Culture, Identity and Indigenous Australian Peoples

This chapter explores the concepts of culture, identity, and social organization among Indigenous Australian peoples. It discusses the diversity of Indigenous cultures and the role of cultural practices and identity. It also reflects on the importance of cultural identity for Indigenous peoples globally and in Australia.

3
Chapter 1
culture, IdentIty and IndIgenous
australIan PeoPles
ron hampton and Maree toombs
learning objectives:
this chapter should assist you to:
− understand concepts of race
− articulate concepts of culture, identity and social organisation
− understand the diversity of Indigenous cultures and the role of cultural identity and
practices
− reflect on the role of cultural practices and identity for Indigenous cultures globally
and in australia
− reflect on the diversity of aboriginal and torres strait Islander identity, cultures and
societies.
aboriginal australians
torres strait Islanders
Indigenous australians
race
culture
identity
ethnicity
Indigenous cultures
country
dreamings
discrete Indigenous
communities
Key terms:
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4 Part 1: IndIgenous australIans: hIstory, culture and IdentIty
Note: Throughout this book, we will be using different terminology to refer
to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We accept that not everyone
agrees with the use of these terms, nor with the use of the term ‘Indigenous
Australians’. We accept that individuals may prefer to be identified by their
language/cultural name, for example Jagera, Wiradjuri, Bardi, or Wik Munkan,
or by regional group names such as Koories, Murris, Noongahs, Nyoongars,
Nungas etc. Where there can be a distinction, appropriate terms may be used,
but generally we need to utilise generic terminology. This is in keeping with the
adoption by many Aboriginal people of the term ‘Dreamings’ which was coined
by WEH Stanner (1965) to represent the myriad individual names for traditional
belief systems.
‘Aborigine’ is a term seen as unacceptable among Aboriginal people today, but
it has been used in this book where it forms part of a direct quote.
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ron hampton and Maree toombs
chaPter 1: culture, IdentIty and IndIgenous australIan PeoPles 5
race
When working in cross-cultural situations, it is important to accept and relate to
individuals from a wide range of backgrounds, without prejudice or preconceptions
based on emotive issues and erroneous ideas. In anthropological terms, race is
an arbitrary classification formerly based on physical characteristics including
skin colour etc., but now is increasingly based on genetic markers, for example
blood groups. It can also refer to a human population whose members share a
greater degree of physical and genetic similarity with one another than with
other humans.
‘Race’ is often used as an anthropological classification, linked to physical
features and characteristics, and is often linked to geographic areas. Research
suggests very limited genetic differences between groups despite widely dispersed
locations. In sociological terms, ‘race’ is applied by one group to members of
another, with characteristics ascribed on the basis of appearance or descent. A
preferable term is ethnicity, which identifies people on the basis of social and
cultural groups based on common origins and cultural traditions.
culture, identity and indigenous people
culture
Howard describes culture as:
the customary, learned manner in which human groups organize their
behaviour and thought in relation to their environment. … how people
act, and especially interact, with one another. … how people perceive,
classify, and interpret their world (1996, p. 11).
Our personal cultural lens influences how we interpret others, and how we behave
in society. Culture is generally accepted to be a learned process while ‘race’ is
associated with perceived inherited characteristics. Relationships between
young and old in each culture exist to teach and reinforce culturally appropriate
behaviours, attitudes and values, following hierarchical stratification of societies.
Examination of culture requires a consistent emphasis on objectivity and an
appreciation that we might not always see things the same way that others do.
Miner (1956), in ‘Body Ritual among the Nacirema’, demonstrated the hidden
aspects of culture, the unseen learned values, beliefs and assumptions on which
overt behaviour is based.
race can define groups
of tribes or peoples who
form a distinctive ethnic
population. It is a term
which is often used but
poorly understood.
ethnicity refers to
belonging to a social and
cultural group based on
common regional origins
and cultural traditions.
Culture is the learned
patterns of thought,
action, understanding
and history through
which we engage
and interact with the
world and other people
around us. culture
provides a framework
in which we develop
our understanding of
customary behaviours,
which may not be
apparent to outsiders.
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6 Part 1: IndIgenous australIans: hIstory, culture and IdentIty
Culture consists of:
− visible (overt) behaviours
− unseen (covert) factors
− underlying (unconscious) issues
− values, beliefs, assumptions.
Understanding behaviour of others is a difficult task, especially as our
societies become more complex, although complexity should not necessarily be
equated with ‘superiority’. Societies change over time, increasing the need to
shift social directions to survive. Increasingly, competitive societies marginalise
less competitive ones, just as dominant groups marginalise subordinate groups.
Societal change promotes adaptation for a suppressed group to become less
different from the dominant group, and thus, less threatening to that group.
In colonisation, power relationships are established as the result of domination
of another culture. These are most obvious in imposed policies, demonstrated by
difference (and hence distance) from the dominant one, for example segregation
of housing, education etc.
At first contact with Europeans, Aboriginal peoples were seen as devoid of
culture in any form: their lack of material belongings, and ‘perceived failure’ to
use the wheel and till the land were seen as evidence of a most ‘primitive’ form of
humankind. Europeans were incapable of comprehending the complex spiritual
and cultural life which Aboriginal cultures encompassed. The British ignored
the capacity of the Aboriginal people to survive and coexist in the world’s most
arid, habitable continent. Aboriginal sustainable patterns of land use had been
developed over many generations reflecting longstanding behaviours designed
to ensure ongoing resource availability. Varied social structures were adapted to
the individual ‘country’, and cultural patterns maintained group viability even
in times of environmental change.
Identity
Individual identityrelates closely to cultural and social identity, which
incorporates roles in a social setting. Identity arises from the adoption of social
roles through personal experience. The individual negotiates the meaning of
his or her identity with family and society members. Social identity can be seen
as the aggregation of group memberships that define the individual and their
positions. Each individual in the community identifies and establishes accepted
relationships and interactions. Identity provides a sense of belonging to a specific
group at family, community or national level.
a further explanation of
‘country’ is outlined in
chapter 4.
