post 1945 Flashcards
why is kinship important?
Kinship is incredibly important to dreaming as it allows for the continuation of stories and ceremonies to be passed down through generations, describing a distinct relationship in that, without kinship, the dreaming would become broken.
moieties
The Dreaming is responsible for creating skin groups or moieties from which kinship ties are formed. This complex network of relationships determines Indigenous lore, including who can marry who and is a grouping into which an individual is born based on their totem or ancestral spirit.
roles of aboriginal ceremonial life?
rites of passage, passing on social information, facilitating personal connections and facilitating spiritual connections
why are laws of the dreaming important?
Laws of kinship outlined in Dreaming maintain a network of dependence beyond family groups
how did dispossession affect spirituality?
Dispossession affected the expression of Aboriginal spirituality due to ‘separation from the land’ and ‘separation from kinship groups’
effect of separation from land
Separation from the land: Westerners seek to ‘own’ land – and gain economic value from it. Taking Aboriginals from the land had a deeply traumatic effect. The separation meant cultural practice and ceremonies could not be carried out. They were unable to draw effectively on the spiritual power of the Dreaming, and had no access to sacred sites and totems.
effect of separation from kinship groups
Separation from Kinship groups: They lost their sense of identity and belonging, not only to the land, but to each other. Languages and ceremonies were lost, role of tribal elders was undermined. Kinship obligations and taboos were lost.
what is the greatest ongoing effect of the SG?
loss of culture
contribution of separation from land?
Separation of land has led to an intergenerational cycle of abuse and trauma caused from a lack of identity, best described in the ‘Bringing Them Home Report’ of 1997 which suggests “How can you know where you are going if you don’t know where you come from?”
totems
Kinship creates a connection with ancestor spirits through totems as well as the land, each kinship group is assigned a totem, these totems then govern their responsibilities amongst their community and the relations with one another.
continuing effect of loss of kinship?
A direct result of separation from kinship groups is seen in 800 of the original dialects spoken by tribal groups in Australia, being restricted down to only 13 dialects now being actively spoken thus showing the impacts of restrictions on language enforced by missions, but also loss of connection.
when was the stolen generation?
mid 1800s to 1970s
what was the stolen generation?
Forced separation of 100,000 Indigenous children from families
continuing effects of the stolen generation
- children receive low levels of education
- higher rates of mental illness and alcohol abuse
what is the uluru statement from the heart and when
2017 statement to address the ongoing effect, overall the continuing impact of dispossession and having children ‘removed from their families’ is reflected in a loss of land, kinship and therefore identity which creates significant social and economic disadvantage, and a loss of spirituality.
what is the land rights movement?
The land rights movement was a religious political movement seeking to secure the inherent rights of Aboriginal people to their land and ensure their spiritual and cultural integrity is preserved.
importance of the native title act
- The Native Title Act, initiated by the Mabo decision in 1993, legally recognised the rights, freedoms and interests of Indigenous people to traditional land and waters, according to their traditional laws, customs and custodianship.
- Reinforced connection to land after Stolen Generations’ loss of ability to claim it
- Important to Aboriginal Spirituality as ancestral beings manifest in the land and Native Title allowed communities to practice vital ceremonies and customs
- However, these rights could not prevail over any freehold title. (1998 amendment act)
- This established a procedure for lodging native claim titles which has since led to 35% of Australia’s total land mass being returned to Indigenous custodianship.
importance of the wik decision
- The Wik decision in 1996 claimed that pastoral leases and native title could co-exist. It deemed that Native title could co-exist with pastoral leases, however, pastoralists rights would prevail.
- This was a backwards step for the land rights movement as it gave more leverage to pastoralists, deeming that ownership could be mutual if a pastoral lease existed.
- Wik decision was of great significance as around 42% of crown land is under pastoral lease.
four aboriginal policies
- protection: 1915
- assimilation: 1951
- self-determination: 1972
- reconciliation: 1991
census data (catholic vs no religion)
- catholic: 43.9
- no-religion: 38.9
