurring in court proceedings but also in extension their ability to be understood. Even with the existence of court-trained interpreters, the complex nature of legal proceedings and legal intricacies associated with witness examination has only lead to further alienation of Aboriginal witnesses from courtroom proceedings. Exemplified by this is the fact that Aboriginals are more likely to come into contact with legal system than their non-Aboriginal counterparts due to the high over-representation of Aboriginals

Throughout Australian history, Aboriginal people have been displaced and mistreated through the course of time, through the separation from their from kinship groups, land and the stolen generation. This has resulted in the connection to their dreaming lost, misconnection and loss of their sacred sites and traditional food from their land. As a consequence of the stolen generation, many aboriginal children were deprived of their parents, families, spirituality, language from their land and their cultural identity. All of these aspects contribute to the continuing effect of dispossession on Aboriginal spiritualities.

In the last 60,000 years Australian indigenous knowledge has advanced through generations. Unlike western culture where knowledge becomes known through written text 's,Indigenous knowledge is developed by images, words, patterns, sounds, smells and tastes on different canvases such as sand, soil, the body and rocks (Blair 2008). Furthermore, Since British colonisation in 1788 threats to traditional indigenous knowledge existed then and more now in modern society. Main threats include agricultural and industrial developments, territorial pressures including deforestation, social and economic pressures including assimilation, poverty, education, loss of languages,political pressures,the recognition and standing of indigenous traditional knowledge including involvement in policy and legislative development, cultural integrity and globalisation. It is important that these threats are resolved and Indigenous knowledge is contexulizised into our education systems as it can bring a better understanding to Australian indigenous history.It is important that teachers incorporate indiginoues knowledge into classroom as It can also give students the ability to think comprehensively when exploring social problems in the environment and the awareness of the relationship that people share with their environment and also increase understanding and respect of other cultures (Rahman,2013)

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?

The environment and culture are important to the Aboriginal people in Australia, which is illustrated through the Kakadu National Park (Australian Government Parks Australia, 2016).

Traditionally Indigenous Australians main form of learning was through practice, art and music using their native language and culture (Foley, 2010, p. 176). Indigenous Australians have been discriminated against, abused and forced to forgo their traditional way of life through assimilation policies. Furthermore, Indigenous Australians were neglected in obtaining any form of education, such as basic literacy and numeracy (Foley, 2010, pp. 180-182). Inequalities for Indigenous Australians continue, creating a common stereotype in today’s society (De Plevitz, 2007, p. 66). It is the history of disposition Indigenous Australians have faced through constant degradation that formed this stereotype (Phillips, 2005). Wyn (2009)

In the early seventeen century, the French, English, Dutch, and Swedish established colonies on the Atlantic coast. The newcomers start to made contact and trade with the Aboriginal people of the Eastern seaboard. The exotic goods was assimilated to existing belief systems gradually, and to enriching aboriginal people’s artistic and life. Furthermore, gift exchange is important. Some visual forms on gift represent peace making and diplomacy.

Throughout this weeks reading, a strong understanding of Aboriginal connection and understanding of the land is highlighted. The reading is givin in first person from the perspective of Laklak Burarrwanga a Datiwuy Elder. In this reading Burarrwanga states that Aboriginal communities connect with Bawaka (meaning country) and everything living within the environment this includes other individuals, animals, plants and non-living objects for example wind and rain. Through this strong Aboriginal inextricable connection, the land provides Aboriginal communities with food, shelter, culture, beliefs and protection. Aboriginal’s have a obligation to the land and are expected to care for the land as in return the land will care for them. Each Aboriginal

While from two vastly different regions and cultures of the world, Australian and Native American mythologies have more in common than people initially realize. Both span thousands of years of traditional lifestyles, having developed unique folklore in order to preserve their cultures. Australian mythology has a slightly less severe tone, having written their myths in order to record them in the aftermath of colonization, while Native Americans feel a religious reverence for the tales because they view their stories as true accounts. However, while their tones are different, their thematic similarities stretch from their long histories and creation myths to the importance of animals and astronomy.

The Aboriginal population also has its own diversity, as groups of people live in different environments and have different language and customs, developed to meet their particular needs. Where you say the Acknowledgement of country, thanking them for being on their land.

The Aborigines had, and still have, a complex belief in creation, spirits and culture, that gives a definite distinctiveness from any other religion in the world. Thousands of years ago, Australian Aboriginal people were living in accordance with their dreamtime beliefs- today, a majority of the Aboriginal community profess allegiance to Christianity, and only 3% still adhere to traditional beliefs. These beliefs have provided the Aboriginal people with guidance and perspective on all aspects of life. There were many variants to these beliefs and practises throughout the many Aboriginal tribal areas, but all Aboriginal people have developed an intimate relationship between themselves and their environment. They see themselves as

Thank you for getting back to me. I have a general sense about Aboriginal identity since my ASTU class has been recently discussing about Indigenous people but I do not have any background knowledge about Gitksan in particular. One of my lectures involved a guest speaker, Mark Turin. He had explained his story, and his documentation of the Thami language. I found it particularly worrisome that some languages may be potentially endangered. He emphasized the importance of language preservation. Although I do not have first hand experience working with First Nations people, I have volunteered at Kopernik Lodge, a seniors home for the Polish community. As a Vietnamese speaker as well, I used to be the translator for my grandparents since they could

Art is a central part of Aboriginal life and is intrinsically connected to land, law, traditions, culture, education and religious belief. However, Aboriginal art in contemporary society has an increasingly social and political dimension. Narritjin Maymuru is an example of an indigenous artist using traditional practices. Maymuru’s 1978 artwork “Nyapililngu Ancestors at Djarrakpi” depicts the creation stories of his homeland, Djarrakpi, demonstrating the influence of his indigenous spirituality in his work. Fiona Foley is an example of an indigenous artist who uses post-modern practice in her film “Bliss” (2006). In keeping with the post-modern tradition, Foley has used contemporary art making practices to express political issues facing