Identity describes
an individual’s self-
perception as a discrete,
separate entity with
specific characteristics.
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Indigenous identity
Indigenousness is an identity constructed, shaped and lived in the
politicized context of contemporary colonialism. The communities,
clans, nations and tribes we call Indigenous peoples are just that:
Indigenous to the lands they inhabit, in contrast to and in contention
with the colonial societies and states that have spread out from Europe
and other centres of empire (Alfred & Corntassel, 2005, p. 597).
Individuals and communities link their Indigenous identity closely with
the country on which it emerged. Tradition (lore and law) and cultural mores
contribute to the identity of the group, and define the individual identity.
Environment, climate, resources and locality impact on lifestyle and cultural
responses to challenges. Successful occupation requires different responses to
environmental conditions such as cold, altitude or aridity, for example extremely
cold-climate cultures develop different social organisations to those in a
rainforest area. Geography contributes to cultural diversity as indigenous groups
retain links to land as the ‘Mother’ or ‘Life-giver’. Colonial cultures perceived
land as an economic asset/possession, a view which has spread globally.
Indigenous cultures
There is no universally agreed name for the peoples whose lives,
conditions and aspirations are [described] … as first peoples, because
their ancestors were the original inhabitants of their lands, since
colonized by foreigners. … [Many refer to them as] indigenous, a term
widely accepted by the peoples themselves, and now adopted by the
United Nations (Burger, 1990, p. 16).
Today’s indigenous peoples are the descendants of the traditional owners
and occupiers of a country or region. They demonstrate diversity in culture,
religion and socio-economic organisation, both historically and currently. Many
reflection point
Identity is a simple yet complex set of ideas, and you may wonder why we are addressing it. a recent commen
a student who had been visiting First nations community health services in canada, and interacting with the lo
people, found an answer to that question. on reflection, she stated that she had not understood how
identity was to indigenous people. however, she now realised that it was central to how they saw themselves,
they were. she said ‘I’m still not sure about what it is, but I get it! I see why!’
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8 Part 1: IndIgenous australIans: hIstory, culture and IdentIty
indigenous people argue that being indigenous is a state of mind and birth; most
retain their connection to traditional lands wherever they reside.
In 1990, the global indigenous population was approximately 300 million
across more than 70 countries (Burger, 1990). Indigenous groups are spread across
all inhabited continents and many islands; representing all regions. They include
the indigenous peoples of North and South America, the Inuit, Aleutians and
Saami of the circumpolar region, the Ma¯ori of New Zealand and many inhabitants
of Europe, Asia and the Pacific region. Most groups have been subject to similar
colonial experiences, characterised by disadvantage, dispossession of traditional
lands, and loss or dilution of culture. Colonialism continues to occur wherever
dominant cultures attempt to suppress the traditional cultures within their
sphere of influence.
In the ‘global society’, so-called ‘simple’ societies are seen to be lacking in
technology. Some refuse to be influenced by or accept this, for example New
Guinea Highlander groups. Using traditional husbandry of their environment,
they contribute to sustainable development in the environment upon which
they have depended. Over generations, they have developed understanding and
respect for all living things in their world. Concepts of time, competition and
resource exploitation are not fundamental to indigenous people. Colonising
intruders raise tension or conflict between traditional cultural values and the
expectations of the introduced consumer-based, individual-oriented society.
Most ‘simple’ societies had complex kinship and relationship structures which
were meticulously handed down over generations to ensure survival. These
existed/exist in a spiritual as well as social context, and contain complexities
that Western languages lack the capacity to describe. Many indigenous people
retain a conscious spirituality within rich and diverse cultures and languages.
Aboriginal Australians refer to traditional lands as ‘Country’, and are central
to identity. Aboriginal people relate family to ‘country’, and acceptance by others
often relies on being able to identify ancestral lands. Yami Lester, a Maralinga
man who was blinded following the nuclear testing on his homelands, states an
Indigenous view of his ‘country’:
The country wasn’t just hills or creeks or trees. And I didn’t feel like it
was fairy tales they told me. It was real, our kuuti, the force that gives
us life. Somebody created it, and whoever created it did it for us, so we
could live and hunt and have a good time. That’s how we come to be
here because that malu and ngintaka created this image for us to live
and breathe: the plants, the language, the people (Lester, 1993, p. 10).
The attitudes of many indigenous people reflect Lester’s perceptions of himself
and his people as part of the landscape. Yami’s identity is inextricably linked to
‘Country’ is the ‘estate’
or central lands which
are traditionally
occupied by distinct
cultural groups (stanner,
1965).
aboriginal australian
is a person who is
a member of the
aboriginal people of
australia, who identifies
as an aboriginal person
and is accepted by the
aboriginal community
as an aboriginal person.
(aborigines is not a
commonly used term
among aboriginal
people today, and can be
viewed as offensive.)
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chaPter 1: culture, IdentIty and IndIgenous australIan PeoPles 9
‘country’ (i.e. land which his people historically occupied). Because Aboriginal
Australians see ‘country’ as the central aspect of identity for them, the invasion
and occupation of their land did not simply amount to a physical loss of territory
and sovereignty. Occupation and colonialism impacted far beyond the physical
on Indigenous Australians bringing disruption or loss of language, beliefs and
social structures which form the underlying basis of culture.
contemporary issues for indigenous people
Globally, contemporary issues among indigenous people include racial discrim-
ination, poor health and access to health services, levels of employment and
education, loss of traditional languages, cultural survival (as minorities) and
Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights (IIPR). Traditional indigenous regions
experience cultural conflict and suppression, resulting from exploitation of
resource-rich traditional areas. These include: degradation and clearing of native
forests in South America, leading to the displacement of indigenous tribes, and
loss of the traditional lands; for the Inuit and Saami of the Arctic Circle, the
impacts of increasing exploitation of oil reserves are seen as threats to traditional
lands and lifestyles; in parts of Africa, civil war and ethnic conflicts have
resulted in food shortages and displacement; in China’s disputed regions of Tibet
and Xingjian Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) government policies, together
with the imposition of Mandarin as the official teaching language, is reducing
traditional cultures, languages and ways of life.
