Indigenous and Non Indigenous Essay

1. Indigenous people had an extremely close relationship with land. They worshipped and had ceremonies for the land. Without proper management of land it would have been very difficult for aboriginals to survive. The land was like a god to them, it was very important in their culture. Aboriginals didn’t harm the land instead they co operated with it, too help them survive. Aboriginals used land to help them survive, they didn’t use it for business or profits. No one owned the land instead the land owned them. The land was their home. Certain tribes were given specific land. 2. To non-indigenous people the land was no more than dirt on the floor. They owned the land. It was used for business and financial gain. They aimed to get money through selling or cultivating the land. 3. The dreaming is the creation of the universe according to the aboriginals. The indicates a psychic state in which contact is made with the ancestral spirits. It is the concept of moving from a dream to reality which is an act of creation. 4. The dreaming explains the process of creation according to the animals. The ancestors spirits wandered the bare and sparse land and created the landscape. After the creation the spirits turned themselves into rocks or trees or a part of the landscape. 5. Aboriginal spirituality is feeling connected and attached to all that lives and breathes. It is a sense of belonging to the community, land and earth. They believe all objects are living and share the same soul as the aboriginals. 6. The aboriginals spirit/soul will be reincarnated back to earth as another human, plant, animal or rock. 7. Non indigenous people think that land is a possession to them, it can be used for profit or business but to the aboriginals believe the land owns them, it is their mother. The care of the land and water is a very big priority to the aboriginal as the land is their mother, they believe they have a responsibility to look after it. They are connected to the land spiritually, culturally, physically and socially whereas no indigenous land may just be used for financial gain. Aboriginal people tried hard to co operate with the land and live with it but non indigenous people used the land to get personal gains like business. To an non indigenous person the land is no more than what they see but to an aboriginal is more than that, it s where their an sectors and spirits dwell, it is sacred historic landscapes, it is the gift their ancestors preserved and maintained for centuries before it was passed down. it is their mother. For non indigenous people the land is just the area around them or something they own but for aboriginals it is the centre of their culture. They feel a sense of belonging and oneness with the land, they share a spiritual connection. 8. When aboriginal people take care of land, they are taking care of their culture as the management of land is central to the culture. Research shows that aboriginal people get sick when they are removed from their traditional place, examples include the stolen generation (when aboriginal children were taken from their parents by the white settlers in hope of slowly wiping out the aboriginal race). There is a strong link between aboriginals health and land management. It is stated that the health of the indigenous peoples are negatively impacted when they are separated from their land. ANU GEORGE 32 SYDNEY STREET GLEN? ELD SYDNEY 7463 23/11/14 TO THE AUTHORITIES OF THARAWAL LOCAL ABORIGINAL LAND COUNCIL, I AM WRITING TO YOU TO SHARE MY UNDERSTANDING AND VIEWS OF THE MEANING OF LAND TO ABORIGINALS. I ALSO WISH TO ENCOURAGE AND HELP YOU COMPREHEND ON WAYS IN WHICH WE AS COMMUNITY CAN ASSIST THE ABORIGINAL SOCIETY IN CONTINUING THEIR SACRED CULTURE THROUGH MAINTAINING LAND. AS THE