Aboriginal Studies
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B - Heritage and Identity
Outcomes
A student:
| H3.1 | assesses the effectiveness of government policies, legislation and legal decisions in addressing discrimination |
| H3.2 | evaluates the impact of key government policies, legislation and legal decisions on the socioeconomic status of Aboriginal peoples and communities |
| H3.3 | evaluates initiatives that promote the social, economic and political independence of Aboriginal and other Indigenous peoples |
Welcome
Key concepts
Contemporary aspects of Aboriginal heritage and identity
Government policies and legislation
Non-Aboriginal responses
Resources
We would like you to join us on a journey in understanding the important issues of Heritage and Identity.
First, let's start with a quote by Linda Burney, former Director General of the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Chair of the State Reconciliation Committee and current Member of Parliament (NSW).
Being Aboriginal has nothing to do with the colour of your skin or the shape of your nose. It is a spiritual feeling,an identity you know in your heart. It is a unique feeling that may be difficult for non-Aboriginal people to understand.
Linda Burney
(Talking Identity 
:
Teacher's Booklet Stage 2 Human Society and Its Environment DET NSW 2002)
Key concepts
Identity
In the 1980s a new definition was proposed in the Constitutional Section of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs' Report on a review of the administration of the working definition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (Canberra, 1981). The section offered the following definition:
An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is a person of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent who identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and is accepted as such by the community in which he (she) lives.
This three-part definition (descent, self-identification and community recognition) was soon adopted by Federal Government departments as their 'working definition' for determining eligibility to some services and benefits. The definition also found its way into State legislation (e.g. in the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983: where 'Aboriginal means a person who: (a) is a member of the Aboriginal race of Australia, (b) identifies as an Aboriginal, and (c) is accepted by the Aboriginal community as an Aboriginal').
The Definition of Aboriginality Parliament of Australia Parliamentary Library
Confirmation of Aboriginality Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies
Dreaming
The Dreaming has different meanings for different Aboriginal people. It is a complex network of knowledge, faith and practices that derive from stories of creation, and it dominates all spiritual and physical aspects of Aboriginal life. The Dreaming sets out the structures of society, the rules for social behaviour and the ceremonies performed in order to maintain the life of the land. It governs the way people live and how they should behave.
Aboriginal Dreaming Stories
Aboriginal Australia Art and Culture Centre - Alice Springs
Spirituality
Aboriginal people are very spiritual in the sense that they have an affiliation with the Land. They believe the Land is the giver of life and that when they die their spirit returns to the Land. Aboriginal people also believe that Elders teach spirituality through Dreaming stories.
Autonomy
Basically this is the catch cry for self-determination.
Recognition of Aboriginal Customary Laws Report 31 Australian Law Reform Commission
Cultural affirmation
Cultural affirmation is understood to be all that allows Aboriginal people to identify and acknowledge their cultural heritage. Affirmation can have impacts into everyday life including education as discussed in Empowerment, self-determination and cultural affirmation Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
Appropriation
With recognition for Aboriginal art came admiration and appropriation. During the late 19th century for example, the boomerang was adopted as an iconic symbol of Australian identity. The boom in Aboriginal art since the 1970s, and its increasing visibility in exhibitions and reproductions, spawned an 'imitations industry' deliberately aimed at the commercial exploitation of Aboriginal imagery. Such appropriation fails to acknowledge the intellectual property rights of Indigenous people and the custodial responsibilities transmitted with designs.
Appropriation
Cultural ownership
Cultural ownership is concerned about the appropriation of traditional imagery and design. In seeking to protect copyright and cultural ownership, all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists must undertake to develop their own designs, or only use designs in keeping with their specific cultural identity.
Cultural policies in Australia Australia Council to the Arts
Language and cultural reclamation and maintenance
Due to historical factors of invasion and colonisation, the status of languages in Australia varies considerably and are in various stages along the continuum from reclamation, revitalisation and maintenance.
Language maintenance, strategies and resources Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity
Yuwaalaraay and Gamilaraay website Gamilaraay and Yuwaalaraay language resources
Aboriginal languages, cultures and reclamation in Victorian schools Victorian Essential Learning Standards
Stop, revive, survive : Lessons from the Hebrew revival applicable to the reclamation, maintenance and empowerment of Aboriginal languages and cultures, Ghil'ad Zuckermann and Michael Walsh
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