Many of the world’s staple foods including potatoes, lentils, peas, sugar
cane, garlic, peppers and tomatoes were first cultivated by indigenous people.
We have incorporated words, for example, canoe, barbecue, squash, kangaroo
from indigenous languages. Approximately 75% of the world’s plant-based
pharmaceuticals for example aspirin, digitalis and quinine, have been derived
from medicinal plants found in tribal areas. ‘Traditional’ medicines are
increasingly accepted both in practice, and as contributions from traditional
pharmacopoeia.
ask Yourself
What do you consider to be the characteristics of your identity, i.e. specific characteristics
which typify your own cultural group (nationalities/groups)?
how does your cultural background prejudice your interaction with individuals from other
cultures? how would you deal with it in a professional capacity?
culture consists of: visible (overt) behaviours; unseen (covert) factors; underlying
(unconscious) issues; and values, beliefs and assumptions. What do you understand by these
categories?
Indigenous australian
is an aboriginal and/or
torres strait Islander
person. By convention,
the ‘I’ for Indigenous
is capitalised when
referring to australia’s
Indigenous people and
topics.
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10 Part 1: IndIgenous australIans: hIstory, culture and IdentIty
aboriginal and torres strait Islanders and
the australian identity
historic roots of australia’s occupation
Aboriginal Australians have occupied this continent for a period in excess of
60,000 years, and some would suggest more than 100,000 years, before being
invaded by the British colonists. Early occupation of this continent and
surrounding islands occurred when Aboriginal Australians’ ancestors arrived.
Archaeological history of Australia’s occupation is limited but survives in oral
histories among cultural groups and families.
[An] extraordinary pattern of extra clearing of forests by apparently
controlled use of fire is thought to be represented … in the pollen and
charcoal profile from Lake George near Canberra where a controlled
burning regime may have been introduced by about 120,000 BP and
maintained virtually till the present day (Singh, Kershaw, & Clark,
1981, p. 27).
Radiocarbon dating is limited to 40,000 years, and beyond that timeframe,
reflects the same result. Aboriginal occupation sites are found in southern parts
of the continent which also indicate that time frame. Flood (Figure 1. 2004, p. 6)
identifies one such site as Allen’s Cave on the Nullarbor Plain, indicating that
Aboriginal people had occupied the southern lands by then. There are a number
of theories relating to the way in which Australia was populated, but all support
long-term occupation (Flood, 2004, pp. 79–81). Most theories of occupation
identify the north and north-west regions as areas of arrival. Each group adapted
to its own environment, and their belief systems (‘Dreamings’) reflect the ways
in which people identify the land, their environment, and their place among all
other aspects of their universe.
Torres Strait Islander Australians are of Melanesian descent. Occupation of
the islands by the ancestors of modern Torres Strait Islanders occurred following
rises in sea level after the ice age. Recent archaeological evidence suggests
that occupation may have occurred as recently as 1500–2500 BP (Barham, 1999),
and the linkage between the people of the Torres Strait and indigenous people
of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is evident. Family links continue to exist between
PNG and Boigu or Saibai, which lie in close proximity (<10 km) to the PNG coast.
Beliefs and identity on these islands are closely linked with those of nearby
mainland PNG communities.
this estimate has
since been revised by
approximately half. It
is still an extraordinary
period for occupation of
the southern areas of
the continent.
torres Strait Islander
is a person/descendant
from people from islands
of the torres strait
located to the north of
mainland australia.
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chaPter 1: culture, IdentIty and IndIgenous australIan PeoPles 11
contemporary australians
Australia’s multiculturalism is firmly entrenched, as is globalisation, bringing
with it the necessity for peaceful coexistence in extremely diverse environments
and circumstances. We need to challenge our view of the national identity! If
Australian people are to live together harmoniously we must, as a nation, develop
an understanding and appreciation of our differences and the benefits that
diversity can afford us all. Health professionals need to display harmony and
understanding with patients of different cultures, and be well-informed on the
social and cultural background of ‘others’, regardless of personal cultural history.
It is essential to examine cultural experiences from others’ perspectives.
aboriginal and torres strait Islander australians
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the original inhabitants of this
land, continue to find themselves located in a separate social stratum while
maintaining their connection to ‘country’ and family. As a minority of the
population, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people retain links to some of
the oldest spiritual belief systems in the world. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander peoples retain pride in their heritage while participating in all areas of
contemporary life, for example education, employment, industry and community.
Australia fails to acknowledge contemporary and historic contributions by
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to the development of Australia’s
economy, for example Aboriginal labour was central to development of the
nation’s pastoral industry.
other australians
Most immigrant traditions have bases in exploitation of the land and with the
accumulation of possessions and wealth. This leads to divisions (class, social
status etc.), and allocates relative positions to groups or individuals based on
power and influence. Perceptions of social and economic position are often
associated with other characteristics such as race, ethnicity, skin colour and,
more recently, with religious affiliation. Ethnocentric views based on British
heritage have ignored the contributions of diverse ethnic groups to our emerging
nation. In Australia, multiculturalism is a current reality, as is globalisation,
bringing with it the necessity for peaceful coexistence in extremely diverse
environments and circumstances.
The arrival of the first ‘boat people’ from Great Britain (the First Fleet) included
convicts, soldiers, sailors and officers. This, and subsequent penal fleets were
followed by large numbers of immigrants of diverse origins. The influx rapidly
increased with the gold rushes of the nineteenth century and many nationalities
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12 Part 1: IndIgenous australIans: hIstory, culture and IdentIty
came to Australia including large contingents of Irish, Germans, and Chinese.
Colonial governments did little to integrate these migrants into the ‘Australian’
community. The majority of immigrant Australians came to this nation in search
of a better life for themselves and their children. They brought attitudes, values
and beliefs derived from a wide range of traditions.
