U3AOS1 - Australian Indigenous Culture

Culture

The way of life, shared values, norms and everyday practices that are characteristic of a particular group or society.

Material culture (3 e.g.)

Refers to the physical objects created by members that are used to attach meaning to their culture. e.g. art, clothing, food

Example of Aboriginal material culture

Carved emu eggs - provide history of culture

Non-material culture + 3 e.g.

The ideas created and passed down by members and provide a guide for viewing the world and how to behave within it.

e.g. beliefs, language and knowledge

Example of Aboriginal non-material culture

Kinship laws - governs relationships and social organisations

Ethnocentrism + e.g.

The practice of viewing and measuring another culture in relation to one’s own. E.g. white australia policy

Cultural relativism + e.g.

The practice of attempting to understand a culture based on its own standards E.g. national apology

The difference between culturally relative & ethnocentric perspectives

When using an ethnocentric lens, we see the world from our own perspective and believe that its the most important, viewing other cultures are less valuable or incorrect.

When using a culturally relative lens, we see each culture as different but equal.

Sociological imagination

A critical thinking tool used to explore the social world from multiple points of view, free from assumption and bias.

Sociological imagination theorist and publishing year

C Wright Mills 1959

4 components of sociological imagination

Historical -  how has the past shaped the things people can do now?

Structural - how do institutions such as the government shape people's lives?

Culture - what influence does tradition, cultural values and belief systems have on our behaviour and social interaction?

Critical - why are things as they are? how could things be otherwise?

Role of Sociological Imagination in the study of culture

Helps us have a culturally relative perspective on how a culture arrived at its current position by using the 4 factors to evaluate rather than using personal experience that may contain bias.

Public Awareness

What is known and understood about Australian Indigenous culture.

Public awareness - supported or limited examples

If the public awareness is supported (Bunjilaka museum) it is culturally relative.

If the public awareness is limited ( Missions and reserves) it is ethnocentric.

Public Views

The opinions, biases and stereotypes held or challenged about Australian Indigenous culture.

Public views - positive or negative examples

If a public view is positive (Bunjilaka museum) it is culturally relative.

If a public view is negative (The Victorian protection act 1986) it is ethnocentric.

Public misconceptions

A view or opinion that is incorrect and based on a lack of understanding

3 misconceptions

1. Australia was land that belonged to no one

2. Indigenous people share one culture 

3. Indigenous people mainly live in arid areas

Misconception 1: Australia was land that belonged to no one (terra nullius)

Aboriginal people are the oldest continuing civilisation on earth, living in Australia for around 65,000 years and had ownership through oral title deeds.

Misconception 2: Indigenous people share one culture 

There were around 500 different nations at the time of colonisation with distinct cultures, traditions and languages (250+)

Misconception 3: Indigenous people mainly live in arid areas

In 2021, studies show that 84.7% of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people lived in non-remote areas

Protection

A range of state-based laws that restricted the rights and freedoms of Indigenous peoples under the guise of “protecting” them.

First Protections Act 1856

The Protection acts restricted the rights of Aboriginal Australians “for their own Protection”

What protection controlled: (5)

1. Where they lived

2. Where they worked

3. Who they married

4. Finances

5. Removal of children

6. What they owned

Segregation

The practice of physical and geographic separation of Indigenous people from the non-indigenous population

Quote of Protection laws (The Victorian Protection Acts 1869)

“It shall be lawful for the governor from time to time to make rules about where aboriginals are located on a reserve and the distribution of the money they receive”

Quote of segregation laws (The Victorian Protection Acts 1869)

“It shall be lawful for any justice of the peace to order any Aboriginal found loitering in cities or town of colony to receive punishment”

Data of the impact of Protection/segregation on Australian Indigenous Culture

In 2019, 90% of Indigenous languages are considered endangered.

