The Bundjalung People
The Bunjalung people
The Bundjalung people are the original custodians of Northen coastal NSW, located approximately 500 Km north east of Sydney. The area includes the Bundjalung National park and Mount Warning and is approximately 6,000 square metres. Significant towns include Grafton, Yamba and the Gold Coast.
There are several sub-tribes of the Bundjalung people as it is a vast area.
((Wikipediaorg, 2016)
In 170 Captain Cook named prominent coastal features along the region however the Aboriginal people had already named many areas and landscape features prior to European arrivals.
There was no recognition of the importance of Aboriginal culture sites until around 1836 when Thomas Sheppard campaigned for conservation. There were however …show more content…
many significant sites that remained unprotected, many were destroyed.
The land act of 1861 regulated the sale and leasing of crown land in NSW. Hunting grounds and places of cultural, spiritual and ritual significance were fenced off and destroyed by farming practices.
“ Local aboriginals soon became bewildered trespassers on their hereditary lands” ( Cleanandgreencomau, 2016)
Today Aboriginal people are not as steeped into cultural rites and obligations as they were in the past because of the Europeans.
The remaining sites are very important as it links their culture, heritage and dreaming. The upper Clarence is rich with existing Aboriginal sites. These include large shell middens, which represent campsites associated with lakes and rivers, along with natural landforms created by dreamtime ancestors or associated with ancestors. Sites are found in some towns and are hugely important because they are proof of occupancy by the traditional owners.
The bundjalung people believe that within the mountains lie the spirits of wounded warriors. The scars on the mountains represent injuries while thunderstorms recall the sounds of the battles faced by the warriors. Much of the Bundjalung people’s culture and heritage is still celebrated. There is an annual gathering in the Bundjalung national park to celebrate as a Bundjalung people’s gathering. Tradition garments are worn and there are traditional …show more content…
dances.
The Bundjalung people used commonly known instruments such as didgeridoos, Gum leaf and clap sticks. They also used other instruments such as an Emu caller. These are short didgeridoos, which gave out the sounds of an emu; the instrument was used for hunting. Another instrument used was a bull –roarer, a ritual instrument made from a small flat slip of wood, through a hole in one end of which a string is passed, swings around rapidly making a booming, humming noise.
The language spoken by the Bundjalung people is from the language family Pama-yungan, the language branch being Bandjalangic and Bundjalung is the language group the Bundjalung people speak. There are many dialects within Hierarchy of languages that fall below the Bundjalung group.
Although like many of the Aboriginal communities the Bundjalung people face a lot of health issues and a shorter lifespan then their fellow non Aboriginal Australians. Heart disease is a significant health issue faced by indigenous Australians and is the major contributor to the gap in life expectancy between Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people.
Contributing factors such as tobacco, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, poor nutrition, alcohol abuse are often brought on due to mental health issue. Naturally there are some factors beyond control such as age, gender and family history.
Statistics show that indigenous Australians are twice as likely to have a heart attack, hospitalised for rheumatic fever and heart disease at 7 times the rate, 10.5 times more likely to die from heart disease ,12 times more likely to have high blood pressure. (Hriorgau, 2016)
There are several organisations working towards “closing the gap”.
Closing the gap is a strategy that aims to reduce Indigenous disadvantage with respect to life expectancy, child mortality, access to early childhood education, educational achievements, employment outcomes (Hriorgau, 2016).
Home Assistance and Regional transport service provide affordable and reliable transport for the Aboriginal people of the area. Transport is crucial in developing the economics of Aboriginal communities. It allows them to seek and hold employment, attend training and access Health care and essential services so that they can participate in community life and not be secluded. This organisation provides one on one transport and group transport while acknowledging and respecting the Bundjalung people and their heritage.
Arakwal people of Byron Bay corporation.
“ The primary objective of the corporation is to relieve poverty, sickness, destitution, distress, suffering, misfortune or helplessness of needy members of the Bundjalung People” (Arakwalcomau, 2016)
The aim of the corporation is to improve living conditions and general standard of living, increase vocational skills for better employment opportunities. The corporation also aims to reduce the social disintegration by strengthening and fostering the development of Aboriginal culture and identity so that all programs are in accordance with cultural practices, customs and value.
Better cardiac care for Aboriginal and Torres straight Islander People forum, an initiate of the Australian health ministers Advisory council. The project aims to reduce mortality and morbidity from cardiac condition conditions by increasing access to medical services and better managing risk factors and treatment, by improving the co ordination of care.