The White Australia policy was instituted in 1901 as a result of the colonial
descendants’ desire to maintain their perceived cultural and social superiority.
It was devised to ensure that the population of this country would be principally
white. Arising from this ideology were inaccurate, idealised Australian identities
which focused on the perceived character traits of the ‘heroic, sun-burned bushie’,
and later the ‘bronzed sporting hero’. In reality, few Australians refl ected these
characteristics, which ignored the diversity of our society.
Fact Box 1.1
approximately 37% of australians identifi ed themselves as australian descent in the 2
census—48% are of British descent, 12% from other european countries, 3% of chinese desc
and 1% of Indian origin (australian Bureau of statistics, 2007a). the 2006 census iden
people from 270 nations as residents of this country.
Perceptions of Indigenous australians’
identity
While Australia’s population consists of people from a wide variety of cultural
sources, the role and place of Indigenous Australians in perceptions of national
identity is generally neglected.
Until the latter part of the twentieth century, Australia ignored the existence
of, and earlier occupation by, Indigenous Australians in their society and
surroundings. Exclusion of Indigenous Australians from society impacted on
their place as part of the society, and denied acceptance and recognition of
their part in the nation’s history. Until the late 1970s, many Indigenous people
continued to experience segregation on reserves and ‘settlements’ located on the
outskirts of towns. Reminders of these lines of exclusion for Aboriginal people
from the ‘white’ community exist in many towns e.g. Brisbane.
Fact Box 1.2
street names which are a reminder of our racist past … Boundary st, West end. Boundary st,
hill, Boundary roads in camp hill, Bardon, thornlands, rocklea and Indooroopilly.
australia’s approach
to immigration was
the imposition of the
White australia policy
from federation until
the latter part of the
twentieth century.
australian governments
gradually dismantled the
policy from about 1950
until 1973.
the White australia
policy had its roots
before federation:
white miners attacked
chinese diggers in
Victoria and new south
Wales; factory workers
opposed immigration
which might threaten
their jobs. leading
nsW and Victorian
politicians warned there
would be no place for
’asiatics’ or ‘coloureds’
in the australia of the
future. In 1901, the new
federal government
passed the Immigration
Restriction Act 1901,
placing restrictions on
immigration. one of the
restrictions included a
dictation test which was
used to exclude certain
applicants by requiring
them to pass a written
test often in a language
nominated by an
immigration offi cer, and
foreign to the applicant.
(australian government,
department of
Immigration and
citizenship 2009)
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chaPter 1: culture, IdentIty and IndIgenous australIan PeoPles 13
Personal story
I am an aboriginal woman who grew up not knowing
much about my aboriginal heritage. the reason for this
is because I was born when it was not safe to say you
were aboriginal for fear of government repercussions.
My father would tell my brother and me that we should
tell people we came from the Islands. My brother and
me would laughabout this and say, ‘I wonderwhat
Island we are supposed to have come from?’ the irony
in all of this being that the whole town knew we were
aboriginal. our mother was clearly of aboriginal heritage.
We were teased and called such names as ‘abo’, ‘Boong’
and ‘nigger’. looking back, if I had known more about my
Most of these streets and roads were called Boundary because they represented the former
town boundaries that Indigenous people were not permitted to cross at certain times on certain
days in 19th-century Brisbane.
… aboriginal people were exiled beyond the boundary lines after 4 pm six days a week and
completely on sundays. troopers rode the perimeter cracking stockwhips. (condon, 2010)
Around cities and towns, Aboriginal people were generally confi ned to
‘reserves’ on the outskirts, even after the 1967 Referendum. For many, the cost of
straying across the boundaries, of being ‘Off the Reserve’, was a period in custody.
Few members of the broader Australian community had the opportunity to interact
and get to know and understand Indigenous individuals and their cultures. The
vast majority of the population relied on the images and representations found in
the media. In the 1994 Wentworth Lecture, Mick Dodson said:
In all these representations, these supposed ‘truths’ about us, our voices
have been noticeably absent. … as my colleague Marcia Langton so
poignantly wrote, the majority of Australians ‘… do not know how to
relate to Aboriginal people. They relate to stories told by former colonists’
(Langton, 1993). So today, even to talk about Aboriginality is to enter a
labyrinth full of obscure passages, ambiguous signs and trapdoors. The
moment the question is asked, ‘who or what is Aboriginal?’, you enter
a historical landscape full of absolute and timeless truths which have
been set in place by self-professed experts and authorities all too ready
to tell us, and the world the meaning of Aboriginality (Dodson, 1994).
Issues of identity and knowledge of their culture were often denied to Aboriginal
individuals. Their experiences highlight issues of racism and poor self-image.
Many Indigenous Australians have similar stories to those of Maree Toombs who
faced school-based discrimination, and expectations that she would know about
traditional history.
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14 Part 1: IndIgenous australIans: hIstory, culture and IdentIty
Australia needs to embrace its diverse origins: we need to acknowledge the
history and contributions of all ethno-cultural groups within our nation, and
ask what it is to be Australian. Indigenous Australians were fi rst included in the
1971 census, but numbers of Indigenous Australians identifying in the census
are increasing.
Fact Box 1.3
− at 30 June 2006, the Indigenous estimated resident population of australia was 517,200
or 2.5% of the total population. this Indigenous population estimate was 14% higher than
the 2006 unadjusted census count (455,028).
− In 2006, 455,028 aboriginal and torres strait Islander people were counted in the census,
which represents an increase of 11% between the 2001 and 2006 censuses.
− over the past 20 years, the census count of Indigenous people has doubled from 227,593
in 1986. this high level of growth is a result of natural increase (the excess of births over
deaths) and non-demographic factors such as people identifying their Indigenous origin
for the fi rst time in the census (australian Bureau of statistics, 2007b).
