Aboriginal people have lived in the vast region of Gippsland for tens of thousands of years and the ancient culture of the local Gunaikurnai people lives on today. The Gunai or Kurnai, often now referred to as the Gunaikurnai, is an Indigenous Australian nation of south-east Australia whose territory occupies most of present-day Gippsland and much of the southern slopes of the Victorian Alps. The Gunaikurnai nation is composed of five major clans. Many of the Gunaikurnai people resisted early European squatting and subsequent settlement during the nineteenth century, resulting in a number of deadly confrontations between Europeans and the Gunaikurnai. There are about 3,000 Gunaikurnai people alive today, predominantly living in Gippsland.{1} …show more content…
The displays feature shields with traditional markings, boomerangs, bark canoes, grass baskets, videos and an exhibition of contemporary aboriginal art. Importantly the Keeping Place provides testament to the incredible wealth of culture, heritage and tradition that abounds across the lands of the Gunnai/Kurnai people of Gippsland. It highlights the significant, yet often ignored history of this country, dating back for many thousands of generations. The Kurnai launched a native title claim in 1997 following on from the successful Mabo native title case of 1992. On 22 October 2010 the case was settled in the Federal Court under the Native Title Act (1993). The Court recognised the Gunaikurnai as traditional owners, and found that they held native title over much of Gippsland. Based on these findings the Victorian Government entered into an agreement with the Gunaikurnai on the same day, the first agreement reached under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act (2010). It provides the opportunity to raise awareness and understanding of the true history, and the true value of Australia's Indigenous
Australia is a very unique place, along with our multiculturalism there is also a strong heritage surrounding us. At first thought of Australian heritage we think about such landmarks as Uluru, The Sydney harbour bridge and The Sydney opera house, The Great Barrier reef and other internationally recognised places. But our heritage goes much deeper than that; it is far more than outstanding icons. Along with these icons there are also unsung places like the old cattle stations, Aboriginal missions, migrant hostels, War memorials, our unique wetlands and the towns and cities we have built. Adding all of these things together, helps to tell the story of who we are and how we have shaped this land in the unique identity it has today.
Their main vision is to empower the idea of a shared country and encourage opportunities for growth. With the perplexed requirements set out by the Native Title Act, this tribunal has helped claimants by providing legal aid to increase the chances of regaining lost land. For example, the Wik Peoples v Queensland (1996) 187 CLR 1 case was successful in recognising the lost land of the Wik people of Cape York. “They claimed native title over land that had previously been leased by the State Government to farmers for pastoral use” (Woodgate, Black, Biggs & Owens, 2011, p.354). The court then decided by a 4:3 majority that pastoral leases did not necessarily extinguish native title. This means that, in some cases, native title rights will co-exist with the rights of the pastoralists. Therefore, through progression and more native title cases heard, the laws surrounding the Native Title Act will adapt to further assist the Indigenous Australians in reclaiming their land. For instance, the processes surrounding Native Title issues are constantly being refined. As more and more people and political parties become aware of this process, the easier court litigation will become (Dow, 2002)
My first observation when approaching the gallery was how small it was. Upon entering the gallery, I was greeted by an Aboriginal woman who shared with me information about the current exhibition. Once I was on my own, I began to explore the space. Before viewing the works featured, I stopped at a table that contained an extensive amount of information on the Euraba Paper Company. According to the gallery guide, nine senior Goomeroi women from communities around North Western NSW founded the company, Euraba Artists and Papermakers. These
The majority decision in the High Court case of Mabo in 1992 found that indigenous relationships to land could be recognised through common law. This was then codified in the Native Title Act in 1993. The Native Title Act adopted much of the same language used in the High Court decision. For example, it defined native title as “rights and interests possessed under the traditional laws acknowledged and the traditional laws observed by the aboriginal peoples”. The result of Mabo and the
By incorporating indigenous guest speakers or aboriginal teachings into the service we can share their experiences, learn native dances and find out more about the native fauna and flora of our land from those who lived on it for thousands of years before us. With so much history in the land we live on; we can start to encourage more inclusive relationships and behaviours towards the aboriginal community by embracing their culture just as much as other cultures in our
Smith, Ramsay W. Myths and Legends of the Australian Aborigines. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2003. Print.
