Study+of+an+indigenous+population+-+Aborigines+of+Australia

**Study of an indigenous population** - Aboriginal Australians.

Sources: [|http://www.apex.net.au/~mhumphry/aborigin.html] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamtime http://www.crystalinks.com/aboriginals.html
 * The Indigenous Population - before 1770:** Origins | Populations
 * It is estimated that the Aborigines have inhabited Australia since between 40,000 to 70,000 years ago
 * Stone tools have been discovered in Australia dating back to 47,000 years ago
 * It has been estimated that the absolute minimum population of the Aborigines before white settlement was at least 315,000
 * When first settlers arrived from England in 1788, there were an estimated 300,000 Aborigines
 * The entire Aborigine population was split into 250 individual nations
 * Each nation had their own language
 * Each nation was split into several clans consisting of anywhere between 5-40 people
 * The Aboriginal society was entirely a hunter-gatherer culture
 * The men would either hunt game, or for clans who lived near rivers or the sea, they would fish
 * Women would gather grains, berries, etc.
 * In traditional Aboriginal society all men were considered to be equal and had the same rights
 * However, there were certain people who were considered leaders and respected more such as the Koradji’s (basically doctors) or the Elders of the clan (the Elders of the clan were the oldest and most experienced members of the clan)
 * In large clans, a group of Elders met to discuss and make important decisions on behalf of the clan
 * Women were not equal to men in all respects (such as never being considered Elders), however they were highly respected
 * The Aborigines were a very spiritual people
 * Believed that they were one with the earth, like any other animals
 * Attributed nearly every event to actions of the supernatural
 * The Aborigines believed in what they call the “Dreamtime”
 * For Aborigines, the Dreamtime was a time outside of time in which the world was created
 * Stories from the Dreamtime establish the values, symbols, and laws of the Aboriginal society
 * The Dreamtime was considered to be ongoing, a time paralleling the present, and it was believed that some people with spiritual powers were able to have contact with the dreamtime
 * It was believed that every person’s spirit existed in the Dreamtime, before and after their life on Earth (like Plato’s philosophy about essence!)
 * Before the English explored Australia in the 18th century, it was very much isolated from the rest of the world
 * Was not introduced to modern technology, agriculture, etc.
 * This also left them highly susceptible to the many diseases that white settlers brought from Europe

**The Impacts of European Settlement** **The First European Settlers**
 * (1770) Captain Cook was the first to ‘put Australia on the European map’ and with his arrived he named the land //terra nullius// – ‘land belonging to no one.’
 * Jan 1788 – under Governor Arthur Phillip’s command, the first European settlement was established on Sydney Cove.
 * European settlements in Australia were established to become self-supporting settlement for punished convicts (Arthur Phillip arrived with C. 800 convicts) and only a small cost to the British Government.


 * Problems included:
 * 1) Settlement builders were convicts – unskilled in farming and carpentry
 * 2) Europeans were unfamiliar to the Australian environment and had trouble finding fertile, agricultural land for survival
 * 3) Communication to Britain was very slow (C. 18 months)


 * Philip’s settlement barely survived - ran out of their supplies and farming attempts failed.
 * Australia’s national day – raising of the British flag at Sydney Cove (1788)

**Appropriation of Land and Water Resources**
 * At the first arrival of the Europeans, the Aborigines did not understand the concept of ownership and were willing to share food and knowledge with the Europeans, expected something in return.
 * The Aborigines’ spiritual connection with the land was not fully understood by the Europeans who assumed they had a nomadic lifestyle.


 * Europeans thought the Aborigines couldn’t own the land, as from the settler’s perspective they did not ‘show’ ownership, or use the land ‘properly.’
 * The Europeans had trouble finding fertile land on the coast and as a result began to explore the Australian inland.
 * The Europeans imposed that the land was divided into settlements and sold.
 * Aborigines were often given land which was not fertile and located in government appointed, isolated areas.
 * Once the Aborigines realized the European intensions, they began to retaliate with guerilla attacks (surprise, fast attacks on people and livestock).
 * Some Europeans thought to help protect the Aborigines by establishing government settlements for the Aborigines. Yet this had a reverse effect and led to eroding their traditional way of life and increasing their dependence on the Europeans. (These misguided efforts are known as //paternalism// ).

**Population Decline**
 * Later 19th century, Europeans began looking for gold and other minerals
 * C. 750 000 Aborigines lived in Australia at the time of Captain Cook’s arrival (including 600+ tribes and languages)
 * Diseases
 * Violence – either in the form of massacres or through poising Aborigines’ water and food supplies.
 * Centralization of Aborigines into government settlements where land resources were overused or polluted. This resulted in severe malnourishment.
 * Alcoholism - introduced by the Europeans, became a destruction to cultural values.
 * European relations with the Aborigines (sexual and non-sexual)
 * Aborigines’ lack of a ‘European-like’ economy
 * Because of such mistreatment and hardship, there was a breakdown in the Aborigines’ society. As a result, Aborigines often moved to the edge of European settlement and had to beg for European assistance.