Accurate numbers for Indigenous Australians are diffi cult to obtain despite
efforts of the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). In attempting to determine
the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia, the ABS
faces a number of hurdles including a persistent reluctance to identify Indigenous
status to offi cialdom, varying degrees of geographic isolation, and limited levels
of literacy linked with unfamiliarity with forms. Reluctance refl ects periods
when Aboriginal babies were, by law, automatically declared ‘neglected’ and
taken from their mothers (known as the ‘Stolen Generations’).
Another factor is the stigma which is still associated with being Aboriginal
or Torres Strait Islander. Many Indigenous Australians have suffered racism in
heritage and felt a pride for it, I would have been less
aff ected by the taunts.
When I was in year fi ve the teacher asked us all
to colour in a picture of an aboriginal man smiling as
the ‘First Fleet’ sailedinto BotanyBay.the teacher
turned to me and said, ‘you’re aboriginal, what do think
about this?’ I shrugged my shoulders and said, ‘I don’t
know’. I remember being very embarrassed that she had
singled me out. I didn’t want to be diff erent: I wanted to
be like everyone else.
these days, I know who I am and where I come from,
I know my identity and am proud to say that I am an
aboriginal woman. as for the teacher and that picture,
I could now say that man would have been from the eora
tribe in sydney. he was part of a complex kinship system
and his peoplehad lived that way for over 40,000
years. he would not have been smiling, and he didn’t
know it yet but his life was about to change forever.
(toombs, 2011)
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ron hampton and Maree toombs
chaPter 1: culture, IdentIty and IndIgenous australIan PeoPles 15
their lives, which affects their willingness to be identifi ed offi cially, especially
to government agencies. Several generations have experienced severe adverse
impacts of government policies, resulting in the separation and breakdown of
families, exclusion from traditional country and subsequent loss of rights to claim
Native title over the lands of their ancestors. Offi cialdom is seen, together with
the judicial system, as the ‘enemy’, so even educated and successful Indigenous
individuals may fail to identify in the census.
While we often think of Aboriginal communities as remote area situations, a
majority of Aboriginal people live in cities and regional centres, while maintaining
links to traditional country. The Aboriginal population is increasing at a rate
higher than the general population, and youths form a much higher proportion of
the Indigenous population. At the same time, defi cits in life expectancy among
Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders see a smaller proportion in the older age
groups. Life expectancy for Indigenous Australians is much lower than for the
general population.
Fact Box 1.4
aboriginal and torres strait Islander peoples have a much lower life expectancy than the general
australian population. Indigenous australians born in the period 1996–2001 are estimated
to have a life expectancy at birth of 59.4 years for males, and 64.8 years for females. this is
approximately 16–17 years less than the overall australian population born over the same period
(australian Bureau of statistics, 2007). australia appears to compare poorly with other countries
for Indigenous life expectancy at birth. (australian Institute of health and Welfare, 2011)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations demonstrate signifi cant
differences from the wider population. The differences include age, geographic
distribution, language and employment. Current ABS data shows signifi cant
differences compared to the wider population: age-related distribution profi le
shows much higher percentages of youth (<19 years); signifi cantly lower propor-
tions among age groups from 30 years upwards. It also identifi es lower levels of
employment, and differences in language, education and housing, as indicated in
Fact Box 1.3—population characteristics, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Australians.
Fact Box 1.5
− almost 40% of the Indigenous population was under the age of 15 years, compared with
20% for the non-Indigenous population.
− over one-quarter (27%) of the Indigenous population lived in remote or very remote parts
of australia, compared with 2% of non-Indigenous australians.
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16 Part 1: IndIgenous australIans: hIstory, culture and IdentIty
− More than half (55%) of Indigenous australians living in very remote areas spoke an
Indigenous language at home.
− 42% of Indigenous australians aged 15 years and over were employed (41% in 1996).
− Indigenous australians in the labour force were much more likely than non-Indigenous
people to be unemployed (20% compared with 7%). (australian Bureau of statistics, 2003
aboriginal australian cultures and history
early aboriginal australians
Aboriginal Australians have the oldest (chromosomal) lineage outside Africa.
Dating techniques push back the occupation of Australia beyond 60,000 years to
the early period of modern man’s emigration from Africa. Flood (2006) mapped
the distribution of humans traced through Y-chromosome lineages—the second
oldest identified marker (M130) has its greatest concentration (60%) in Aboriginal
Australian men which highlights direct Aboriginal links to the earliest emigrants
from Africa.
The first Aboriginal migrants must have undergone a series of inter-
island voyages to reach this country, possibly making them the world’s
earliest ocean voyagers. New finds in Australia suggest that people had
reached the necessary technological level to cross substantial open
sea and to adapt to a new continent more than 53,000 years ago. The
settling of Australia marked the first human expansion beyond the
single landmass comprising Africa, Europe and Asia … adaptation to a
strange, new continent at such an early date must be counted as a major
achievement in the world’s human story (Flood, 2004, p. 38).
The last 100,000 years saw major changes in the environment (climate, flora
and fauna) which needed massive adjustments by these immigrants. Vegetation
changed with diminishing rainforests and expanding eucalypt forests. Over
thousands of years Australia became drier and hotter as people expanded across
the various environments.
Several theories exist on occupation of the continent by early man (Flood,
2004, pp. 79–82). The most logical is that settlement followed coastal and
riverine edges, as these provide the greatest variety and access to foodstuffs.
They developed a variety of cultures and diverse survival techniques, making
them among the oldest continuous cultures in the world. Despite climatic/
environmental changes, Aboriginal people occupied an ever-widening range
of environments from the north to the most southern regions, and the interior.
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Tasmanian Aboriginal people have been identified as the world’s most southerly
early people. Over time, Aboriginal people occupied the entire continent.
aboriginal australian cultures
Since initial human occupation, Aboriginal cultural groups lived across Australia
in separate societies. When the British claimed possession of the Australian
continent, they regarded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as a single race.
