So, are all people created equal? Good Day, everybody. On behalf of the Mount Gravatt show and to represent NAIDOC week, I will be giving you some insight into the cultural background of the Indigenous people of Australia. This has been portrayed in the deep, protest plea for Aboriginal Human rights, the poem, ‘Aboriginal Charter of Rights’ by, Oodgeroo Noonuccal in 1962.
Aboriginal people have been identified as the continuous civilization on Earth. Oodgeroo Noonuccal, an educated Aboriginal woman has penned a poem outlining what she sees as the plight of Aboriginals in white Australia. The concentrated use of words and message help us, as the audience, to understand and gain relevant information on the Indigenous people.
Aboriginal culture
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This accentuates the racism under which the Aborigines used to live and evokes more sympathy and empathy for the Indigenous people than the bare words, “stop racism”. She formulates rhetorical questions and imagery such as, “In our land rank as aliens?” and “Circumscribe, who should befriend us?” to indicate that she thinks that Aborigines are treated as foreigners in their own country. She uses alliteration, “banish bans”, to show the controls that Aborigines were subjected to. As well, the alliteration in, “conquer caste”, with its harsh ‘k’ sound indicates the equality that she wanted to achieve in Australian society. Noonuccal relies on contrast to define what Aborigines want now compared to what they received in the past.ie. “Not rebuff, but education”. She uses allusion and idiom, “Devout salvation-sellers”, to mock the white people in charge of the missions. Noonuccal structures the poem to have rhyming couplets, ‘AABBCC etc.’ to enhance the flow of the poem. What she repeatedly asks the Aborigines to be given is not money, but quality of
The East Kimberly region of Western Australia has been depict as a place of ‘grinding poverty, violence and racist exclusion in which so many Aboriginal people in the east Kimberley live, and yet at the same time through art it communicate the beauty and grandeur of their lives. ‘For those trying to communicate through art with the issue of death, harsh, pain and even compassion, were seen as necessary to maintain memories and record of Aboriginal historical events. The thirst for telling such companionate story is not easily interpreted, however, if we look at history we could see the influence of real tradition of aboriginal art emerge.
Indigenous People. In evaluating the Legal System’s response to Indigenous People and it’s achieving of justice, an outline of the history of Indigenous Australians - before and during settlement - as well as their status in Australian society today must be made. The dispossession of their land and culture has deprived Indigenous People of economic revenue that the land would have provided if not colonised, as well as their ... ... middle of paper ... ...
Walker feels the strong need for white society to stop "libelling" and defaming Aborigines as "fringe-dweller" that reside within "missions" "Aboriginal Character of Rights" encompasses Walkers innermost hopes, thoughts and emotions - all of which reflect upon the unjustly treatment of the Indigenous people throughout history. Walker presents a social commentary through poetry that comprehensively reviews the common rights of all Aboriginal people. She openly comments on her people's status within society and relentles... ... middle of paper ... ...
The Municipal Gum by Oodgeroo Noonuccal portrays the miserable, hopeless and despondent living conditions of the Aboriginal people. It expresses the feelings of the Indigenous people who are deprived and displaced from their native culture and native land by the white people. The general theme and the ideas addressed in this poem includes raising awareness of the tremendous discrimination and prejudice by white Australians against the aboriginal people. The discrimination is developed strongly within the content of the poem, with some imageries holding powerful messages and meanings. It can therefore be seen that the poem is about the tremendous discrimination by the white Australians towards the aboriginal people.