TRUE OWNERS OF THE LAND IN WHICH OUR COMMUNITY IS SITUATED ON, THE ABORIGINALS HAVE CERTAIN LAWS AND RITUALS WHICH ARE SACRED TO THEIR CULTURE THAT THEY NEED TO PERFORM. HOWEVER BECAUSE OF OUR COLONISATION IT HAS BECOME EXTREMELY DI*CULT FOR THEM. ABORIGINALS HAVE AN EXTREMELY STRONG RELATIONSHIP WITH LAND. IT IS NOT JUST LAND TO THEM, THEY ARE CONNECTED TO IT SPIRITUALLY, PHYSICALLY, MORALLY AND CULTURALLY. THE LAND IS THEIR MOTHER, IT OWNS THEM. I DON’T THINK WE CARE ABOUT THE LAND AS MUCH AS THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE- TO US ITS EITHER SOMETHING WE OWN OR SOMETHING WE CAN USE TO GET MONEY . THE LAND IS THE CENTRE OF THEIR CULTURE-WITHOUT LAND, THEY WOULD NOT BE THERE ACCORDING TO THEM. RESEARCH EVEN SHOWS THAT SOME ABORIGINALS ARE NEGATIVELY A0ECTED IF THEY ARE SEPARATED FROM THEIR TRADITIONAL LAND. IT IS PART OF THEIR CULTURE TO LOOK AFTER AND RESPECT THE LAND AS IF IT WAS A LIVING THING . DUE TO BUILDINGS, HOUSES, ROADS ETC, IT IS DI*CULT. DESPITE THAT, WE AS A COMMUNITY HAVE A DUTY TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE ABORIGINES NEEDS AND HELP THE PRESERVE THE LAND THAT WAS ORIGINALLY THEIRS. ALTHOUGH MANY OF US WOULDN’T CARE, THE MORE I LEARNT ABOUT ABORIGINAL CULTURE THE MORE I REALISED HOW SACRED THE LAND IS TOO THEM. IF EVERYBODY WAS EDUCATED ABOUT ABORIGINAL PERSPECTIVES OF LAND, I AM SURE THAT THE MAJORITY WILL SUPPORT AND BE CONSIDERATE OF THE WAY THEY ARE TREATING THE ABORIGINALS LAND. THERE ARE MANY WAYS IN WHICH WE CAN WORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE ABORIGINALS. IT CAN BE AS SIMPLE AS LOOKING AFTER THE ENVIRONMENT E. G. NOT LITTERING, USING BIODEGRADABLE AND ENVIRONMENT-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS, LOOKING AFTER THE GREENERY AND PLANTS. WE CAN EVEN PETITION AGAINST BUILDING THINGS IN SACRED PLACES. WE CAN PROTECT THEIR BLESSED PLACES BY LEAVING IT ALONE AND STOPPING PEOPLE FROM USING THE LAND. TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE THEIR LAND A â€Å"NO TRESPASSING AREA†. HELP THE ABORIGINALS BY GIVING THEM RIGHT TO THE LAND, ONLY THEY CAN ENTER OR CHANGE THE LAND. THE SACRED PLACES OF THE ABORIGINALS CAN BE MADE OF LIMITS TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. WE CAN CO OPERATE WITH THE ABORIGINALS SO THAT THE LAND CAN BE USED IN A WAY THAT IS NOT HARMFUL OR DISRESPECTFUL TO THE LAND. CONSULT THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE BEFORE CHANGING OR USING THE LAND. MAKE SURE THAT WHEN CONSTRUCTING SOMETHING NEW, IT WON’T RUIN THE LAND. VOLUNTEERS CAN CLEAN THE LAND. AFTER ALL IT WAS ORIGINALLY THEIR LAND†¦ I STRONGLY BELIEVE THAT IF EVERYBODY WAS EDUCATED ABOUT THE MEANING OF LAND TO THE ABORIGINES, THEY WOULD BE CAUTIOUS AND CONSIDERATE OF THE WAYS THEY TREAT IT. THEY WILL RESPECT THE CULTURE OF ABORIGINALS. THEY CAN BE EDUCATED THROUGH LESSONS IN SCHOOL OR AT WORK. THERE CAN BE A NATIONAL ABORIGINAL CULTURE DAY WERE WE LEARN ABOUT THEIR RACE. EVEN IN THE COMMUNITY, PEOPLE CAN ORGANIZE A LAND CLEANING GROUP. LEA8ETS AND PAMPHLETS CAN BE SENT HOME PROMOTING CIVILISED USE OF THE LAND. PEOPLE CAN GO AROUND COMMUNITIES EDUCATING AND INFORMING OTHERS OF THE MEANING OF LAND TO ABORIGINALS AND HOW WE NEED TO CO OPERATE WITH THEM. IF YOU KNOW OF THE IMPORTANCE OF LAND TO THE ABORIGINALS, SPREAD IT, TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY. WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT THE ABORIGINALS WERE THE TRADITIONAL OWNERS OF THE LAND. WE NEED TO COMPREHEND AND REALISE HOW IMPORTANT LAND IS TO THEM. THE LEAST WE CAN DO IS RESPECT THEIR HELP MAINTAIN THEIR LAND AND BE CONSIDERATE OF THEIR CULTURE. I ALSO HOPE THAT I HAVE GIVEN YOU IDEAS IN WHICH WE CAN ASSIST THE ABORIGINAL SOCIETY IN CONTINUING THEIR SACRED CULTURE THROUGH MAINTAINING LAND. YOURS SINCERELY ANU GEORGE.