At this time, there were approximately 200 to 250 Aboriginal language groups
and 600 to 700 dialects. Estimates of the Aboriginal population of the Australian
continent at the time of British occupation vary from around 300,000 to over a
million, with the latter estimate determined by the demographer, Butlin (cited in
Bourke, Bourke, & Edwards, 1998, p. 38). Aboriginal cultures and communities
were numerous, diverse and dynamic. Many cultural groups have lost all or
much of their traditional culture. Some continue to maintain significant aspects
of their culture, language and individual cultural practices.
In Aboriginal Australia, cultural groups or nations were based on language
groups which occupied clearly-defined country, and were generally limited
to between 400 to 1000 individuals. Across their country, they lived in family
groups or ‘bands’ of between 10 and 20, and family bands formed a clan or horde,
each speaking their own language and those of surrounding clans. Lifestyle and
social organisation was consultative not hierarchical, based on Dreaming Law.
Flood suggests that:
Aboriginal societies were all of the band variety, characterised by
small group size and nomadism—regular mobility and the lack of any
permanent single base of residence. Aboriginal nomadism, however,
was highly restricted geographically, except in the most arid regions. …
individuals were extremely mobile and the band’s size and membership
varied with food resources (2006 p. 17).
Cultural identity was based on language, belief systems, social/kinship
structure, social behaviours, and links to land. Discrete bands linked with
other bands, connected by marriage, language, and country, into broader social
structures inextricably connected to country by Dreamings which defined their
belief systems. Territorial squabbles were uncommon; there were strict laws
regulating inter-tribal interactions and offences against individuals.
ask Yourself
can you identify your personal ancestry in terms of ethnicity and place of origin for four or
more generations? What importance might this have for indigenous people or similar groups?
‘Dreamings’ is a term
coined by W.e.h. stanner
to encompass the
multitude of group
names for such systems
(stanner, 1965).
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18 Part 1: IndIgenous australIans: hIstory, culture and IdentIty
can you identify any separate/specific Indigenous australian groups and explain why sub-
sections require more detailed identification?
Aboriginal people linked intimately with the land over millennia. Through
experience, they grew to understand the inter-relationships of the environment
and worked within its constraints. Sustainable use was integral to traditional
lifestyles. Stories exist that link areas rich in uranium to prohibitions on women’s
access, linking them to reproductive issues (Martin-Stone & Wesley, 2011).
Over the past 70,000 years, at least four ice ages impacted on Australia
and its inhabitants, contributing to environmental and vegetative changes.
Aboriginal people coped with dramatic environmental change and changing
food resources. This is evident in the Willandra Lakes area in New South Wales
which experienced massive changes, losing a number of large freshwater lakes
and abundant resources, requiring dramatic changes to lifestyle (Flood, 2004, pp.
39–48). Aboriginal land management practices across this era also contributed to
changes in vegetation and animal life.
Over time, changes in climate and the environment forced people to adapt their
lifestyle to the altering conditions. Following British occupation, rapid changes
to social and economic regulation imposed massive disruption on Aboriginal
cultures across Australia. The pace of change did not allow Aboriginal groups to
adapt: they lost cultural practices, and were excluded from their traditional land
and resources.
traditional law and social structure
Aboriginal cultures developed their own belief systems over millennia,
based on close ties and understanding of their land. Like all societies, they
developed beliefs about their creation history. Within these oral histories, they
incorporated information on the land and its resources as well as establishing
moral and cultural boundaries, often known as ‘Law’ and each group had its
own name for their individual Dreamings or beliefs. Dreaming Law included
obligations and responsibilities for ceremony and ritual maintenance which
was seen as ensuring continuity of traditional life and resources. Sharing
economic and ceremonial dealings with surrounding groups enabled marriage
and kinship ties. Relationships carried rights, obligations and appropriate ways
of behaving. Responsibility for land and maintenance of Law is shared and
maintained through kin obligations, which relate to ceremonial and inheritance
issues.
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The acquisition of cultural knowledge or Law began during adolescence as
a lifelong quest for both males and females. This knowledge or ‘business’ was
divided along gender-specific lines and continues as Men’s Business/Women’s
Business (Bell, 1998). In many groups, both animate and inanimate elements
within the environment were classified under moieties where everything is
identified.
Through participation in rituals and ceremonies, individuals learned more
about their Dreaming stories and associated designs, songs and dances. Some
of these ceremonies were secret (closed) and some public (open) and not gender
specific. Individuals had a mentor—‘Uncle’ for males, ‘Aunt’ for females—who
were responsible for passing cultural knowledge to the trainee. Both men and
women had their separate spheres of influence with specific religious ceremonies
and rituals which held particular segments of mythical information (Bell, 1998).
In Aboriginal society, men and women had both segregated and combined
ceremonies. Women’s ceremonies include fertility, child raising and herbal
knowledge, whereas men were concerned with ritual and ceremony especially
around resources, for example food sources. As individuals grew older,
and displayed knowledge and understanding, they gained power, prestige
and recognition. Both men and women can be considered elders: custodians of
the law and able jointly to make decisions for the welfare of the group. Such
status is not automatic with age, and one may become an elder at a relatively
young age.
Social interaction was governed by Dreaming Law, which established patterns
of behaviour designed to minimise conflict and to maintain the continuity of
the group. Conflict minimisation practices, such as ‘mother-in-law avoidance’
or limitations on interactions between siblings on gender lines, reduce the
opportunity for individuals to come into conflict. The Law also determines
marriage lines and eligibility, decreasing the risk of genetic reinforcement
by limiting the number of potential marriage partners along clearly defined
descent or ‘skin’ lines. Traditionally, to marry ‘wrong-skin’ is to court disaster
Moiety: either of two
kinship groups based on
unilateral descent that
together make up a tribe
or society.
elders: custodians of
the law and able jointly
to make decisions for
the welfare of the
group.
reflection point
Inheritance is central in the granting of ceremonial and territorial rights and responsibilities. a daugh
inherit one type of rights through their father, which in Warlpiri and other central australian languages classify
as ‘Kirda’. Inheritance from the mother’s line makes them ‘Kurdungurlu’. thus for any given dreaming site the
of Kirda and a set of Kurdungurlu. If a woman is Kirda for her father’s country, for example the children of her
brother will be Kurdungurlu for that same area (Jinta desert art, 2006).
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20 Part 1: IndIgenous australIans: hIstory, culture and IdentIty
as recounted by Peasley (1983) and illustrated in the film The Last of the Nomads
(Kelley, 1997). This is a true story of traditional individuals from the same moiety
who transgress the Law, and it highlights the consequences of defying tradition.
ask Yourself
how would you cope with surviving in the australian bush over a long period? Would your
education and knowledge equip you to survive?
could you identify and locate a range of traditional foodstuffs from an area, bearing in mind
the need for a balanced diet?
Post-colonial australia
Many Australians have failed to embrace integration of Aboriginal Australians,
a hangover from colonial and post-colonial attitudes. They continue to expect
Aboriginal people to retain every aspect of their traditional culture, ignoring
the diversity of cultures. Aboriginal people have had to cope with the massive
changes wrought by invasion and occupation. At the same time, Australia has
integrated aspects of migrant cultures into a multicultural mix, accepting cultural
diffusion, and changing traditional practices and values, while respecting
cultural identification.
In the years following the Second World War, when government was forced
to rescind the White Australia policy, migrant intake into Australia increased
rapidly. White Australians reacted with derogatory terms and attitudes. Many
European migrants did not fit the perceived ideal, and suffered discrimination.
Despite this, their lot was much better than the conditions under which
Indigenous Australians lived. For most Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people, segregation and isolation continued to exist (Shackleford, 2010), and
leaving the reserve without authority could result in a term in lockup or prison.
contemporary aboriginal cultures
Australian Aborigines are today among the world’s most physically
varying population, and it now seems that this variability was even
greater in the past. (Flood, 2004, p. 75)
Australia has considered Aboriginal people as a single pan-Aboriginal entity,
which creates problems as Aboriginal Australia continues to be highly diverse
both physically and culturally. Expectations of ‘one shoe fits all’ solutions to the
problems of Aboriginal communities fail, especially in spheres including health
and education. Today, the majority of Aboriginal people live in urban settings,
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often far from country, but Aboriginal cultures exist in every corner of Australia,
from remote areas to cities.
Being part of an Indigenous Australian culture is as much a state of mind as
it is of descent and adherence to contemporary beliefs, customs and behaviours.
Urban and rural Aboriginal Australians suffer from perceptions that real
Aboriginals live in the bush (remote areas), which hinders acceptance of non-
remote Aboriginal cultures. Discrimination against Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Australians continues, with Australians more likely to accept and
integrate migrant groups than Indigenous Australians.
ask Yourself
What did being ‘aboriginal’ in australia mean to individuals in the first quarter of twentieth
century?
today?
torres strait Islander australians
Torres Strait Islander peoples have their own distinct identity and cultural
traditions based on specific island origins. Culture was transmitted and
maintained by storytelling, song and dance. Originally located on the islands of
the Torres Strait, the majority of Torres Strait Islanders now live on the mainland.
In ABS figures from the 2006 census approximately 33,000 people identified as
Torres Strait Islander (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2007b, pp. 44, 46).
Since the arrival of Europeans, there has been a gradual movement among the
island groups. The first official European settlement of the islands occurred on
Waiben (Thursday Island) in 1877, preceded by missionaries of the London Mission
Society when Pacific Islander missionaries landed at Erub (Darnley Island) on 1
July 1871, bringing Christianity to the Strait. The ‘Coming of the Light’ is now a
significant day for Torres Strait Islanders and religious and cultural ceremonies
are celebrated on 1 July each year.
torres strait geography
The cultural importance of the environment is paramount to Torres Strait Islander
people. Cultural attachment to the land and sea is a cornerstone for contemporary
Islanders, and is exemplified in differing attitudes towards the environment. The
islands of the Strait are of three basic geological types, and provide different
habitats. Volcanic islands with their fertile volcanic soils and permanent water
provided good environments for occupation. Coral atolls of the central strait are
low-lying and subject to tidal inundation, with few permanent sources of water.
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22 Part 1: IndIgenous australIans: hIstory, culture and IdentIty
Mud islands are found in the northern Torres Strait, very close to the mainland
of Papua New Guinea. They are also very low and susceptible to tidal fluctuations
as well as being swampy. In the top west some islands are less than 10 kilometres
from the Papua New Guinea coast.
origins of torres strait Islander australians
Torres Strait Islander Peoples represent a separate descent lineage from
Aboriginal Australians. Their origins align with the M4 chromosome markers
(Flood, 2006 p. 174), and they are physically, culturally and socially Melanesian.
The Torres Strait contains several island-based cultures with their own history,
belief systems and languages, and range of artefacts. Their attitudes to exclusive
ownership were more closely aligned to European ideas than Aboriginal concepts
of communal ownership and sharing. Like Aboriginal groups, Torres Strait
Islanders occupied specific environmental niches by adapting their beliefs and
practices. They approach resource utilisation based on agriculture and harvesting
ocean resources. Traditional stories convey the experiences of separate groups
or societies based on relationships with the natural environment, for example
the four recognised seasons are linked to wind changes which closely impact
on local conditions. While adopting Christianity, Torres Strait Islanders have
retained many customary cultural practices including a belief in magic/sorcery,
culturally adoptive practices and cultural beliefs associated with their diverse
island cultures.
Personal or family ownership associated with agriculture, constructing canoes
and exploiting fishing skills, enabled groups to successfully occupy habitable
islands. The material basis of culture is reflected in the variety and complexity
of traditional artefacts, many of which are held by European museums and
universities. (Calvert, 1997).
contemporary torres strait Islander cultures
Similarities among contemporary Torres Strait Islander cultures allow us to make
observations about their culture and identity:
− Most Torres Strait Islander people, in the islands or on the mainland, share
a sense of unity and belonging with their island homes, sustained by strong
family connections and shared experiences in their cultures.
