Australian Open

"Given the history of the European colonisation of Australia, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are wary of white institutions and social welfare’ (Chenoweth & McAuliffe 2015, p.268). Identify and discuss one or two policies or pieces of legislation that have impacted on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and how the effects can be seen today. During the European colonisation of Australia, oppressive laws functioned to subjugate and control the indigenous population.…

regards to a national examination on the reconciliation of Indigenous Australians, the major religious traditions in Australia have all contributed to the area of Aboriginal welfare and acknowledged the adversity and maltreatment they have endured at the hands of white culture. For example, Christian churches and the Islamic councils have played an integral part in the long process of reconciliation with Indigenous Australians since the recognition of Aboriginal mistreatment post WW2. However,…

Noted in supreme court cases, Relf v. Weinberger and Buck v. Bell, re-examining compulsory sterilization is pivotal in dismantling discrimination against women. Particularly affecting women of color, the multi-form occurrence is slowly moving into public consciousness along with the effects of settler colonialism. Depopulating foreign land through strategic movements, settler colonialists have been and continue to be clever as far as their tactics to establish political systems. Purposed to…

Ethnocentrism: • Beliefs and attitudes based on the assumption that the culture, belief system and worldview of one group is superior to other groups/ cultures. • Viewing, judging and evaluating others on the basis of one’s own culture. • Assuming that one’s own culture is the most correct and valid way in which to live. • The social arrangements of one group are used as a reference point (and yardstick) by which to measure the alleged inferiority of other cultures. Functionalist and…

portraying them as uneducated, violent or lazy. While many Australians seem to lack concern for the country’s first inhabitants, there is a large population who also wishes to protect them and resolve a number of issues deeply rooted in Australian history. In an effort to gain recognition for their people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists often use their mediums of choice to expose what it truly means to be an Indigenous Australian. Rachel Perkins utilizes film to explore her…

Oscar Wilde once said, “the truth is rarely pure and never simple”. The culture of a nation, a community, or a group, is what moulds our attitudes, beliefs and values. A dictionary definition of ‘culture’ is: “the behaviours and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group”. The three categories of culture - social, ethnicity, and age - are what influence a human to support or disapprove society and occurring events. Over many centuries, racial understandings from cultural…

Aboriginal Spirituality is inextricably amalgamated to the Dreaming, in which the adherent is provided with grounding in the past, present and future- a vehicle for posterity in finding meaning and purpose. Here, “the Dreaming can be seen as an embodiment of Aboriginal creation which gives meaning to everything”, exemplifying the importance of Dreaming in determining Aboriginal Spirituality. Furthermore, the Ku Ring Gai people’s rainbow serpent creation story of Ku Ring Gai National Park…

Beth Cuthand’s poem, “For All the Settlers Who Secretly Sing”, portrays a character, a Settler, who is referred to as a you throughout the poem, although this is just an assumption. The settler has moved into an indigenous land, unaware of the cultural beliefs, ignorant about the spiritual beings and unaware of nature’s importance to the land. Cuthand’s poem, “For All the Settlers Who Secretly Sing, portrays cultural acceptance and how a person is able to achieve spiritual awareness, through…

Uluru - Australia’s rock of ages 1. What was Uluru called before by the Europeans? Answer: The early Europeans called Uluru for Ayers Rock. 2. Who is the area of Uluru home to? Answer: For over thirty thousand years the area were a home to the Aboriginal people who hold that land. 3. How does the guide describe the feeling of Uluru? Answer: It is like a mystical place, you feel it as you draw nearer. When you are why underneath the Rockets it’s bigger than you can possibly imagine. 4. What…

Native Title or Land Title is a common law that allows indigenous people to own their traditional land and/or waters. In 1993 Native Title became a part of Australian law because Eddie Mabo influenced the high court to understand and acknowledge the bond that some indigenous groups share with their land/waters. Torres strait islanders or aboriginals are now able to claim native title over land that isn’t residential freehold, farms held in freehold, residential or commercial purpose leases,…