This strategy of developing a relationship with Aboriginal communities can be seen as one of the most important strategies in the regards to the realisation of meeting 1.1.2 (NSW DET 2008). These learning partnerships have been proven to be beneficial to the community on the whole, not only “giving credibility and integrity to the teaching of Aboriginal students and syllabus content related to Aboriginal issues” (NSW BOS 2008, p. 2) but also builds pride and confidence within the Indigenous parents and therefore their community. The NSW BOS (2008, p. 2) goes on to say that for a school to provide authentic experiences, skills and knowledge in context to Aboriginal studies; they must consult Aboriginal people. The AETP (NSW DET 2008) believe that consultation with Aboriginal communities will provide the support and knowledge teachers need to develop engaging and motivating learning environments and scenarios, demonstrate high expectations and work with Aboriginal students in their pursuit of ‘personal
Australian indigenous culture is the world’s oldest surviving culture, dating back sixty-thousand years. Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders have been represented in a myriad of ways through various channels such as poetry, articles, and images, in both fiction and non-fiction. Over the years, they have been portrayed as inferior, oppressed, isolated, principled and admirable. Three such texts that portray them in these ways are poems Circles and Squares and Grade One Primary by Ali Cobby Eckermann, James Packer slams booing; joins three cheers for footballer and the accompanying visual text and Heywire article Family is the most important thing to an islander by Richard Barba. Even though the texts are different as ….. is/are …., while
The connection Indigenous Australians have with the land was established, and maintained, by The Dreamings, passed down through generations binding Indigenous Australians to the land (National Film & Sound Archive, 2015). National Film & Sound Archive (2015), highlight that land and being can not be separated for Indigenous Australians as they form part of the land and are accountable for the preservation of the land. Indigenous Australian land rights originated from an intricate social process constructed on traditional core values; where the rights of the land were established on principles of descendants, kinship and marriage (Dodds, 1998). However, despite this, the British colonisation of Australia in 1788 brought about change when the land was declared Terra Nullius (Short, 2007). Short (2007) stated that as a result of Australia being declared Terra Nullius, Indigenous Australians had no legitimate claim to their land. Hence, British colonisers dispossessing Indigenous Australians of their land rights as the customs established by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were not recognised or taken into consideration by the British Government (Short,
Within the Hornsby Shire there are more than 900 landmarks and indicators of the occurrence of an Aboriginal settlement as a result from the local tribe, the Guringai people. A major place of significance is through the up keeping and findings within the ‘Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park.’ “Sir Henry Copeland (Australian Politician) named this location after the Aboriginal tribe whilst chase is an English word meaning an enclose land where animals were kept for hunting” (Hornsby Shire Council, n.d.) Throughout the landmark Aboriginal paintings, carvings, engravings, middens...
To the indigenous community, country and story creates a strong cultural identity and is the starting point to their education. The second outcome; connected with and contribute to their world, is shown through the experience and learning of the indigenous culture and the history of the country and land they live in. Outcome three; strong sense of wellbeing is shown through enhancing indigenous children’s wellbeing socially, culturally, mentally and emotionally through learning about their heritage, country and history through the stories passed down through generations and gaining a sense of belonging and self identity. Both outcome four and five; confident and involved learners and effective communicators are important as they show a unity and understanding between the indigenous culture through learning about the country and stories together about the indigenous
Australia day is a time of celebration and joy to many citizens of Australia, however, for some people, it is not all just fun and games. The Aboriginal people have been protesting for Aboriginal rights in and around Australia day for many years now. Why do the Indigenous Australians have a legitimate grievance to what Australia day commemorates? Many lives were lost during the taking of Australian soil, and all Aboriginal rights weren’t considered. The Aboriginal culture and history is just as, if not even more interesting than the traditional Australian history. Finally, Aboriginal celebrations aren’t recognised as an official national holiday, and because of this, when these events do occur, they can swiftly be shutdown by Australian Officials.
...d practiced traditional customs of their tribe. However this was hard to prove as their laws were never written down as they expressed their laws orally and had to remember them. This case made the native title claim difficult for the indigenous to get because their link to the land and their tradition had been severed due to the growth of urbanisation in those areas. The native title was seen as an important part of reconciliation between the Aboriginal Australians and the community to enhance the present and future. Many claims by the Yorta Yorta people were dismissed where the Australia in 2001 and the High Court of Australia 2002 which were also dismissed due to the tradition of being viewed as “old Historical ways”
Cultural landscape is an instrument of force (Mitchell, 2008) and it is knowledge (Graham, 2001). As such it represents cultural capital (Bourdieu, 1977) of a society, state or nation, where through diverse social processes and practices directly or indirectly helps to form cultural identity. More specifically, cultural heritage, as a symbolic and visual language of cultural landscape, intersects with a “range of social and cultural debates about the legitimacy of a range of values and identities, and subsequently plays a part in their validation, negotiation and regulation” (Smith 2006).
... directly affiliated with the lands and environments of their communities and have been for many generations. In the perspective of the Australian marketplace, they’re trying to facilitate operations where aboriginals can lead and direct tourists in a more personalized and meaningful way, but based off of Richard Butler and Tom Hinch’s paper Tourism and Indigenous Peoples, many travelers still have very stereotypical views on the indigenous people and their culture which could “create unrealistic expectations concerning the nature of the aboriginal experiences visitors expect to encounter.” That’s not to say that there isn’t still parts of the southeast pacific that don’t have extremely independent indigenous cultures, but in todays modern society many of the indigenous peoples have advanced whilst also carrying along with them their true heritage and ways of life.