− Torres Strait Islanders have different and diverse practices across the
different island groups. Cultural practices have changed over time, some were
discarded and new ones introduced.
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− The Islanders are united with the sea and land through spiritual bonds. The
world has always been seen as a sacred place of which people are an integral
element.
− Certain ceremonies, such as tombstone openings, are central to cultural and
social life in the Torres Strait Islander communities.
(Adapted from Synott & Whatman, 1998, pp. 58–62).
Life in the Strait changed rapidly for Torres Strait people following the arrival of
Europeans and a new religion. The Islanders adopted Christianity and developed
their own model incorporating traditional beliefs and practices. The Second
World War brought major changes when many Torres Strait Islander families
were moved onto the mainland. After the war, others island-dwellers followed,
to work, and raise their families where there was less crowding and competition
for resources. A majority of Torres Strait Islander people live in communities on
the mainland (such as Townsville, Cairns and Mackay), retaining cultural and
family links with their islands and families.
ask Yourself
can you identify cultural aspects in which torres strait Islander people may differ from
aboriginal australians?
Why did colonial australia occupy the islands of the torres strait, and what impacts did this
have on the traditional people?
Indigenous communities today
Even greater community diversity exists as Indigenous Australians live in most
parts of the country. Some Australians continue to hold to the perception that the
Indigenous Australians live in rural or remote areas despite the greater proportion
living in metropolitan areas. While some suburbs have higher concentrations,
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander households can be found in most suburbs
and centres in major towns and cities. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people are represented in many professions and occupations. Contributions
to sporting achievements and the arts are notable. Support from governments
and communities assists Indigenous Australians to overcome the disadvantage
of historic suppression in education, employment and political activity. Some
regional towns and councils are discrete Indigenous communities which are
dominated by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander residents, but these represent
only a small fraction of the Indigenous population.
Discrete Indigenous
communities: a
geographic location,
bounded by physical
or cadastral (legal)
boundaries, and
inhabited or intended
to be inhabited
by predominantly
Indigenous people,
with housing or
infrastructure that
is either owned
or managed on a
community basis.
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24 Part 1: IndIgenous australIans: hIstory, culture and IdentIty
summary
− For aboriginal australians, identity and culture are intertwined with ‘country’, which is
central to identity.
− the indigenous people of the world are the ‘First Peoples’; descendants of the
traditional owners and occupiers of a country or region. In 1990, it was estimated that
indigenous people numbered approximately 300 million across more than 70 countries
− since 1500, european colonial expansion led to dispossession of indigenous people
from their lands across most continents.
− In australia, we have two distinct Indigenous groups—aboriginal australians and
torres strait Islander australians.
− there are a number of theories relating to the way in which australia was populated,
but all support long-term occupation. Most theories of occupation identify the north
and north-west regions as areas of arrival.
− torres strait Islander people inhabited the islands of torres strait for several thousand
years.
− after colonisation, Indigenous australians were segregated from society and denied
acceptance and recognition in the nation’s history.
review and discuss
Indigenous people experience different effects of colonisation. Identify some major
social issues and evaluate the underlying causes within two different indigenous
groups.
compare and contrast specific differences between traditional aboriginal and torres
strait Islander cultures with reference to spirituality (i.e. belief systems), social
organisation and land use.
you are likely to visit an Indigenous community facility as part of your studies.
What factors might need to be considered while working/studying in an indigenous
community?
discuss cultural aspects of health with aboriginal or torres strait Islander individuals?
What factors do you need to address in establishing a relationship?
Where are you most likely to be engaging with Indigenous clients? how might the
facility/service determine if clients are aboriginal or torres strait Islander?
discuss why cultural background might impact on health.
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recommended reading:
Miner, H. (1956). ‘Body Ritual Among the Nacirema’ American Anthopologist 58:3 (1956) 503–507
Full text available online at https://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/miner.html
Edwards, W.H. (1998). An Introduction to Aboriginal Societies 2nd (revised) Edition. Cengage
Learning, Melbourne.
Korff, J. (2012). Australian Aboriginal History Creative Spirits Retrieved May, 2012, from http://www.
creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/history/.
For more information on the Torres Strait, visit:
Gabi Titui Cultural Centre, (2009). Gabi Titui Cultural Centre website at http://www.gabtitui.com.au/
index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=6&Itemid=12.
Australian Government & Torres Strait Regional Authority, (2007). Torres Strait Regional Authority—
Community Profiles. Retrieved from http://www.tsra.gov.au/the-torres-strait/community-profiles.
aspx.
references
Alfred, T., & Corntassel, J. (2005). ‘Being Indigenous: Resurgences Against Contemporary Colonialism.’
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26 Part 1: IndIgenous australIans: hIstory, culture and IdentIty
AustralianGovernment.(2009).Departmentof Immigrationand CitizenshipFact Sheet 8—
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Calvert, F. (Writer) & L. Merrison & F. Calvert (Directors). (1997). ‘Cracks in the mask.’ (Videorecord
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Flood, J. (2006). The Original Australians: Story of the Aboriginal People. Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen
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(Producer). Australia: Ronin Films.
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www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/history/.
Langton, M. (1993). Well I heard it on the radio, and I saw it on the television. Australian Film
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Lester, Y. (1993). Yami: The Autobiography of Yami Lester. Alice Springs: Institute for Aboriginal
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Miner, H. (1956). ‘Body ritual among the Nacirema.’ American Anthropologist, 58(3, June 1956),
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Peasley, W. (1983). The Last of the Nomads (2nd ed.). North Fremantle: Fremantle Press.
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Synott, J., & Whatman, S. (1998). United to the Sea and Land: Cultures, Histories and Education
in the Torres Strait.’ In G. Partington (Ed.), Perspectives on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
education. Katoomba, NSW: Social Science Press.
Toombs, M. (2011). [Personal Reflections].
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