Despite the decreasing inequalities between men and women in both private and public spheres, aboriginal women continue to be oppressed and discriminated against in both. Aboriginal people in Canada are the indigenous group of people that were residing in Canada prior to the European colonization. The term First Nations, Indian and indigenous are used interchangeably when referring to aboriginal people. Prior to the colonization, aboriginal communities used to be matrilineal and the power between men and women were equally balanced. When the European came in contact with the aboriginal, there came a shift in gender role and power control leading towards discrimination against the women. As a consequence of the colonization, the aboriginal women are a dominant group that are constantly subordinated and ignored by the government system of Canada. Thus today, aboriginal women experiences double jeopardy as they belong to more than one disadvantaged group i.e. being women and belonging to aboriginal group. In contemporary world, there are not much of a difference between Aboriginal people and the other minority groups as they face the similar challenges such as gender discrimination, victimization, and experiences injustice towards them. Although aboriginal people are not considered as visible minorities, this population continues to struggle for their existence like any other visible minorities group. Although both aboriginal men and women are being discriminated in our society, the women tends to experience more discrimination in public and private sphere and are constantly the targeted for violence, abuse and are victimized. In addition, many of the problems and violence faced by aborigin...
Powerful language features help the audience to be conveyed into the aboriginal’s viewpoints as the Europeans take their land. Comprehensive images of the viewpoints are created through metaphors such as, “we’re running from the heart of darkness” and “searching for the
The movie educates people on the fact of inequality back in the 1900’s between Indigenous Australians and white Australians and about the biggest case in Australia which has changed our history. This movie shows the viewers about some of the injustice the Indigenous Australians suffered due to white Australian people's actions because of their colour and race. The response that was intended was to feel bad for all of the constant injustice that the Indigenous Australians were receiving due to the actions of white Australian
The inequality in Australian education can be attributed to a history of low expectations and discrimination placed on Indigenous people by the government and society. Aboriginal children were denied the right to education until the 1970s due to the discrimitory views of the government and society. The Indigenous population were the sub-standard race of humanity with little to no chance of succeeding in life and these attitudes affected the educational choices offered to them (Ray & Poonwassie, 1992). As the superior race, the Anglo-Celtic Australians, considered themselves both intellectually and socio-culturally more advanced than their inferior Aboriginal neighbours (Foley, 2013). As a consequence of these racially and culturally motivated preconceptions, children of Aboriginal descent were considered unskilled outside of their own and were deemed incapable of excelling in ‘civilised’ white society (Foley, 2013). As a result, the Australian Government, in an effort to civilise and nurture politeness within the Aboriginal people, constructed “structured” (p 139) education training institutions in 1814. However, these problems only provided sufficient schooling for menial work: Aboriginal male children were prepared for agricultural employment, while girls were trained for domesticated services (Foley, 2013). Thus, as a direct consequence of low expectation for life success, Aboriginal children were offered minimal schooling ‘consistent with the perception about the limitations inherent in their race and their expected station in life at the lowest rung of white society’ (Beresford & Partington, 2003, p43). According to Foley (2013) this combination of low expectations and poor academic grounding meant that Indigenous children we...
The education of Aboriginal people is a challenge that has been a concern for many years and is still an issue. However, it remains the best way young people can climb out of poverty. With the colonialization and the oppression of Aboriginals, there have been many lasting side effects that continue to be affecting the Aboriginal youth today. “While retention and graduation rates have improved among urban Aboriginal population, an educational gap still remains between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal youth in urban settings” (Donovan, 127). Many suffer from a diminished self-worth, as they do not feel valued and feel inferior to their classmates. In this essay I am going to outline the reasons Aboriginals are struggling, discuss what is being done
Indigenous Australian land rights have sparked controversy between Non Indigenous and Indigenous Australians throughout history. The struggle to determine who the rightful owners of the land are is still largely controversial throughout Australia today. Indigenous Australian land rights however, go deeper than simply owning the land as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have established an innate spiritual connection making them one with the land. The emphasis of this essay is to determine how Indigenous Australian land rights have impacted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, highlighting land rights regarding the Mabo v. the State of Queensland case and the importance behind today’s teachers understanding and including Indigenous
The inequality in Australian education can be attributed to a history of low expectations and discrimination placed on Indigenous people by the government and society. Aboriginal children were denied the right to education until the 1970s due to the discrimitory views of the government and society that the Indigenous populations were the sub-standard race of society with possibility of achieving in life in comparison to the white Australian population ( ). The Anglo-Celtic Australians, the white people, judged themselves to be the superior race and considered themselves more intellectually and socio-culturally developed than the Aboriginal members of society (Foley, 2013). As the Indigenous Australians were considered the lowest rung of society, children of Aboriginal descent were considered not skilled outside of their own and were deemed incapable of excelling in ‘civilised’ white society (Foley, 2013). As a result, the Australian Government, in an effort to civilise and nurture politeness within the Aboriginal people, constructed “structured” education training institutions in 1814. However, males were only provided the skills to prepare them for agricultural employment, while the girls were trained for household services (Foley, 2013). This denial to education to formal education was largely ‘consistent with the perception about the limitations inherent in their race and their expected station in life at the lowest rung of white society’ (Beresford & Partington, 2003, p43). According to Foley (2013) this co...
