“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures have adapted dramatically to accommodate all that has been introduced into Australia since 1788” as stated by Reconciliation Australia (http://www.shareourpride.org.au/). If people are educated on the journey that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have encountered throughout their lives, an understanding of the importance of culture and identity to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people would establish. Stereotypical behaviour often occurs from lack of education or knowledge of a culture, and has the ability to change by educating people on the facts, and importance to accept and respect others, and “treat everyone as an individual” (Reconciliation Australia,…
1) The Valiant Five (10 marks) Provide a brief description of the importance of the legal case honoured by the “Valiant Five/Famous Five” monument in terms of the development of Canadian law. Include what the case was about, when it got resolved and what was its outcome. The Valiant Five were a group of five Alberta women: Emily Murphy, Irene Parlby, Nellie McClung, Louise McKinney, and Henrietta Muir Edwards. They petitioned the Supreme Court of Canada to answer the question “Does the word ‘Persons’ in section 24 of the British North America Act, 1867, include females?”.…
As you are reading this article today, remember that although Aboriginal people make up only 3% of Australia’s total population, they represent over 28% (9,940 adult prisoners) of Australia’s prison population in 2015 and this number is rising. To combat this issue, the Murri Court was established. The Murri Court was founded in Queensland in 2002 in response to the increasing representation of Indigenous Australian people in prison. This court sentences Indigenous offenders who plead guilty to offences which fall within the jurisdiction of the Magistrates Court, for example assault or theft.…
I will not be shy to ask for assistance in gaining a deeper understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, routines or practices and work in partnership with Aboriginal Education Officers (Echo360, 2010). AITSL Standard 1.4 recommends graduate teachers develop strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (AITSL, 2014). Teachers working with Aboriginal children strictly caution against strategies, such as, student centred learning that focus on passive learning environments, questioning student’s competence and independent learning (Echo360, 2010a). Suitable teaching strategies include co-operative learning practices that involve small, large or whole group activities, constructive feedback that does not shame or distress students in an active learning environment (Harrison & Sellwood, 2016).…
In the article, Racism American Style and Resistance to Change: Art Education’s Role in the Indian Mascot Issue, by Elizabeth M. De La Cruz, illustrates the negative effects of non-Native Americans organizations from using Indian mascots. She points out that such organizations that use Indian mascots place a negative label on the Native American reputation by imposing ignorance of their culture. She provides various examples in which Indian mascots leads to negative stereotyping and misrepresentation of the Native American culture. In full agreement to the author, I believe that Non-Native American organization that use Indian mascots have negative consequences. The use of Indian belongings or images without proper acknowledgement of their culture can lead to disrespect the Native American culture without meaning to, misrepresenting them, and creating a negative or false stereotyping.…
Native Americans, which include the Navajo Tribe, have a very long standing in the history of the United States. They have also been removed from their homelands thought out the ages. Many of these tribes have been forced to reside on reservations. According to the Journal of Health Education, Native Americans out of the total population are the unhealthiest population. This is proven by a shorter life expectancy and higher mortality rates for communicable diseases.…
Due to the effects of colonization, discrimination, and racism, Aboriginal peoples, as well as their communities, have been experiencing adverse health outcomes that have been resonating across generations. The negative health outcomes are a result of years of damage to their traditions, languages, beliefs and self-identity. The high rates of HIV, depression and chronic diseases among Aboriginals are linked to experiences of poverty, unemployment, racism, and poor living conditions as well as the loss of community ties. Likewise, the participants in those studies found that reconnecting to their communities and cultures was an essential method of coping with their illness (Cain 2011). However, the extent and methods by which Aboriginals reconnected…
The United States was one of four countries who originally did not sign the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, (UNDRIP) in 2007; it has since signed but has not fully committed to the Document. This begs the question, is the United States in compliance with this Declaration? The United States was the last country to endorse the UNDRIP in 2010, three years after its ratification.…
The United Aboriginal Struggle “Get over it!” A statement that has been repeated time and time again, with regards to Indigenous land. It’s a surprise that Aboriginals want their land back after centuries of not owning it. Is it not? Well, no, it is not.…
Aborigines are particularly disadvantaged in our society. The problems and difficulties that they face when using the legal system are part of the reason for them being overrepresented in the criminal justice system. There are many issues which result in this participation; these include the presence of language barriers between an officer and an aboriginal suspect, cultural taboos aboriginal suspects suffer, their body language which tends to raise suspicion and their lack of understanding of the questioning procedure. These issues will be discussed to examine the topic at hand and suggested reforms will also be given to eliminate these complications to ensure that they receive a fair and unbiased hearing. Language barriers are the most common…
Native American culture has been slowly dying for a little over five centuries. It started in 1492 when Columbus sailed out on his historic voyage and it is still going on in present day America. Interactions between Native Americans and European settlers often resulted in the complete destruction of music considered “pagan” by the Europeans. Native people were continuously removed and relocated from their ancestral homelands, losing many of their mythologies and ancient music traditions in the process. The Native American people have tried to fight back numerous times but there numbers were decimated in the beginning with the introduction of diseases such as measles, typhus, and smallpox.…
As a teacher we have a responsibility to ensure students feel they have the potential to defy statistics, all students regardless of cultural difference should have the opportunity to meet their highest expectations and fulfil their future. Lastly when we include indigenous texts into the classroom we must be mindful of the environment we have created texts that have themes on the horrific histories can affect students personally and we must be mindful of this…
This means they must recognize that there are different ways of learning, and educators must include culturally appropriate content in the school curriculum to ensure the Aboriginal students feel reflected in their classroom and to educate other students…
Land is a major aspect of aboriginal culture and traditions. It is part of your kanyini, which means connectedness. In aboriginal culture you need to be connected to the land. If you lose part of your kanyini you lose part of yourself so if you are disconnected from your land it has a big toll on you spirituality and connectedness. Many aboriginal people were and are separated from their land for various reasons including: Mining, lack of resources, the stolen generation, farming, redevelopment etc.…
Shipp (2013, p.25) discusses that in urban contexts it is important that teachers do not shy away from including Aboriginal perspectives in the classroom just because they think that there are no ‘real Aboriginal’ students in their class. Successful collaboration in education requires teachers who are willing to engage with the local Indigenous community both inside and outside of the school gate. The value of teaching Aboriginal culture, language and studies is vital in integrating history, culture and beliefs into a holistic teaching system. Engagement with the local wider community is imperative so that local Indigenous culture, history, language and knowledge of Country can be incorporated into the everyday curriculum. Narogin (cited in Sarra 2011, p.2) states Indigenous Australians exist holistically within a cultural, historical and social context.…