**Disease**
 * Estimated decline of C. 90% from 1788 to 1900
 * Disease – responsible for more deaths than the violence
 * European epidemic diseases such as chickenpox, smallpox, typhoid, measles, hepatitus B, tuberculosis, whooping cough, scarlet fever, typhus, dysentery (a water-borne disease), influenza, other eye and skin diseases arrived with the settlers**.**
 * As the Aborigines had no immunity to such foreign diseases, a sharp population decline resulted, especially in densely populated communities.
 * Aborigines often experienced exaggerated symptoms.
 * Aboriginal doctors tried traditional medicine practices, which often included more damaging affects.

**Venereal Disease** **Massacres**
 * Gonorrhea and syphilis – two most infectious and prevalent STDs which arrived with the Europeans.
 * 1830’s – diagnosis of venereal diseases. Thus treatment and prevention were not fully efficient or correct as this area of disease was novice to the doctors.
 * (1841) Protector Parker stated that syphilis had infected almost 9/10th s of the women.
 * Dr. Watton stated that 52 of the 182 cases he treated in 1845 were for syphilis.
 * Native doctors, unable to remove the disease, were often discriminated against.
 * Affected TFR and CBR
 * Eventually venereal diseases were either properly treated with a copper sulphate solution or improperly with unnecessary amputations.
 * Massacres were used by the European settlers in their attempt to either ‘protect themselves’ from the Aborigines population or to eliminate the population (this process can be seen as genocide).
 * The Europeans also affiliated the formation of the Native Police Force, which was made up of Indigenous men and trained by the Europeans. The Native Police Force was established to create conflict between the Aborigines tribes.
 * C. 20,000 deaths btw Europeans and Aborigines’ conflict over 100 spread of Europeans across Australia
 * Rebellions against the whites were often unsuccessful as the Aborigines’ weapons or organization did not match the whites.
 * Yet there were some leaders such as Pemulwuy who did succeed temporarily in retaliation.
 * Pemulwuy’s first attack killed a valuable white leader. After this, the Europeans were unable to capture Pemulwuy for many years.
 * The Europeans eventually removed all Aborigines from the edge of European settlements and threatened to have bad relations until their leader was caught.
 * Eventually when Pemulwuy was captured, yet the Aborigines were not allowed to return to the edge of European settlements.

MYALL CREEK MASSACRE (1839)
 * Myall Creek Massacre resulted in the first time that Europeans were to be hung for murdering Aborigines.
 * Occurred at a sheep station where some Aborigines had been accused of stealing European sheep.
 * A group of Europeans killed 28 innocent women, children and elderly.
 * Manager of station reported the crime and guilty Europeans were eventually hung.



Aborigines in Police custody (1906) http://www.janesoceania.com/australia_europeans/index.htm Sources:

http://www.klarbooks.com/academic/aborig.html [|http://www.skwirk.com.au/p-c_s-56_u-426_t-1075_c-4149/WA/10/Impact-of-European-settlement-on-Indigenous-people/Mass-migration/Becoming-Australian/SOSE-History/]
 * Aboriginal Victorians By Richard Broome  **

Dependency on Settlers: · As the indigenous Australian society fell into ruin, Aborigines became a marginalised minority with the European settlers as the ruling majority. · Aboriginal men, women, and children drifted into settlements inhabited by the settlers and became dependent on food rations and charity. · In addition, the introduction of liquor and tobacco made them all the more dependent on the white settlers. · As land was taken over by English farmers, the Aborigines lost their ability to use their natural resources and had to end their nomadic hunter-gatherer standard of living and depend on the generosity of the colonists to make a living (see European Livestock). European Livestock: · When British pastoralists began to rear cattle and other livestock on former native Australian territory, it posed a threat to the nomadic Aborigines. · As the pastoralists extended their grazing grounds for their livestock, the native Australians could not continue their itinerant way of life. · As the original inhabitants lost their lands, their hunter-gatherer methods were discarded and the Aborigines began to depend on the farmers for jobs and for their new sources of food. · Animals indigenous to Australia became endangered thanks to the spread of livestock on fertile lands in the south. Bibliography: · "Australia - Aborigines And European Settlers." __Jane Resture's Oceania Page__. 29 Jan. 2009 . · "Consequences of British colonisation for Aboriginal People, British colonisation of Australia, Colonisation: resources, power and exploration, SOSE Year 5, QLD | Online Education Home Schooling Australia." __Skwirk__. Red Apple Education Ltd. 29 Jan. 2009 
 * Economic / Industrial Changes:** European Livestock | Dependency on the Settlers **Skander**


