Religion and Belief Systems in Australia post-1945 Flashcards
Define the Dreaming
Worldview of Indigenous people
Define Kinship
Determining belonging and responsibilities within a clan
Name the four aspects of ceremonial life
- Art
- Stories
- Rituals
- Totems
Name an example of the Dreaming stories
The Rainbow Serpent
Name two rituals Indigenous people usually partake in
- Initiation ceremony- introducing children to the adult world
- Smoking ceremony- warn off evil spirits and better those who are ill
What are some important aspects of rituals?
- Dancing
- Singing
- Stories
What are Totems?
Represent the individual in the Dreaming and carry ceremonial responsibilities
Provide a quote for rituals
“We are dancing, singing, and painting for the land. We are celebrating the land. Removed from our lands, we are literally removed from ourselves.” Mick Dodson
How do the people have obligations to the land?
Through being inextricably connected to the land, Indigenous people’s purpose is to serve their land, and nourish it for their metatemporal beliefs. The land is the physical medium through which the Dreaming is lived out.
Provide a quote for obligations to the land and people
“We cultivated our land, but in a way different from the white man. We endeavour to live with the land; they seemed to live off it.” Elder Tom Dystra
What are the four aspects of the continuing effects of dispossession on Aboriginal spiritualities
- Dispossession methods
- Separation from the land
- Separation from Kinship groups
- The Stolen Generations (1900- 1972)
What are the two common ways in which dispossession occurred?
- Forcibly removing children and putting them into church or government run programs
- Assimilation
What is the effect of the Indigenous people experiencing dispossession?
The loss of their land is the equivalent to the loss of spiritual identity, leading to the burden of not being able to fulfil ritual responsibilities
What aspects were taken away from the victims?
- Stories of the Dreaming
- Loosing language
- Not being able to practice their culture
- Can’t fulfil totemic and kinship obligations
- Can’t protect sacred sites
- Aren’t connected to their ancestral beings
What is the consequences of seperation from Kinship groups?
- Loss of family and guidance,
- Inability to transmit knowledge of the Dreaming, the Dreaming stories and language
Provide a quote for the Stolen generation
“Whole communities lost their confidence in bring up their own children, and have been denied one of the most important and precious roles” Bring Them Home Report, 1997
List five immediate results of dispossession
- Separation from land, law, culture, kinship and family
- Death, massacres
- Loss of identity and culture fragmentation
- Emotional, physical and sexual abuse
- Inability to fulfil ritual responsibilities
List six continuing results on dispossession
- Reduced life expectancy
- Increased infant mortality
- Overrepresentation in gaol
- Educational disadvantages
- Higher rates of unemployment
- Higher use of Government services
How many stages are there of dispossession?
Five
Name, provide the year and elaborate upon the first stage of dispossession
Non-recognition
1788-1880s
First fleet- dispossession- deprivation of land, introduced disease- separation from the Dreaming and religion
Name, provide the year and elaborate upon the second stage of dispossession
Protection
1880-1930s
Change of attitude?- removal from unstable environments, placement in state protection in hopes culture would die out, banned from practicing their culture, stolen generations (isolated people)- white dominance, loss of like to land, knowledge not passed on, separation from tribes and totems, identity lost
Name, provide the year and elaborate upon the third stage of dispossession
Assimilation
Mid 20th century
Absorb Indigenous into white community- forget cultural identity- deny of rights (live, work, pay, vote)- policy abandoned in 1972- separation, denied opportunities, prohibition of traditional practices, prevention of fulfilment of land obligations
Name, provide the year and elaborate upon the fourth stage of dispossession
Stolen generations
Encouraged assimilation, hope to breed out- maltreatment, sexual abuse, emotional and physical abuse, loss of identity, culture and kinship- loss of identity and purpose of life
Name, provide the year and elaborate upon the fifth stage of dispossession
Self determination
1970s
Growth of Australia’s multicultural aspects- ‘allowing’ Aboriginals to determine and control their own future- attempted to reconnect with their spirituality but were unable to, due to decades of land and family separation
What is the order of the Land Rights Movement? Include the years of each
- Mabo Mabo (1992)
- Native Title Act (1993)
- Wik (1996)
- Native Title Amd (1998)
How was the Native Title Act established? What led to it?
- The Mabo Case led to the accepting of the Native Title, through the introduction of the Native Title Act in 1993
What does the Native Title Act enable?
Recognition of Indigenous peoples right to the use and occupy their rightful land
How can one claim this?
The Indigenous person or peoples must prove they have a continuing connection with the land that is unbroken
What was the process of the Mabo case?
Mabo and a group of Indigenous people fought the Queensland government in 1992, seeking legal recognition of their land, because their families had owned it.
This case went to the high court where it was approved.
What was the result of the Mabo case?
The government passed the Native Title Act
Why was this notion so important for Indigenous peoples?
This was important in two ways; notion of Terra Nullius was overturned and it existed for all Indigenous people
Explain what caused to occur
In 1996 the High Court ruled in favour of the Wik people of Cape York, Queensland who argued that Pastoral Leases (land owned by government, also known as leaseholders) granted over their area of claim didn’t extinguish their Native Title Rights