BNURS20 Bachelor of Nursing : Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australians

The indigenous people of Australia comprise of two different cultural groups namely the Aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islander people. These indigenous people have their own customs and laws, which in turn facilitate determination of their distinct identity (Tomyn, Norrish & Cummins, 2013). Until very recently I had very little knowledge or awareness about the culture and heritage of the indigenous people. This essay will discuss my personal views of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and my personal and/or family history that defined my perception.

Personal Views

I hold the view that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are one of the most marginalised and poor individuals of all people. Furthermore, I also hold the opinion that these indigenous people reside in a community that is spiritually oriented. Although earlier, I did not have much information regarding the indigenous community, discussions with my peers helped me realise that they are most often subjected to racial discrimination even in present times and most common discrimination is faced by them at their workplaces. Following interaction with other people and conducting a literature study, I developed the notion that these Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders consider their land as a sacred place. Moreover, I also believed on the myth that the children of the Aboriginals were taken away from their land for their good.

Influences

Upon researching about the history of the indigenous culture I gained a lot of information regarding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, which in turn directly helped in busting the misconceptions that I had about these people. Literature study helped me realise that these indigenous people have existed in the society in isolation for more than 60,000 years and did not have any validated written history (Taylor, 2018). Most information about the community was communicated through etchings, cave paintings and stories that they used for recording their past. Engaging in effective interactions with one of my peer and a relative who are pursuing research on the indigenous group, helped me recognise that in spite of differences in the language and cultural patterns of more than 600 indigenous tribes, they lived in harmony, and each of them occupied a specific tract of land that was considered as a sacred site. Thus, they value and respect their land and consider it as a creation of a supreme being. Moreover, literature study helped to identify their creative aspects such as, dance, song and art that were deeply ingrained in their spiritual and routine rituals (Herrmann, Heinämäki & Morin, 2016). It also formed the idea that their spirituality entailed a close association between the land and humans, commonly referred to as ‘Dreamtime’ (Brumm, 2017).

Comparison

Owing to my Nepalese culture, I could draw a fine comparison between these Aboriginals and Torres Islanders and the Raute indigenous tribe of Nepal. This tribe is considered the last nomadic group of Nepal and are primarily known for their hunting of macaque monkeys and langurs. This Raute tribal community still lives by hunting, bartering and gathering. They are not much seen in villages and reside in jungles of Nepal (Kawamoto, 2016). In contrast, by the early 1970s, the Aboriginals began to work at political offices (Fredericks, 2013). Several campaigns and awareness programs were also conducted to highlight the discrimination faced by the Australian indigenous tribe during the late 60s. Furthermore, these indigenous people gradually began representing their country in sports activity as well (Dalton et al., 2015). Conversely, the Raute people still follow a nomadic life and fail to stay in same camps for two weeks or more due to food scares. Some of the most common belongings of the Raute tribe are an axe, chisel and hatchet (Paudel, 2016). I have also learnt that this nomadic tribe speaks the khamchi language, in contrast to 145 indigenous languages of the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. A Pintupi hunter-gatherer group was brought to a settlement in 1984 and were recognised as the last nomadic indigenous Australian tribe. Thus, a comparison between the two tribal groups helped to understand that although the indigenous community of Australia had faced severe discrimination in the past, the government has been successful in its efforts to relocate members of the community to the larger society (Johnston et al., 2013).

Inference

My recent experiences and study helped me gain a deeper understanding of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customs and beliefs. I have been able to increase my knowledge and awareness regarding their culture and traditions, thereby eliminating the different myths and misconceptions that I initially held about them. I intend to utilise the gained knowledge with the aim of increasing my cultural competency, while working with people belonging to diverse backgrounds, in near future.

References

Brumm, A. (2017). The Alps, high gods, and the great flood: stone axe exchange and cosmology in Aboriginal south-eastern Australia–a response to Hiscock’s ‘Beyond the Dreamtime’. Australian Archaeology, 83(1-2), 56-70.

Dalton, B., Wilson, R., Evans, J. R., & Cochrane, S. (2015). Australian Indigenous youth's participation in sport and associated health outcomes: Empirical analysis and implications. Sport Management Review, 18(1), 57-68.

Fredericks, B. (2013). 'We don't leave our identities at the city limits': Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in urban localities. Australian Aboriginal Studies, (1), 4.

Herrmann, T., Heinämäki, L., & Morin, C. (2016). 4 Protecting sacred sites, maintaining cultural heritage, and sharing power. Indigenous Rights in Modern Landscapes: Nordic Conservation Regimes in Global Context, 62.

Johnston, L., Doyle, J., Morgan, B., Atkinson-Briggs, S., Firebrace, B., Marika, M., ... & Rowley, K. (2013). A review of programs that targeted environmental determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. International journal of environmental research and public health, 10(8), 3518-3542.

Kawamoto, Y. (2016). Raute Nepalese Monkey Hunters and their Changing Relations with the Outside World. Senri Ethnological Studies, 94, 109-122.

Paudel, M. K. (2016). Resistance and change. A case study of economic changes and its effect on language, food habits and dress of the nomadic hunting-gathering Raute of Nepal(Master's thesis, UiT Norges arktiske universitet).

Taylor, J. (2018). The relative economic status of indigenous Australians, 1986-91. Canberra, ACT: Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, Research School of Social Sciences, College of Arts & Social Sciences, The Australian National University.

Tomyn, A. J., Norrish, J. M., & Cummins, R. A. (2013). The subjective wellbeing of indigenous Australian adolescents: validating the personal wellbeing index-school children. Social Indicators Research, 110(3), 1013-1031.