Suppression of culture (4)

1. removal of indigenous people from their lands = loss of material culture

2. separation of children = couldn’t pass down culture through socialisation

3. forced to speak english = loss of language

4. denied freedom of movement = couldn’t freely participate in cultural practices

Impact of protection/segregation on public awareness

Drastically limited public awareness of Indigenous culture

Impact of protection/segregation on public views

Promoted negative and harmful public views of Indigenous people and culture

Assimilation

To become similar to something

Assimilation policy

The systematic removal of children from their parents aka stolen generation.

Example of assimilation practices (3)

1. Forced to train as domestic servants

2. Forced to abandon native language and culture

3. Forced to marry white

Quotes of Assimilation practices (1) (confidential submission of a woman removed at 8)

“We were completely brainwashed to think only like a white person”

Sourced evidence (data) of the impact Assimilation practices (3)

1. Suicide rate 2x higher

2. Youth incarceration 26x higher

3. Life expectancy 10 years less

The Aboriginal Problem

1930’s - Protection and segregation policies were not working. Indigenous people were not dying out on missions and reserves and there was a growing population of “half-castes” so the “Aboriginal problem” was not going away

1937 - Nations agreed that “density of the natives… lies within their ultimate assimilation and absorption by the people of the commonwealth”

Ethnocentric (reasons) of Assimilation (2) (AKA Assimilation as an ethnocentric idea)

1. Cultural supremacy

2. Illusory superiority

Cultural supremacy

Based on the principle of Indigenous cultures as “inferior” and white European culture being the superior “standard” that Aboriginal people needed to be “elevated” to.

Illusory superiority

Presumes that Indigenous Australians could enjoy the same standard of living as white Australians if they adopted European customs and beliefs into white society.

What assimilation meant for full-blood Aboriginals (2)

• Aboriginal People were forced into slums on the outskirts of cities as reserves were closed

• Despite being expected to assimilate, they were often denied work and access to community facilities

The Stolen Generations + stat

The forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families which was apart of the Assimilation policies.

Around 10-33% of Indigenous children were removed from their families between 1910 and 1970

How did assimilation suppress culture? (2)

1. Loss of language - Children raised without cultural knowledge or shamed

2. Loss of cultural identity - disconnection from families disrupts connection to land and kinship laws

Impact of assimilation policies on PUBLIC AWARENESS

Limited public awareness since Aboriginal people were unable to practise and share their culture

Impact of assimilation policies on PUBLIC VIEWS (2)

1. Promoted view that Indigenous children were being brought up in a primitive culture 

2. Promoted view that white European culture was superior

Impacts of assimilation (THEN) (2)

• Forced to give up languages, beliefs and cultural practices

• Forced to marry white to “breed out the black”

Impacts of assimilation (NOW) (2)

• Severe trauma as a result of physical, verbal and sexual abuse within missions

• Intergenerational trauma continues today as a result of mental illness and poverty

Homogenous thinking (3)

1. Prejudice

2. Stereotyping

3. Discrimination

3 homogenous stereotypes of Indigenous people

1. Addicts

2. Lawless

3. Abusive

4 examples of cultural suppression today

1. Misinformation in media - prejudice and stereotypes voiced in media

2. Discriminatory acts - treated with suspicion

3. Deaths in custody - refused medical treatment or assistance

4. Protection laws - laws enacted to protect based on stereotypes e.g. NTER

NTER (Northern Territory National Emergency Response)

Introduced in response to the perceived safety crisis and “crime wave” occurring in Indigenous communities.

NTER broken down (5 policies examples)

1. Ban on alcohol

2. Ban on pornography

3. Regulation of prescription drugs

4. Welfare payments controlled by state

5. Payments deducted if children don’t meet minimum school attendance

Impact of NTER (2)

• Indigenous adults make up 84% of NT prison population.

• Indigenous youth make up 94% of NT youth prison population.

