Aboriginal Spirituality Research Paper

The medicine is still a useful concept in Aboriginal healing and many First Nations bands including the Plains Cree people of Thunderchild First Nation support the concept of the traditional teachings of the Medicine Wheel (Graham & Leesberg, 2010). Also Etowa, Jesty, & Vukic (2011), indicated that Aboriginal people have a holistic definition of health that involves a balance of emotional, mental, spiritual and emotional health which has its origins in the medicine wheel and that cultural traditions such as sweat lodges, talking circles, drumming circles, and smudging are crucial elements of healing and empowerment. The medicine wheel is used as a tool to emphasize the need for bal¬ance between these dimensions of life, as well as the holistic

The poem My Mother The Land by Phill Moncrieff poetically describes the struggles the aboriginal people faced at the hands of the European people and colonisation throughout history. The fact that the author based the poem on accurate historical events adds to the authenticity of representations and engages the reader in an emotional journey with the struggles the aboriginal people faced with the somewhat loss of their country, culture, identity, people and place. The author uses a variety of language features and text structures to create this view point, for instance the author uses several language features and text structures throughout verse one to demonstrate the loss of culture and people.

Define and explain the notion of Katatjin (Knowledge), Boodjar (country) and Moort (family) and explain how the relationship between land, people and knowledge in the shared space of the South-west of Australia can be utilised.

The continuing issue of social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, is one that needs to be addressed in order to raise struggling health outcomes that compromise the lives of Aboriginal people. This is underlined by the fact that suicide, in 2014, was found to be the fifth leading cause of death in Indigenous populations, as well as one of the significant factors leading to a high life expectancy gap (ATSISPEP, 2016). It was also found that compared to the non-Indigenous Australian rate of suicide, Aboriginal people were twice more likely to attempt to end their life (Department of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, 2017), which has consequently lead to the creation of policies and recommendations

The township of Woorabinda is in Central Queensland, approximately 180km west of Gladstone. Woorabinda was established in the late 1920’s because Aboriginal peoples were being forcefully removed from their traditional lands at Taroom so early settlers could develop these lands. Woorabinda is situated on the traditional lands of the Wadja Wadja/Wadjigu and Gangula Aboriginal peoples according to the anthropologist Norman Tindale. Tindale documented in 1938 the residents of Woorabinda represented 47 clans, which included people from all over Queensland, New South Wales and the Northern Territory. (N, Tindale, 1974)

Ceremony and rituals have played a vital and essential role in Native American culture for a long time. Often referred to as “religion,” most Native Americans did not think their spirituality, ceremonies, and rituals as “religion,” the same way that Christians do. Instead, their beliefs and practices form an integral and seamless part of their being. Like other aboriginal people around the world, their beliefs were heavily influenced by their ways of getting food, – from hunting to agriculture. They also did ceremonies and rituals that gave power to conquer the difficulties of life, as wells as events and milestones, such as puberty, marriage, and death. Over the years, practices and ceremonies changed with tribes '

These lyrics from Bruce Woodley’s iconic song ‘I am Australian’ encapsulate the essence of the Australian identity: unity, equality and a fair go for all. However, underneath the surface of our seemingly egalitarian society, the statement ‘we are many’ is the only one that remains. We are a nation divided. Divided by the historic mistreatment of the first inhabitants of our land. Divided by the disadvantage, discrimination and dispossession of Indigenous Australians. Divided by the lack of true equality for all Australians. If we lack this basic equality, how can we say with good conscience that we are an egalitarian society?

Richard Wagamese brings to light the troubles of aboriginals living in Northern Canada in his book Indian Horse. Wagamese demonstrates the maltreatment aboriginals have faced at the hands of the Zhaunagush and their residential schools. The disgusting truth of the treatment of aboriginals in Canada is shown through recovering alcoholic, Saul Indian Horse, who recounts his life from the time he lived in the bush with his native family, the Anishinabeg, to the the time he checked into The New Dawn Treatment Centre.

The Dreaming gives the Aboriginal people a way to explain on how the world came to be.

The issue of not changing Australia day can be very sensitive to indigenous people The date suggestion of moving Australia day to another date is 1st of January, 25th of April (Anzac day) or the 1st of September (wattle day). The solution that Smith proposed was January 26th is a date that’s orientated towards when we gained our independence from British rule or perhaps a date bases on when Mathew Flinders when he first used the word ‘Australia’. The intended audience of this article is everyday Australian multi-cultural Australians. Smith focuses most of his attention trying to persuade people to change 26th of January (Australia day) to change it to First Fleet Day instead. In this article the truth is January 26 should be first fleet day, not Australia day by Smith in the

Being an aborigine in a white dominated society is a complicated identity. Australia, one of the white governed nations, also owns many aboriginal tribes. They lived harmonious lives in the early period. But European colonization has made a profound effect on the lives of Aboriginals in Australia, which led to the total demolition of their native culture, identity and history. As a result the new generation Aboriginals have lost their Aboriginal heritage and have been accepted neither by Aboriginals nor by whites. This state of being part aboriginals has driven their identity in crisis. Indeed they have possessed a unique Aboriginal consciousness that have made them to reclaim their lost voice. Their literature has been used as a platform

First, Aboriginal Spirituality is seen in Avatar. In Aboriginal Spirituality, they believe in Animism, meaning that all animate and inanimate objects contain a living soul. This belief is reflected in Avatar, through the things on Pandora; whenever they would touch plants, the plants would react by moving or lighting up; the Woodsprites (seeds from the "Tree of Souls", like the "Tree of the

In the documentary “The people of the Kattawapiskak River”, the housing crisis and lack of assistance promised in Northern Ontario is represented. The Documentary closely follows the chief of the Attawapiskat tribe and portrays the difficult living conditions endured by local residents. These problematic conditions include the lack of clean water, electricity and basic housing especially during the intolerable cold Canadian winter. Moreover, when a colony around the world is suffering it is our duty as human beings to help them through their difficult times. As the government overlooks the aboriginals and local residents, this documentary is created in order to shed light to the

It is made up of four elements. Ngura; a sense of belonging to home and land, Walytja; family and connecting with life, Kurunpa; love spirit and soul, and Tjuukurpa; the belief about creation and the right way to live. Kanyini is one of the four foundations of Aboriginal life. When we came to Australia and took over the land, our actions took away Kanyini from the Indigenous people. We took away Ngura when we conquered the continent, we took away Tjuukurpa when we made it illegal for the Aborigines to follow their belief system, we took away Kurunpa when we forced Aboriginal children to learn about Christianity, and we took away Walytja when we stole the half-caste children from their families. Can you imagine being a child that has been forced to grow up without the loving care and influence of their mother and father? We as a nation need to recognise what we did wrong, and make it right. We need to find a way to live together in harmony with the rightful owners of this land, and restore the sense of community, responsibility, freedom, and love in the Aboriginal

Representation plays a pivotal role in comprehending and interpreting the complex world around us. According to Stuart Hall, “representation is an essential part of the process by which meaning is produced and exchanged between members of a culture (Hall The Work of Representation 1997). How adequately one represents one’s own self or the world around them is a matter of prime concern for everyone ranging from critics to common man. However, no representation is neutral and it involves issues of power and control. Much postcolonial scholarships revolve around this issues of power and politics of representation with the deployment of what Foucault has popularly termed as “discourse”. Employing the Foucaultian discursive approach, Edward Said’s