TOPIC 1: RELIGION AND BELIEF SYSTEMS IN AUSTRALIA POST-1945

What is dreaming?

• The belief system of indigenous Australians

• Meta temporal concept, which means all times past, present, and future as a present reality.

• Refers to the period of which Ancestors were active.

• Holds the view of creation, time, life, and death of humanity.

  • Also holds the time in which the spirits interacted with humans.

• Oral tradition.

what is kinship?

• The network of relationships that holds the clan together.

• Aboriginal culture is cantered on kinship.

• Children are taught from a young age on whom they are related to.

• Binds people together; providing a system of moral and financial support, defining roles and responsibilities for raising children.

• Determines who is related to whom.

• Encourages support beyond family group.

• Determines the persons responsibilities.

• Not allowed to merry someone from same clan. (incest laws pretty much)

• Each clan is responsible for different tracts of land (totem)

• Created by ancestral beings.

what is ceremonial life?

• Two major purposes of the dreaming is;

  • Establishes relationship of aboriginal people and the spiritual world

  • Stages of a aboriginals life;

    • Initiation, also called corroboree that celebrates coming of age which marks their adult responsibilities.

  • The ceremonies also focus on retelling Dreaming stories; where the bodies of actors are decorated to represent the spirit.

  • Shows great respect for the ancestors

  • Ensures the laws governs the land and creatures.

• Explains the things and why the are.

how does dreaming shape the obligations to the land and people? what laws does it bring?

• The dreaming shapes and structures a Aboriginal life by regulating kinship, ceremonial life and the relationship they hold between male and female.

• Also affects the rights of Aboriginal people and their sacred land.

• Reminds them of their link to the land; and the rights and responsibility

  • Environmental sustainability

• Its inextricably connected between land and spirituality.

  • Resting place for ancestral beings.

how does the dreaming shape the obiligations to the land and people? how do aboriginals see it as?

• Aboriginal people see themselves as apart of the land, seeking to care for the land as it cares for them.

• Land itself is a repository of the sacred activities, being evidence of ancestors activity.

• The spirits themselves have the ability to harm anyone given to those who are disrespectful.

  • Leads to strong motivation to respect and maintain land.

• If a aboriginal dies; they return to the land.

what is dispossession?

• Having property such as buildings or land taken away from an individual.

what is the impact of dispossession?

• the impact had been enormous and overwhelmingly detrimental.

how could the dispoessession be divided into?

1. non-recognition

2. “protection” policy

3. assimilation policy

what is the non-recognition aspect of the dispossession?

• European settlers claimed it as "Terra Nullius" so they could remove the aboriginals and use the land for agriculture.

• Introduction of diseases, massacres, and poisonings (alcohol had been introduced) wiped out communities.

what is the protection policy aspect of the dispoession?

• Mid 1880s

• Protection policies was used to put them under the "protection" of the state.

• The actual intent was to isolate Aboriginal people until culture went out.

what is the assimilation policy aspect of the dispossession?

• Protection Policy + Assimilation Policy

• Assimilation policy began in the mid-twentieth century.

• Took out Aboriginal people, the "half caste" (equiv to lightskins) and tried to breed out aboriginal blood.

• The term "stolen generation" refers to the mass removal of Australian Aboriginal children between 1900 & 1972.

how did the dispossession effect the connection to the land?

• Land is inextricably connected to kinship, ceremonial life, family connections, and relationships.

• Separation from the land from the result of dispossession led to a loss of identity.

• Loss of land resulted in not being able to fulfil ritual responsibilities and ceremonies

  • Disconnection from aboriginal spirituality.

how did the dispossession effect kinship groups?

• Removal from kinship groups was destructive to kinship and the identity of Aboriginal peoples.

• Loss of language, meaning the traditional way of passing on beliefs and laws had been destroyed as aboriginal spirituality is oral.

• Led to the destruction of the kinship system, including passing on Dreaming stories, traditional practices, ritual responsibilities.

how did the dispossession effect the stolen generations?

• Refers to the Aboriginal people whom had been removed from their homes between 1900 & 1972 in a attempt to assimilate the children into White Australia society.

• Motive behind the policy was to breed out Aboriginal race out of existence.

• The human rights and equal opportunity commission in 1996 established a report on the stolen generations titled "Bringing them home" which documented the abuse they underwent.

  • Social

    • No longer connected to aboriginal traditions & kinship

  • Physical

    • Forced labour and rape

  • Emotional

    • Mistreated and seen down

what was the general effect of the entire dispossession?

• Separation and removal of large numbers of children resulted in them struggling to maintain their connection to their culture. & unable to learn their background

• Restriction on the practice of kinship system, totems, and ceremonial rituals led to the persons link to being severed.

• Dislocation of Aboriginal people from the land caused loss of cultural identity as the dreaming is extricable connected to the land.

• Many also suffered from malnutrition as the missions and reserves were poorly managed and under-resourced.

what is the general idea of the land right movement?

• A series of government decisions in regards to land claims under the rights of aboriginal people.

• Idea was to secure the rights of indigenous people so that the religion and culture is preserved.

what was the early struggle for the native title?

• Yirrkala people had challenged NT government to mine on traditional Aboriginal land.

• Wave Hill Walk Whitlam handed back the land to Gurindji people of Wattle Creek in 1966 while Vincent Lingiari led his people on strike for better working conditions.

• Whitlam and his government investigated an inquiry into Aboriginal Land Rights, known as the Woodward Commission.

• Racial Discrimination Act; Minority groups given same rights and privileges

• 1985; Ayers rock got renamed to Uluru.

what is the native title?

• Referred to as the 10 point plan.

• John Howards government backlash occurred resulting in people threatened by the Native Title and indigenous people gaining rights to the land.

• July 1988 the Howard government changed the Native Title Act of 1993 by removing the right of negotiating pastoral leases.

• This resulted in leaseholders being able to use the land without having to talk to aboriginal people.

• Represented a setback to aboriginal rights as the federal government limited them.

what is the mabo decision?

• 1992 Australian High court judgement in Mabo vs Queensland case.

• Context is that the Queensland government took the land of Torres Strait people.

• As a result Eddie Mabo led a group of islanders form Murray Island and sought title for traditional land.

• Sought title for traditional land by taking the government to court, wanting legal recognition as the land had been since "time immemorial"

what was the aftermath of the mabo decision?

• Mabo had lost the case to QLD Supreme Court, then appealed it to the High Court, and then in June 1992 they were granted the Native Title under conditions.

• The ruling had been that if indigenous people shown continuous occupancy and connection with the land, the Native Title will exist.

• No new rights were granted, but just the idea of recognition.

• Had rejected the concept of "terra nullius" and confirmed the ownership of the land to the aboriginal people.

what is the wik case?

• Wik case attempted to resolve the issue of land that was leased to pastoralists (private land) in 1996.

• In 1996, Wik people took their case to the High court, to gain rights over local pastoral land which was ruled in their favour.

• This meant the Native Title could co-exist with a pastoral lease.

• 23 December 1996, determined that pastoralists did not have exclusive rights to the land. Wik & Thayorre people granted the right to Native Title to the land.

• Meant it was closed to formal recognition and original and initial owners of a land that had been colonized.