The project has had significant success over the years in reducing the gap.
The Aboriginal people as a result of this program have had access to health assessment so that they can be regularly checked. They have been educated about potential risks factors and how to reduce them in terms of diet, smoking and alcohol and general lifestyle.
As access to cardiac prevention and treatment services for indigenous Australians increased, the age standardised mortality rate for cardiac conditions for Indigenous Australians decreased by 41 % between 1998 and 2012. (Aihwgovau, 2016)
There are other organisations that assist the Indigenous Australians and Torres Straight Islander and many resources are available. With increasing access to organisations and organisations educating themselves about Aboriginal people’s culture and heritage they have been able to provide better support and care for the communities, gaining trust and respects by educating themselves about the people they are dealing with and respecting their heritage.
Today there is still a significant gap however with better education and support the Aboriginal people are living longer and getting earlier diagnosis, decreasing mortality rate and the
gap.
References
Aihwgovau. (2016). Aihwgovau. Retrieved 8 May, 2016, from http://www.aihw.gov.au/uploadedFiles/ClosingTheGap/Content/Our_publications/2014/ctgc_ip12.pdf
Arakwalcomau. (2016). Arakwalcomau. Retrieved 10 May, 2016, from http://arakwal.com.au/category/arakwal-corp/
Austliieduau. (2016). Austliieduau. Retrieved 9 May, 2016, from http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/orgs/car/partner/pbook/page6.htm
Cleanandgreencomau. (2016). Cleanandgreencomau. Retrieved 10 May, 2016, from http://www.cleanandgreen.com.au/pdf/veg.pdf
Hriorgau. (2016). Hriorgau. Retrieved 9 May, 2016, from http://www.hri.org.au/about-heart-disease/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people?gclid=CJPzwe7zy8wCFYSVvAoduvEMeQ
Isaac smith. (2016). Hartservicesorgau. Retrieved 10 May, 2016, from http://www.hartservices.org.au/index.php/services/aboriginal-transport-program
Wikipediaorg. (2016). Wikipediaorg. Retrieved 8 May, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundjalung
The Bundjalung people are the original custodians of Northen coastal NSW, located approximately 500 Km north east of Sydney. The area includes the Bundjalung National park and Mount Warning and is approximately 6,000 square metres. Significant towns include Grafton, Yamba and the Gold Coast.
There are several sub-tribes of the Bundjalung people as it is a vast area.
((Wikipediaorg, 2016)
In 170 Captain Cook named prominent coastal features along the region however the Aboriginal people had already named many areas and landscape features prior to European arrivals.
There was no recognition of the importance of Aboriginal culture sites until around 1836 when Thomas Sheppard campaigned for conservation. There were however …show more content…
many significant sites that remained unprotected, many were destroyed.
The land act of 1861 regulated the sale and leasing of crown land in NSW. Hunting grounds and places of cultural, spiritual and ritual significance were fenced off and destroyed by farming practices.
“ Local aboriginals soon became bewildered trespassers on their hereditary lands” ( Cleanandgreencomau, 2016)
Today Aboriginal people are not as steeped into cultural rites and obligations as they were in the past because of the Europeans.
The remaining sites are very important as it links their culture, heritage and dreaming. The upper Clarence is rich with existing Aboriginal sites. These include large shell middens, which represent campsites associated with lakes and rivers, along with natural landforms created by dreamtime ancestors or associated with ancestors. Sites are found in some towns and are hugely important because they are proof of occupancy by the traditional owners.
The bundjalung people believe that within the mountains lie the spirits of wounded warriors. The scars on the mountains represent injuries while thunderstorms recall the sounds of the battles faced by the warriors. Much of the Bundjalung people’s culture and heritage is still celebrated. There is an annual gathering in the Bundjalung national park to celebrate as a Bundjalung people’s gathering. Tradition garments are worn and there are traditional …show more content…
dances.
The Bundjalung people used commonly known instruments such as didgeridoos, Gum leaf and clap sticks. They also used other instruments such as an Emu caller. These are short didgeridoos, which gave out the sounds of an emu; the instrument was used for hunting. Another instrument used was a bull –roarer, a ritual instrument made from a small flat slip of wood, through a hole in one end of which a string is passed, swings around rapidly making a booming, humming noise.
