Module 1 - Aboriginal Dispossession, Land Rights Movement and New age Religion Flashcards
Kinship (family)
Sophisticated network of relationships governing the interaction between clans, creating belonging and responsibilities.
Rules and obligations
For each kinship group; extends to land, dancing, ceremonies, hunting parties, raising children.
What does a totem for a clan mean?
If the totem is kangaroo, your calm cannot hunt kangaroo; helps preserve ecosystem/over hunting species (balance rights).
Ceremonial life purpose
Rites of passage, Passing on social information, facilitate connections and spiritual connections
All ceremony’s of aboriginals
Acknowledge a createion event and show metaphysical presence of framing world in real world
Death and burial rights of Aboriginals
Possessions of dead are burned, name no longer spoken, tribe moves away. Believed as last ceremony in present life, must buried in own country for spirits to bring to rest.
What is the land to aboriginals
Physical medium where dreaming is live out and resting place of ancestral spirits: occupy sacred sites
The land is the meeting point between -
Kinship and ceremonial life - totems come from dreaming and land
Terra nullius
First policy of European settlers, aboriginals are ‘dying race’, policy replaced for Christian missionaries to evangelise aboriginals to outskirts of white society.
What did terra nullius do to aboriginals
Left land and obligations on tatters, sustaining ceremonies can’t be held, men/women can’t visit birthplaces for duty to spirits. All dreaming connection lost.
Separation of kinship groups
Split from land broke dreaming family’s, mixed with no inter-tribal relationship regards and kinship rules. Mass psychological effect cause of deep ties to land for totems, language, ceremonies and framing - unseen by europeans. Aboriginals purpose was lost.
Christian denomination impact on aboriginals
Missions of Christian denominations evangelised Aboriginal by separation, especially children from parents to have influence in education.
Stolen generations
(Cultural genocide) children taken from government policy of 50s & 70s, especially mixed heritage, to raise into white culture and abandon tradition.
Three forms of assimilation of aboriginals into white culture
Adopting children into white familys, putting them in govt/church institutions and fostering into white familys.
Statistics on lasting effect of stolen generation
Infant morality 3x higher than national average, 3x life style diesease (alcoholism), 6x unemployment
Link up
1980: help affected by dispossession (especially stolen generation), supports healing, cultural sensitivity, research, reunions, social, emotional and wellbeing services of those over 18.
Kevin Rudd apology
2008: unreserved apology “we apologies for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians”.
Land rights movement
Religious-political movement, secure rights of aboriginals to land to ensure religious, spiritual and cultural integrity is preserved - dreaming. Recognises for property rights in 1992
Native title Act
1993: can’t prevail over free hold title such as farms, private property etc, only on crown land (owned by state/government).
Mabo
Rejects terra nullius, rules by high court for Meriam people to continue traditional right to possess/live on land of Mer in Torres straits - led by native title act.
Wik
Native title exists if land is leased to government by farmers where aboriginals live, conflict will favour pastoralists though.
Native title amendment act
1998: extinguishes rights of aboriginal tribe negotiation to government owned land that wish to squire, replaced with ability to ‘consult’ - backwards step in land rights movement.
Importance of Dreaming to Land rights movement
LRM uses dreaming to validate proof of entitlement from stories, song, dances and sites as evidence for a successful claim.
Importance of dreaming for land rights movement - problems
Knowledge is dual to ownership: only those who belong to framing know stories, rites etc. sacred sites are secret, tribal members reluctant to sharing location.