Indigenous responses and dates (4)

1. Coranderrk activism 1877 

2. Day of mourning 1938 

3. Aboriginal lives matter 2020

4. Uluru statement from the heart 2018

Coranderrk activism 1877 (Protection&Segregation)

Coranderrk people protested in response to poor conditions at Coranderrk reserve led by William Barak.

William Barak Quote (1877)

“We aboriginals all wish and hope to have freedom, not to be bound down by the protection of the Board”

Day of mourning 1938 (Assimilation)

Aboriginal Australians purposefully protested on 26 Jan 1938 against the 150 years of cruel treatment under the Protections Act and led by Bill Ferguson

Bill Ferguson Quote (1938)

“The aborigines do not want protection... We have been protected for 150 years, and look what has become of us.”

Black/Aboriginal Lives Matter (2018) (Protection&Segregation)

Aims for the improved treatment of Aboriginal Australians by law enforcement, particularly in response to NTER.

Uluru Statement From The Heart (2018) (Assimilation)

Aims for the inclusion of Aboriginal Australians in the constitution and parliament.

Responses to protection and segregation (2)

1. Coranderrk activism 1877 

2. aboriginal lives matter 2020

Responses to assimilation (2)

1. Day of mourning 1939

2. Uluru statement from the heart 2018

Reconciliation

Aims to achieve justice, recognition, and healing

Symbolic reconciliation

Focuses on public awareness and acknowledgment of the rights of Indigenous Australians.

2 ways of symbolic reconcilation

1. Acknowledgment of historical injustices

2. Opportunities for healing.

Practical reconciliation

Focuses on providing services and funding to address inequalities

2 ways of practical reconciliation

1. Identifying areas of disadvantage: health, housing, education, and employment.

2. Allocate resources to address these.

Difference between symbolic and practical reconciliation

Symbolic reconciliation focuses on Indigenous rights, practical reconciliation focuses on socioeconomic disadvantages.

Example of symbolic reconciliation

National Apology for Stolen Generations 2009 - Kevin Rudd acknowledged past injustices, promoting reconciliation

Examples of practical reconciliation (2)

1. 1967 Referendum

2. NTER 2007

1967 referendum (practical reconciliation)

Referendum to include Indigenous People as citizens in the Constitution

Data of practical reconcilation - 1967 referendum

90% of White Australians voted to remove clauses in the constitution that discriminated against Indigenous Australians.

Koorie Heritage Trust

First arts culture to be established in Australia (1985)

3 examples of material culture on excursion

1. Snake bone necklace

2. Shield

3. Possum skin ball

3 examples of non-material culture on excursion

1. 5 language groups of kulin nation

2. Dance

3. Beliefs

Birrarung Marr name meaning

River of mists

One contemporary issue related to changing awareness of Australian Indigenous cultures

Reclamation of Indigenous languages

Description of the nature of the issue

Efforts to revive Indigenous languages in Australia face challenges due to historical suppression and decline, representing resistance against cultural erasure.

Description of the historical and political context of this issue

Colonisation enforced English dominance, marginalising Indigenous languages, while cultural ties to language and land further influence the issue.

Relationship between the reclamation of languages and public awareness

Language reclamation efforts can enhance public awareness of Indigenous culture by highlighting the importance of language in preserving cultural identity and heritage.

Relationship between the reclamation of languages and public views

Language reclamation efforts can challenge negative misconceptions about Indigenous people, encouraging a respectful and inclusive understanding of Indigenous culture.

Anne Poelina

Aboriginal community leader who advocates for Indigenous language reclamation through education and community programs.

First Languages Australia

Organisation dedicated to Indigenous language reclamation through collaborative initiatives and educational programs.

Sourced quote of the issue - Reclamation of Indigenous languages:

"Only 20 Aboriginal languages were considered to be alive and 'strong.' The extreme level of language decay can be directly attributed to the impacts of colonization, including the forced dispossession of our lands and cultural oppression by our colonizers." - Anne Poelina