Australian Aborigines Essays

The Walkabout The Australian Aborigine Walkabout is a rite of passage that predates recorded history. The Walkabout is taken by adolescent males of the tribe, as a path to transition from childhood into adulthood, at the tender age of thirteen. The ritual itself reflects how throughout time, their ancestors survived in the different environments in Australia. The Walkabout will take them as long as six months and will cover as much as a thousand miles of walking over harsh terrain as they trace

He was not very different from Dr. Banks’ description of the Australian Aborigines as being “but one degree removed from the Brutes” (Inventing Australia, p. 8) and placing them just one step above the animal kingdom the chain of beings. In fact not only Dr. Banks, but also later visitors to New South Wales, even as late as in 1840s, reinforced his views. People like Augustus Earle, the artist, believed that the Australian aborigines were the last link in the chain of existence which united the man

representations of Aboriginal Australians in the Australian context. Specifically, it will focus on three tropes that are perpetually (ubiquitously) associated with Aborigines in Australia such as poverty, drug abuse and marginalisation. These three tropes are discussed in the light of being racist notions that are attached to the concept of aboriginality by the wider Australian society. It will be argued that although Samson and Delilah’s representation of indigenous Australians does not deviate from the

opportunities, and their ability to shape an individual's identity whilst promoting wellbeing and a sense of security. This essay will review and consider the different views and understandings of community and community strength in relation to Australian Aborigines and Australian western culture. It will also explore the different concepts, understandings, and constructs of communities and how they can influence both an individual’s and a community’s cultural identity and health and wellbeing. Definition of

These two myths have similarities and differences between them. The two myths I chose was the one I read for English class, ¨When Grizzlies Walked Upright¨ and the other one I found on the internet, “Australian Aborigine Creation Myth” The myth on the Grizzlies was about how there was a chief of the sky spirits and he made a great mount that reached from the earth almost to the sky. What is now known as Mount Shasta. Whatever his finger touched, it turn into a tree and the snow melted. Then the Sky

figures to provide a detailed picture of the factors that led to the 1967 Referendum. It was essential that Australians’ progressed in their perception of and attitudes towards Aboriginal Australians if the 1967 Referendum was going to receive the support it needed from the Australian Public. This attitude adjustment was evident

1. How did the Western Australia Assimilation Policy originate? - In 1931 the Western Australian Assimilation Policy was passed by the Australian Government. It stated that Aboriginal people of mixed ancestry were to be placed into white society whether they wanted to or not, until they are 16. -The concept was that once you breed a half-caste child with a white person and keep doing that for around 3 generations, then the Aboriginal blood would be purged out of the childs system. This

The Bush The poem “Sydney and The Bush” (2000)by Les Murray talks about the clash between the first two cultures in Australia, the Aborigines and the White Settlers, from an omniscient 3rd person point of view while portraying White Settlers in a negative light, but also mentioning the ‘Australian’ identity using Australian history and the beloved and unique Australian bush. The author makes his intentions clear through the use of poetic devices such as rhythm and repetition, and because each stanza

determine the public 's opinions of two aspects of the Australian constitution (a written statement which outlines the country 's rules and regulations) that related directly to Indigenous Australians. The forerunner to the Victorian Aborigines Advancement League (VAAL) was the Australian Aborigines League (AAL) founded in 1932 by William Cooper, an ex-resident from Cummeragunja. The AAL was an all-Aboriginal organisation open to Aborigines for the price of one shilling a year. Other foundation

Bruce Pascoe in the excerpt titled, ‘Lake Corangamite’ from his book ‘Convincing Ground’, narrates his journey to Lake Corangamite, whilst taking particular note of the way Australians recognize the Indigenous people but do not fully respond respectfully to their nation’s history. The excerpt begins with Pascoe noting how Aboriginal names and terms have been widely used, yet there is still a ‘bleakness’ (Pascoe 74) present. He then goes on to recount his initially unsuccessful luck with gaining

distributed pamphlets called ‘Aborigines Claim Citizenship Rights’ included a statement saying; “You are the New Australians, but we are the Old Australians. We have in our arteries the blood of the Original Australians, who have lived in this land for many thousands of years. You came here only recently, and you took our land away from us by force. You have almost exterminated our people, but there are enough of us remaining to expose the humbug of your claim, as white Australians, to be a civilised, regressive

The Aborigines Act was one of the most horrific acts of hatred and racism to ever commence in history, and has affected generations of Indigenous Australians, and will continue to affect several generations of Indigenous Australians to come. It led to decades of generational trauma, an irreversible loss of cultural identities within society, and ongoing educational and occupational inequalities. Mistreated children often grow up to have children of their own, who are often mistreated due to their

settlement. For me and many Australians, that was when Australian history truly began but are we neglecting the history that has existed before the early settlers arrived? Are we disregarding the fact that the Aborigines were here first and that Australia belongs to them? The award winning novel, The White Earth, thoughtfully written by Andrew McGahan and published in 2004, explores the early history of Australia. This novel effectively gives a silent voice to the Aborigines who were mistreated after

Aboriginal activism in the early 20th century refers to the political and social movement of Indigenous Australians who fought for equality, rights, and acknowledgement in the face of pervasive oppression and discrimination. During this time, a new generation of Indigenous activists emerged who aimed to refute the widely held beliefs about Indigenous Australians and their place in society. The significance of this activity lay in the fact that it marked the start of a prolonged and organised campaign

people of “white” backgrounds could vote simply “Yes” or “No” to allow give Aboriginals Australian Citizenship and include them in the Census

Prior to the European settlement of Australia (1788), indigenous Australians inhabited the continent and had recognised laws within their clans. However, as documented in the case of the Yirrkala community, due to the notorious laws being unwritten, the doctrine of terra nullius enabled the European power to claim the discovered land as part of its empire despite their being evident inhabitants. The British adapted the international law concept of terra nullius to govern the situation in “settled”

The Aborigines Protection Act 1909, which was formed during the first half of the 20th century, gave the government the authority to forcibly remove mixed-race children from their homes. Although Aboriginal people had different skin colours, lifestyles, and cultural practices compared to the Europeans, they were still human. The Europeans refused to accept this fact. There were numerous laws relating to Aboriginal people that displayed the racism from the Europeans. They made an effort to defend

The 1967 Australian Referendum was an imperative event which was extremely significant to Australia and the nation’s outcome. It was an event which marked a big leap in embracing the previous inferior Indigenous Australians to be viewed at as more socially and legally accepted in the Australian society. The 1967 Referendum historically was, and still is a triumph in human spirit that continually inspires modern generations consisting of non-indigenous and indigenous individuals. The 1967 Referendum

‘being Australian’ been influenced by the texts (and films) you’ve studied? (Deadly Unna?, Summer Heights High). My understanding of ‘being Australian’ has changed through the study of the book ‘Deadly Unna? (Phillip Gwynne 1988) and the comedic documentary Summer Heights High (Chris Lilley 2007). Summer Heights High is an Australian ‘mockumentary’ that mocks (hence the genre, mockumentary) the Australian public school system. The television series humorously ridicules how Australian schools

“And that’s why we got dragged ‘ere... So he could have a nice, white little town.” ‘Many of the injustice perpetrated against Indigenous people in No Sugar are the result of a sense pf superiority dominant in privileged “white” Australians’. Discuss The play ‘No Sugar,’ was a realist drama written by Jack Davis in 1986, which examines the lives of Munday-Millimurra family during the Great Depression as they were removed from their homeland in Northam on the Moore River Settlement. Many of the injustice