Culture and Identity: A Study on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders

This report discusses the importance of culture and identity in the lives of individuals, with a focus on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. It explores the impact of culture on personality and behaviour, and the need to protect cultural heritage. The report also highlights the challenges faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and the role of the government and society in addressing them.

Individual report

Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Main body........................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

Introduction
Culture plays an important role as it defines the values, ideas, beliefs and customs of a person.
Each and every person follows a certain culture which helps them in finding ways in which they
can survive in the society. It refers to the social behaviour and norms that are found in human
societies (Araújo, Knijnik, & Ovens, (2021)). It also includes the beliefs, knowledge, laws,
customs, and rules that the specific society follows. It also influences the dressing sense,
language and behaviour of an individual as it will depend on the society in which the individual
is growing up. In context to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander they are also known as Koorie
Croiss-Curricular Protocols. They are existed on land for about 50000 years the culture has a
unique quality of wisdom and knowledge. They are known for their culture as they have
protected their cultural heritage and expressions very carefully for over the years.
Main body
According to Fathma Rehman 2014, Culture is a term which describes the norms, rules and
regulations and social behaviour of human societies. It is important for the society to make sure
that they are setting right examples for their upcoming generation and must also make sure that
there is significant amount of changes in the lifestyle and well as norms in order to make sure
that they are coping with the outside world as well. In case of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islanders, they have protected their cultural expression and heritage for a long period of time and
proved that culture creates a significant influence and impact on the mind-set as well as
personality of individual and it is important for the society to make sure that the influence is not
in a negative form (Does culture influence our beliefs?, 2014). India is also one of the few
countries who have protected their culture very well and the country has wide variety of culture.

Identity on the other hand, refers to the more personalized feature and characteristics of an
individual from a particular society. It refers to the quality beliefs, personality, looks and
experiences that an individual possess. It relates to the self-esteem, self-image and individuality
that a person may have according to the society in which they are living and these distinct
features helps in building the identity of an individual and will also help in creating a unique
identity which is different from others. The growth and success of an individual majorly depends
upon the culture and the identity that a respective or particular individual have.
Culture and society have a major influence mind-set of people and they impact their behaviour
towards beliefs and values (Salmon & Walter(2019)). It is important for everyone to understand
that cultural stereotypes have been increased severely from some of the past years due to media
and misinterpretation or may be due to perceptions of some individual. It is important to analyse
the information about the culture first and then try to evaluate and make perception on the basis
of that information. It is important to make sure that the negative information is not spread as it
will not only create a negative impact on people's mind but will also influence the behaviour of
people who are actually following that culture.
I follow Australian cultural and in Australia majority of the us follows Western culture which is
derived from Britain and is influenced by the geographical regions of Australia (Elias &
Paradies, ((2021.). The oldest culture in the history of Australia is Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander which is living in Australia from nearly 50000 years. Unlike Australia, India has a wide
variety of culture and traditions which makes it one of the most diverse country in the world. The
heritage, ethical values and norms, societal customs are very important for the people of India.
The music, art, language, tradition and architect of the country differs on the basis of the
geographical locations.

My identity is the one that makes me different from others. The identity is a combination of
beliefs, looks, expressions and personality which are needed to be defined in order to have an
idea. According to me, I have an identity which is more open to new things. I like to explore new
things and I have a curiosity about everything that comes across me. I make sure that my
research is helping me not only in my academics but also in my personal life (Macionis & Kwok,
(2019.)). I specially like to develop skills which can enhance my personality and I have to makes
sure that my beliefs and values are based on my preferences and not completely on the basis
perceptions.
My interaction with Aboriginal and Torres people was very good. As the community has a wide
variety of culture it is important for them to make sure that the rules and regulations of the
culture is followed by the people. I personally had a wide variety of experiences while analysing
and communicating with the people of that culture. The community is wide spread in different
locations of the country. The community provides shared identity and political bond as a result of
colonisation and governmental bond in today's modern world. In my interaction with Aboriginal
people I came across the important contribution of Queensland Museum Network. The Museum
is collecting and preserving and protecting the culture and its values of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islanders. The museum has a legislative responsibility to collect, research and promote the
culture heritage and technological heritage and the museum is fulfilling its duties by collecting
and protecting different cultures specially of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The people
value and respect diversity and change in languages, belief, practises, etc. and show respect to all
the other communities.
According to Laura 2021, The speech of Prime Minister Paul Keating was one of the best and
honest speeches in the history of Australia. No politician has done such an exact evaluation and

analysis of the history of Aboriginal people. The speech was delivered after the decision of High
Court on the issue of native title and this speech has become one of the most unforgettable
speeches in the history. The speech puts light on the challenges that are faced by the people of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The speech was explicitly acknowledge the experiences
that the people of these culture has faced (Paul Keating's Redfern speech, 2021). The injustice,
prejudice, violence and dispossession that the people has faced and the justice which is yet to be
provided.
While making collaboration with the people for the group project we firstly tried to make sure
that we have knowledge about the strengths and weaknesses of all the individuals. We tried to
make sure that we have had a glass breaking activity which helped us in developing a good bond
between each other which helped us in being more comfortable with each other (Sandbach
(2021)). It is important for us to make sure that we are having knowledge about our skills and are
working to develop new skills. The group presentation is a major task that must be done with
extreme care as it is a responsibility of each and every person in a group and the education and
marks of individual depends on this presentation. It is important for everyone to make sure that
they are giving their best so that mistake of one person does not affect the entire group.

Conclusion
From the above essay, it is concluded that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have faced
many issues in the history. The problem of violence, discrimination regarding colour and culture,
etc. It is important for the government and people of Australia to make sure that they are not
encouraging this type of behaviour in the country. The culture has a significant importance in the
lives of people and shape their beliefs and values which is utmost important aspect of the
personality and thinking process of an individual.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Araújo, A. C. D., Knijnik, J., & Ovens, A. P. (2021). How does physical education and health
respond to the growing influence in media and digital technologies? An analysis of
curriculum in Brazil, Australia and New Zealand. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 53(4),
563-577.
Elias, A., Mansouri, F. and Paradies, Y., (2021). Race Relations in Australia: A Brief History.
In Racism in Australia Today (pp. 33-94). Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore.
Macionis, N., Walters, G. and Kwok, E., (2019). International tertiary student experience in
Australia: A Singaporean perspective. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport & Tourism
Education, 25, p.100174.
Salmon & Walter, M. (2019). Intergenerational and early life influences on the well-being of
Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children: overview and selected
findings from Footprints in Time, the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous
Children. Journal of developmental origins of health and disease, 10(1), 17-23.
Sandbach, K. (2021). Authenticity, local creatives and place branding: a case study from the
Blue Mountains, Australia. Journal of Place Management and Development.
Online
Paul Keating's Redfern speech, 2021 [online]. Available through
<https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/politics/paul-keatings-redfern-
speech>
Does culture influence our beliefs?, 2014 [online] available through
<https://www.statesmanshs.org/707/features/does-culture-influence-our-beliefs/>