Specific Group of Indigenous People
Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the indigenous people of Australia practiced their own traditions, had their own social and economic system. Indigenous people are the holders of unique languages, knowledge systems and beliefs. One indigenous group of people is the Aborigines. Aborigines are Australia’s indigenous people that migrated from somewhere in Asia 30,000 years ago (Siasoco, 2007). The Aborigines’ strong spiritual beliefs tie them to the land (Siasoco, 2007).The aboriginal culture is full of storytelling and art. But like other indigenous people they also possess a difficult colonial history. Aborigines called the beginning of the world the “Dreaming” and/or “Dreamtime” (Siasoco, 2007). According to the aboriginal people in the Dreamtime, their ancestors rose from below the earth to form various parts of nature including animal species, bodies of water and the sky (Siasoco, 2007).
The oral tradition of storytelling defined the aboriginal’s cultural life. The aboriginal songs demonstrated the Dreamtime, music was played on the didgeridoo and they earned a living through selling native artwork (Siasoco, 2007).
After the European arrived, the aboriginal culture changed as a result of forced integration. Most aboriginal people joined white rural and urban communities (Siasoco, 2007). Mixing the communities brought on diseases among the aboriginal people. Consequence of assimilation was massive relocation and extinction for aboriginal tribes. Land and property rights powered an important civil rights movement in the 1970s (Siasoco, 2007). Aborigines spoke out for equal rights, for land rights for property that had been forcibly taken by British settlers; therefore led to the Aboriginal Rights Act, passed in 1976 (Siasoco, 2007).
Reference
Siasoco, Ricco (2007). “History and Culture of Australia’s Indigenous People”. Retrievedfromhttp://www.infoplease.com/spot/aboriginal1.html