Australian Aborigines

Honda Guevara,Kayla Trevino,Marion Ayers,Joanna

Boland, and MacKenzie Mayfield

Who they are...

Years of existence

The Australian Aborigines have been around for over 30,000 years

Brief HistoryThe Aborigines arrived to Australia about 30,000 years ago when Australia was connected to the rest of the world by a land bridge. The Aborigines were a hunter-gatherer society. Dingoes were domesticated by the Aborigines around 3,000 to 4,000 BCE. The Aborigines hunted with wooden spears and sometimes with stone or bone blades. They also used nets. As well as hunting mammals they hunted reptiles such as snakes and lizards. Aborigines also ate insects and eggs. They also hunted birds such as ducks, parrots, cockatoos and emus. Aborigines dug up roots and collected fruits and nuts. Although European settlers regarded them as primitive in fact Aborigines survived in Australia for tens of thousands of years and they had a rich culture. The European's arrival in Australia was the biggest downfall for the Aborigines. They were treated brutally and could be hanged for minor offenses. This brutal treatment of the Aborigines continued for most of the Colonial period and into the 20th century. Only recently efforts were made to protect the Aborigines culture and livelihood.

Climate and GeographyThe aborigines live in Australia (Mostly in northern Australia) The climate they live in is a desert. Which means it is hot and dry.

Trade and CommerceAborigines intertraded between themselves great distances all across Australia. Trade was vital to the Aborigines because it improved their quality of life. Aborigines could obtain goods and resources they couldn't in their area. Trade set up a social and govermental system because different language groups had to respect each other's boundaries. This helped create good intertribal relationships and help stop wars. They called this respect for religion and culture The Dreaming. The trails they traveled on throughout Australia were called The Dreaming Trails.

Education System• 60%-Percentage of Aboriginal children signigicantly behind non-Aboriginal children by the time they start

Year One• 40%-Percentage by which an Aboriginal student's chance of employment rises if they complete year 10 or

11. Completing Year 12 increases employment prospects by a further 13%• 3%-Percentage of Aboriginal students who complete a university degree • 20,000- Number of Aboriginal university graduates in Australia in 2006. In 1991 this figure was at 3,600 • 36%-Percentage of people in remote communities have access to a library • 40%- Percentage of the Northern Territory's school-aged population who is Indigenous. Same rate for all of

Australia: 4% • 24%-Percentage of people in remote communities have a school that goes up only to year 12. 29% have a

school up to year 10• 10%- Percentage of Aboriginal children who graduate from year 12 • 40%-Percentage of Aboriginal children who stay at school until year 12, compared to 76% among non-

Indigenous children • 21%- Percentage of Indigenous people aged 15-64 who had completed year 12 in 2008. Same figure in

2002: 18%; figure for non-Indigenous people in 2008: 54% • 46.5%-Retention rate of Indigenous students in 2008. Same figure in 1995: 30.7% [34].• 40%- Percentage of Aboriginal people with a vocational or higher education qualification in 2008. Same

figure for 2002: 32%; for the non-Indigenous population in 2008: 65%, in 2002: 49%

Language

Among the Aboriginals, some 500 languages belonging to 31 language groups were spoken, of which Pama-Nyungang was the most commonly used. Officially their language is English.

Population of Aboriginies:

There is a wide population of Aboriginies in australia. They are spread throught the continent but there is a sugnificant amount in Queensland.

-Percentage about 2.7% -About 460,000 Aboriginies

Social organization

-Very complex and specialized The immidate family is made up of number of groups in the society.-Birth parents (mother and father)-Brother and sisters (half brothers and sisters are same level as importance) Aunts and uncles are in a different group along with grand uncles, aunts, cousins and all of their children.  

Creation of Cities

The Aboriginial went through tough hardships dealing with their land. The Europeans entered their world and took what was the Aboriginals. There was a Aboriginal Land Right Commission in 1972 that was established to determine how they would recieve their land back. They were limited to the Northern Territory.

The structure of the governance of their cities were controlled by the Federal Government. Besides the fact that the Aborigines are not to be counted in cenus due to the decision of the government they are still allowed to contuniue with their tradtions and culture. Which I believe that's what they wanted all along.

Important Cultural Practice

• A Corroboree is a ceremonial meeting that Australian Aborigines have.

• Another ceremony Australian Aborigines have just for boys when they are changing into men is called Bora.

• Fire stick farming was identified by an Australian archeologist Rhys Jones in 1969. It is the practice of regularly and systematically burning patches of vegetation to facilitate hunting. So they can reduce the frequency of major bushfiries and to change the composition of plant and animal species in an area.

 

Technological AdvancementsThe Aboriginal people of this land were collecting food and hunting to survive. Aboriginal Australians have invented a number of labor–saving technologies that make hunting easier. These advancements make sure the energy gained from eating food is greater than the energy used in hunting for it. Boomerang - Some are straight and they are called "non-returning" boomerangs. These look like straight sticks and can go up to 200 meters. The curved boomerangs that most people see are called "returning" boomerangs. They fly just as far with the only difference being that they come back to the thrower.Woomera - Used as a throwing Spear, often confused with a Atlatl which is used for leverage in dart throwing with the Indiginous people of the Americas

Major Events in the Life of the Tribe• European's arrive to Australia• Persecution of the Aborigines• 20th Century;The Stolen Generation: In the 20th century the

white people started taking away Aborigine children away from their families to learn the white man's culture. In removing their children white people stole Aboriginal people's future, Language, tradition, knowledge, dances and spirituality could only live if passed on to their children. In breaking this circle of life white people hoped to end Aboriginal culture within a short time and get rid of 'the Aboriginal problem'.In the early 20th century white Australians thought Aboriginal people would die out. In three generations, they thought, Aboriginal genes would have been 'bred out' when Aboriginal people had children with white people.

 

Culture

Historical impact of culture on Aborigines

Because of the isolation of Austrailan Aborigines, they have formed a unique and individual culture. Their culture has played a huge part in their daily lives since the beginning of their exsistence wether it be religious ceremonies to how they obtain their food or interact with each other. Before the European's arrived their culture flourised and thrived. But, when the European's arrived, their culture was considered as backwards. The European's punished the Aborigines for being Aborigines. A specific event of this was the Stolen Generation. In the 20th century the white Australians took Aborigine children from their families and taught them western culture. The only way Aborigine culture was traditionally passed on was through their children. This was a major blow in the cultural preservation of the recent Aboriginal Generation. Recently more efforts have been made to preserve the culture of the Aboriginal people by the Australian government.

Aborigines use of culture

 

Aborigines use of culture

The Aborigines use culture in every aspect of their life. The use culture when they cook, when they learn, when they interact with others. Culture is one of the most important aspects of Aboriginal life.

Comparison of Culture from other Contemporary SocietiesThe peak of Aborigine society was right before the Europeans arrived. Australia was completely isolated from the rest of the world. But around the world culture was becoming more globalized because of the trading network around the world. But when the Europeans arrived to Australia they started completely destroying Aborigine society. The Europeans were doing this all around the world in the Americas and Africa.

Art: Aboriginal vs. Anasazi

Art: Aboriginal vs. Anasazi

When we went to New Mexico we were shown a distinct form of indigenous art. The art forms vary very differently between the indigenous art of New Mexico and the Aboriginal art. Aboriginal art is more geometric and simple while anasazi art is more organic and complex.

Housing: Aboriginal Vs. Anasazi 

 

Housing: Aboriginal vs. Anasazi

Housing in general plays a important role in the culture of a people. A house is where people live and flourish (this invovles flourshing of a culture). Both the Anasazi and Aborigines lived in houses that accomidated to their enviornment. Aborigines lived in houses that were open to the enviornment because of the temperature. This openess created a community that was united in culture. The Anasazi lived in the side of a cliff. This also was because it was accomidating to the climate, but it also provided a good defense against outside tribes trying to attack. Their village was also very open. The factor of an open village led to development of culture from religious practice, trade, and interactions.

Action PlanAborigines have a rich and unique culture that has survived to this day very virulently. Even after an onslaught of cultural destruction caused by the Europeans, the Aborigines have somehow still maintained parts of their culture. The biggest problem facing Aborigines today in regards to maintaining their culture is assimilation into modern society. To protect Aboriginal culture what needs to be done is to spread awareness of this problem and have organizations that would set up programs and schools to teach Aboriginal culture. In the 20th century the Australian government decided to assimilate Aborigines into Australian society. They did this by taking away Aboriginal children from their families and putting them in schools where they were forced to learn English and go to school. This was devastating not only to the families of the children and the children themselves but also to the culture of the Aborigines. The way Aborigines would pass their culture onto generation to generation was to teach their children their culture. Because of this fact, they call the group of children this sadly happened to the Stolen Generation. Imagine being taken away from your family when you’re only a child and being forced out of your society to be taught something you’ll resent for the rest of your life. Imagine losing all your culture that you ever had and being thrown into a completely new way of life with absolutely no idea how to function. This is what these children faced. This is why we need to spread awareness so nothing as devastating as this ever happens again. Recent government statistics counted approximately 400,000 aboriginal people, or about 2% of Australia’s population. If you were an Aborigine out of one hundred Australian people only one other person in that hundred might share your culture. When you think about it that’s kind of mind blowing. It also really shows how easy Aboriginal culture can dissolve in Australian society. How easy it would be for someone from Aboriginal culture to assimilate into modern society and disregard their culture. This is also another reason why we need to create an organization for preserving Aboriginal culture. But you could argue what If an Aborigine wanted to assimilate into Australian society? My answer to that is there still needs to be preservation of the culture whether their culture is shown a museum or teaching a class of kids about Aborigine culture. The government of North South Wales has been protecting Aboriginal heritage by creating the DECCW. They have been protecting Aboriginal heritage by regulation, management planning, public education and awareness, and physical protection works. The action plan that we have in mind is not only supported by us, but supported by the Australian’s government. Since the Australian government is making progress they must be doing something right. Even though it seems like that the government has it all under control there is still work to be done. More awareness needs to be spread and more measures need to be taken to protect Aborigine culture. All in all a real harder effort needs to made in regards to Aboriginal culture preservation. A simple step that can promote this is simple awareness, education, and protection.

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