 * The Stolen Generation**: Child Removal Policy **Brianna**

• In 1910 the northern territories of Australia were handed over to the Commonwealth which then created legislation governing the aboriginal people living there.The original acts were to ‘protect’ the aboriginals and their culture as well as try to help integrate them into a white society. • The Aborigines Act, 1911 created a Chief Protector which was granted the powers: ·     Legal guardian of all Aboriginal and half caste (half white half Aboriginal) children until 18 years of age; • to keep any Aboriginal or half caste person within the boundaries of a reserve; • to forbid marriage between Aboriginal women and non-Aboriginal men, unless permission was granted; • to restrict the removal of Aborigines from one district to another The Aboriginal Ordinance of 1918 granted more powers including:  • to collect half-castes and train them in institutions to enable them eventually to take their places in the • "Half caste girls are brought into the homes as soon as possible after reaching an age when they can be separated from their native mothers.    Government Policy on Aborigines in the Northern Territory, Part 2, National Archives of Australia, • A policy of absorption was adapted. It was deemed that those Aboriginals of full blood were to be left on the reservations, however those of half or quarter blood would be integrated into society until the color was bread out of them, regardless of their own wishes. • As soon as they were old enough many girls were removed from their families and sent to an institution or foster home where their were trained as servants then sent to work for white families- no protection was granted to them once they had found work and many were severely mistreated • This classification of blood lead to the removal of many children • Other children living on reservations were also trained as servants and sent to work for white families, once they had been sent away they were not allowed to return home • Some families hid their children especially those who were half white or said they were immigrants form a European country and were constantly moving to hid their true identity • It was not until the 1950’s that policy of assimilation of Aboriginals came into being • It was not until the 1970’s that the policy of removing children, especially those with some ‘white’ blood, was reversed. • In 2008 years Australia offered an official apology to the families and children removed and has adopted some measures to try and help families but many feel it is too little to late <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Arial;"> Biblography: THE SYSTEMATIC REMOVAL OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN FROM THEIR FAMILIES IN AUSTRALIA AND CANADA: THE HISTORY – SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES By Tony Buti* http://www.foundingdocs.gov.au/item.asp?sdID=62 http://www.iearn.org/hgp/aeti/aeti-1998-no-frames/aboriginal-children.htm http://www.crystalinks.com/aboriginals.html   ||
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Child Removal Policy-

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**The 1967 Referendum and Changing Politics:** Laws | Political Representation **Iain**

The referendum of 27 May 1967 granted several rights to the Indigenous Australians.

The referendum approved two amendments to the Australian constitution. The first allowed the commonwealth to make laws specifically to the benefit of the Australian people. This was done by amending Section 51 (xxvi) which now allowed the Federal Government the power to make laws with respect to respect to "the people of any race, other than the Aboriginal race in any State, for whom it is deemed necessary to make special laws." The second removed Section 127, which said: "In reckoning the numbers of the people of the Commonwealth, or of a State or other part of the Commonwealth, Aboriginal natives shall not be counted." The changes won with 90.77 per cent of voters and carrying all six states.

There are two common misconceptions about the 1967 referendum. These are that it gave the Aboriginal people Australian citizenship and it gave them the right to vote in the federal elections. Aboriginal people became Australian citizens in 1948, before that time all Australians were known as “British Subjects”. The Aboriginal people became Australian citizens when Australian citizenship was created. All Aboriginals had the right to vote by 1962.