The language spoken by the Bundjalung people is from the language family Pama-yungan, the language branch being Bandjalangic and Bundjalung is the language group the Bundjalung people speak. There are many dialects within Hierarchy of languages that fall below the Bundjalung group.
Although like many of the Aboriginal communities the Bundjalung people face a lot of health issues and a shorter lifespan then their fellow non Aboriginal Australians. Heart disease is a significant health issue faced by indigenous Australians and is the major contributor to the gap in life expectancy between Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal people.
Contributing factors such as tobacco, smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, diabetes, poor nutrition, alcohol abuse are often brought on due to mental health issue. Naturally there are some factors beyond control such as age, gender and family history.
Statistics show that indigenous Australians are twice as likely to have a heart attack, hospitalised for rheumatic fever and heart disease at 7 times the rate, 10.5 times more likely to die from heart disease ,12 times more likely to have high blood pressure. (Hriorgau, 2016)
There are several organisations working towards “closing the gap”.
Closing the gap is a strategy that aims to reduce Indigenous disadvantage with respect to life expectancy, child mortality, access to early childhood education, educational achievements, employment outcomes (Hriorgau, 2016).
Home Assistance and Regional transport service provide affordable and reliable transport for the Aboriginal people of the area. Transport is crucial in developing the economics of Aboriginal communities. It allows them to seek and hold employment, attend training and access Health care and essential services so that they can participate in community life and not be secluded. This organisation provides one on one transport and group transport while acknowledging and respecting the Bundjalung people and their heritage.
Arakwal people of Byron Bay corporation.
“ The primary objective of the corporation is to relieve poverty, sickness, destitution, distress, suffering, misfortune or helplessness of needy members of the Bundjalung People” (Arakwalcomau, 2016)
The aim of the corporation is to improve living conditions and general standard of living, increase vocational skills for better employment opportunities. The corporation also aims to reduce the social disintegration by strengthening and fostering the development of Aboriginal culture and identity so that all programs are in accordance with cultural practices, customs and value.
Better cardiac care for Aboriginal and Torres straight Islander People forum, an initiate of the Australian health ministers Advisory council. The project aims to reduce mortality and morbidity from cardiac condition conditions by increasing access to medical services and better managing risk factors and treatment, by improving the co ordination of care.
The project has had significant success over the years in reducing the gap.
The Aboriginal people as a result of this program have had access to health assessment so that they can be regularly checked. They have been educated about potential risks factors and how to reduce them in terms of diet, smoking and alcohol and general lifestyle.
As access to cardiac prevention and treatment services for indigenous Australians increased, the age standardised mortality rate for cardiac conditions for Indigenous Australians decreased by 41 % between 1998 and 2012. (Aihwgovau, 2016)
There are other organisations that assist the Indigenous Australians and Torres Straight Islander and many resources are available. With increasing access to organisations and organisations educating themselves about Aboriginal people’s culture and heritage they have been able to provide better support and care for the communities, gaining trust and respects by educating themselves about the people they are dealing with and respecting their heritage.
Today there is still a significant gap however with better education and support the Aboriginal people are living longer and getting earlier diagnosis, decreasing mortality rate and the
gap.
References
Aihwgovau. (2016). Aihwgovau. Retrieved 8 May, 2016, from http://www.aihw.gov.au/uploadedFiles/ClosingTheGap/Content/Our_publications/2014/ctgc_ip12.pdf
Arakwalcomau. (2016). Arakwalcomau. Retrieved 10 May, 2016, from http://arakwal.com.au/category/arakwal-corp/
Austliieduau. (2016). Austliieduau. Retrieved 9 May, 2016, from http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/orgs/car/partner/pbook/page6.htm
Cleanandgreencomau. (2016). Cleanandgreencomau. Retrieved 10 May, 2016, from http://www.cleanandgreen.com.au/pdf/veg.pdf
Hriorgau. (2016). Hriorgau. Retrieved 9 May, 2016, from http://www.hri.org.au/about-heart-disease/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people?gclid=CJPzwe7zy8wCFYSVvAoduvEMeQ
Isaac smith. (2016). Hartservicesorgau. Retrieved 10 May, 2016, from http://www.hartservices.org.au/index.php/services/aboriginal-transport-program
Wikipediaorg. (2016). Wikipediaorg. Retrieved 8 May, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundjalung