Callie Torres

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. In Australia, there are two completely different cultural groups made up of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and there are also over 250 unique languages spread across the Indigenous land. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have individual societies and cultures but their experiences with oppression, dispossession and colonization in their home country shows quite a strong bond between the two cultures. The Aboriginal and Torres…

Bangarra Dance Theatre’s phenomenon entitled Mathinna entails the awe-spiring, yet historically enlightening journey of an Aboriginal girl who was taken from her home and forced to conform to the westernised norms of the 1800’s. In an era plagued by racism and prejudice, Mathinna emanates the themes of colonialism, and cultural intolerance. Following the viewing of this scintillating production, it is undeniably clear that the architect of Mathinna, Stephen Page, has deliberately intended to…

The Australian flag debate is an interrupted enquiry over whether the Australian flag should be changed, particularly to eliminate the Union Jack from the canton, but to perhaps introduce a completely new design without the Southern Cross. John Blaxland who approves a proposal for a new mature Australian flag, agrees that the flag should be changed. Although there is a lot of controversy around this argument. For example Allan Pidgeon argues that Australia should change its flag. However some…

critically reflects on the understandings in Indigenous Education that have been gained from unit topics. The report acknowledges that Standard Australian English is a second language for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, that attitudes need to change both of teachers and of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and parents, and the need for schools to adopt a culturally supportive framework. In addition best practice examples are discussed from the Strong and Smart…

The title for my exhibition is The Past and Present: Aboriginal Identity. My curatorial theme will explore the lives of the Aboriginal people from the past and present. Many of the artists chosen for the exhibition bring to light, and focus on the Stolen Generation in their works. This will be the past part of the exhibition. The present part of the exhibition will focus on how the Aborigines have dealt with those effects of the Stolen Generations while working to fit in with white communities…

The treatment of native peoples all over the world has been an issue for centuries. In the eyes of today’s society it is seen as unacceptable and inhumane but to those in power at the time these measures may have seemed like the best way to an ideal country. An example of this can be seen in the Aboriginal Australians, who weren’t even seen as humans until 1967 and the native Americans, that had their country taken away from them and their traditional ways disrupted beyond belief. Before the…

rights, for land and for recognition. Special days of significance may include the following: • 13 February - Anniversary of the Apology In 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, MP officially apologised nationally for the past injustices to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of Australia. (Australian Government). • 26 May - National Sorry Day A day to remember and commemorate the history of unjust mistreatment towards Australia’s indigenous population. (Australian Government). • 27 May–3…

As a teacher, it is important to acknowledge health issues among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Students who are always sick may not achieve their full potential (Alperstein & Egan, ND). For instances, A student’s health has a great impact on their ability to learn and take part in school activities (Alperstein & Egan, ND). The Australian Bureau of statistics conducted a Aboriginal child health survey in Western Australia which was one of the largest investigation into the…

of health are ultimately the root causes of disease and health, which determine the cause of many risk factors for disease. Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders are significantly more disadvantaged when referring to the social determinants of health leading to higher occurrence of disease in their socioeconomic groups than those of non-Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders. The social determinants of health are comprised of many factors such as “safe pregnancy, early childhood experiences,…

Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) is the obstruction of blood vessels that supply the heart muscle, due to the deposition of lipid material [1]. The risk factors affecting the prevalence of CHD within Australians today are presented in Figure 1. Figure 1: The risk factors affecting the prevalence of Coronary Heart Disease in Australia (extracted from [2] and [3]) Modifiable Risk Factors Non-Modifiable Risk Factors Diet, containing saturated fat and salt Increasing age Hyperlipidemia Gender…