Only two Indigenous Australians have been elected to the Australian Parliament, Neville Bonner (1971–1983) and Aden Ridgeway (1999–2005). There are currently no Indigenous Australians in the Australian Parliament.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__Contemporary Social Issues__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Aborigines are considered the most disadvantaged sub-population in Australia. This is reflected by their measures of education, employment, crime, housing and health indicators. Education <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Employment · From the Australian Bureau of Statistics 1998, almost 25% of Indigenous males aged 15 and over were unemployed. · 20% of Indigenous females were unemployed. · The CDEP (Community Development Employment Project) is the main source of employment for Aboriginal Australians. This is a scheme which offers unemployed Aborigines to work in community-managed projects. · 53% of Aborigines with a form of income derived it from the CDEP. · Roughly a quarter of employed Indigenous Australians had ‘unskilled’ occupations, e.g. labor workers. · Roughly an eighth of the employed population had occupations as professionals or managers. · Compare this with the reverse statistics for non-Aboriginal Australians. Housing · In 1994, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey revealed that 70 per cent of dwellings occupied by Indigenous households were rented, and 23 per cent of Indigenous people living in rented dwellings shared with eight or more other residents (Australian Bureau of Statistics 1996). · 12 per cent of all dwellings occupied by Indigenous households were in need of repair, 11 per cent of dwellings did not have enough bedrooms and 10 per cent did not have enough living area. Additionally, 6 per cent of dwellings had inadequate bathing facilities, 6 per cent did not have sufficient insulation or ventilation (Australian Bureau of Statistics 1996). · Almost all dwellings in urban areas occupied by Indigenous peoples are reported to have electricity, gas, toilet, running water, bath and shower facilities. · Indicators from the 1991 Census of Population suggests that Aborigines living in urban areas have disadvantaged housing situations compared to non-Aboriginal Australians living in urban areas. However, urban Aborigines have the disadvantage over rural Aborigines. · A health survey in 1994 reported that in rural Aboriginal housing Over one-third of the communities had water supply or sanitation problems. · 36% had difficulties with waste water disposal, 37% had no rubbish disposal. · Pests were problems in 44 per cent of communities and the hygiene and maintenance of communal toilets was unacceptable in 25%. · A survey involving 88,000 rural Aborigines reported: 1. more than 14,600 people did not have access to water which complied with NHMRC guidelines for human consumption 2. around 3,600 people lived in communities without a sewage disposal system, and almost 12,300 lived in communities where the system did not work satisfactorily 3. almost 6,800 people did not have access to a garbage collection service 4. more than 8,400 people lived in communities without electricity supply. Substance Use <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Crime <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/html/html_environment/social_indicators.htm <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 255);"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">__ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australians#Crime__
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is a widely held view of Aborigines that the education system is irrelevant.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A 1996 census (Australian Bureau of Statistics) reported that roughly 3% of Aboriginal peopled aged 15 or older had never attended school.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">From those who did attend school it was found that 40% of the population left school before the age of 16.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3.6% of the Aboriginal population if of university age, yet less than half (1.6%) attend a university or institute.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Of those who did graduate from high school, only 14% left with some form of secondary school qualification (degrees, diplomas etc.). Compare this with the 34% of non-Aboriginal Australians.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Indigenous adults are more than twice as likely as non-Indigenous adults to be current daily smokers of tobacco (2001).
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">‘Kava’ was introduced as an alternative to alcohol which results in sleepiness as opposed to drunken violence or aggression.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Petrol sniffing is also a problem among Aboriginal Australians. Low aromatic petrol Opal was distributed across the Northern Territory to combat it.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">24% of Indigenous Australians reported being a victim of violence in 2001.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">An Indigenous Australian is 11 times more likely to be in prison than a non-Indigenous Australian, and in June 2004, 21% of prisoners in Australia were Indigenous.

Indigenous Australians and Tourism: Exploitation or an Opportunity for Education?
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Positives: <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sources  <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">During 19th century, Aboriginal art was considered primitive and poor. The transition from oppression to exploitation of Aboriginal culture only occurred as Europeans gradually recognized the commercial value of its crafts, arts and customs
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The culture of Indigenous Australians is often diminished for the purposes of mass tourism
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Particularly in the trade of Indigenous arts and crafts there is a great deal of exploitation occurring
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tourists do not inform themselves about the products they are purchasing which makes it easy for non-Aboriginal businessmen to enter the lucrative branch of Indigenous arts and crafts, flooding the market with bogus replicas.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tourism promotes Indigenous culture by displaying Aboriginal motifs and symbols to marketplaces, but won’t employ Aboriginal people there
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Some Aboriginal clans choose not to participate in tourism because financial return is often very low
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Other don’t want to participate in tourist activities because it might cause a shift in the traditional structure of authority or changes in gender roles or intergenerational relations
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Problems with tourists trespassing onto sacred sites and negatively impacting religious beliefs
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Many elements of traditional beliefs and practices cannot be shared with outsiders, so in this case involvement in tourism is undesired
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tourism has in some cases increased cross-cultural understanding e.g. with Djabugay people
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Provides employment opportunities for the Aboriginal people and can be used to alleviate poverty among Aboriginal communities
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Tourism <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">plays a role in empowering some Aboriginal clans to maintain their unique cultural identity and connection to the land -> provides a new reason to pass down traditions to younger generations
 * http://www.didjshop.com/AboriginalCulture_ExploitationForEconomicPurposes.html
 * http://www.sciencedirect.com/science
 * http://www.bioone.org/
 * http://www.hreoc.gov.au/racial_discrimination/conferences/worldconference/consultations/broome.html<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">