The poem “We’re not trucking around” by Samuel Wagan Watson presents an Aboriginal perspective on Australian National identity, showing the audience that Australians still mistreat Indigenous people, expressing his perspective through the ideas that white men still mistreat Aboriginals and the marginalization of Aboriginal culture. Watson reinforces his idea through poetic and language
Since European invasion in 1788, Indigenous Australians have struggled to maintain their rights and freedoms and to have governments recognise them. Over time, state and Commonwealth governments have implemented policies that have discriminated against Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, denying them equality, opportunity and control of their own lives and those of their children (Jacaranda, 2012). Indigenous Australians have been politically active in demanding their rights. Charles Perkins was an Aboriginal Activist who fought in the struggle for recognition, justice and legal acknowledgments for Indigenous people. To a large extent Charles Perkins has impacted the civil rights of Indigenous Australians; significantly advancing human rights and paving the way for reconciliation.
In its broadest sense ‘Reconciliation’ is the Australian term that refers to the unity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. To support reconciliation means working to overcome the separation and inequality between all Australians (Australia, n.d.). In 1992, then Prime Minister Paul Keating, delivered the Redfern Park speech that publically acknowledged European soldiers were responsible for many crimes against Indigenous communities, "We committed the murders. We took the children from their mothers. We practiced discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice (Government, 1992)." Since 1993, Reconciliation Week is a national event that celebrates a positive and respectful relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It enables all Australians to close the gaps, and to achieve a shared sense of fairness and justice. The ultimate goal of the week is to build a strong and trusting relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and other Australians, as a foundation for success and to enhance national wellbeing (Australia, n.d.). However, this advocacy for Indigenous rights and recognition was advanced be civil right activists in the 1950’s and 1960’s. One significant activist from this period and until her death in 1993 was Oodgeroo Noonuccal. Oodgeroo Noonuccal has significantly contributed to the civil rights of the Indigenous people in Australia due to her tireless campaigning to educate non-Indigenous Australians and enact political change that would not only recognize Indigenous Australian and Torres Strait Islander people within the census but further understand their rich and diverse culture. Noonuccal’s contribution can be seen through her significa...
A Comparison of Civilization by Oodgeroo Noonuccal and Beds Are Burning by Peter Garrett In the Australian culture, there have been many debates about the rightful ownership of Australian land and about whether the Aborigines have the right to retain the land taken from them. Further more, indigenous writers have expressed anger and protest towards the loss of their culture to white civilization. Peter Garrett and Oodgeroo Noonuccal are two artists who seek to raise the issues of the native land title and the oppression of Australian Aborigines. "Civilization" by Oodgeroo Noonuccal is a poem, which comments on the effects of white civilization on Aboriginal people and "Beds are Burning" by Peter Garrett comments on the issue of native land title. Throughout the two texts, various poetic techniques such as imagery, irony, tone and point of view, as well as poetic form are used to express deeply held views about the values and issues raised.