Australian Aborigines And Their Crisis - 1304 Words

Madison Lafitte Karol Chandler-Ezell Cultural Anthropology 231.001 11/17/2014 Australian Aborigines and their Crisis Australia’s Aborigines are often hailed as the world’s longest surviving culture, easily dating back 60,000 years, existing long before many ancient societies such as the Greeks and Romans. Since they are such an old culture many people wonder how they were able to remain in existence for so long while of culture perished around them. The answer can be found in their adaptive nature; having such a close bound with the land around them, taught the aboriginals the importance of change and adapting (Australia.gov.au). While it might be debatable that Australia’s natives are the longest surviving culture, there is no doubt that the Aborigines’ animistic religion is the oldest existing. Their religion is ripe with multiple different gods, often represented in the forms of animals or notable landscape features. There is no one central god, instead many deities were spread across the continent of Australia, each spirit fulfilling their role in the world. Creation beings were involved in the creation of the world, ancestral beings taught humans how to hunt and make weapons, totemic beings were the original form of animals. Being a culture that places high emphasize on their religion, many of the â€Å"dot art,† a form of painting or drawing that involves creating hundreds of small dots to create the overall picture, is often found in caves or the sides of rocks, the someShow MoreRelatedIn what ways does ones race/ethnicity shape ones life-chances in contemporary society?1710 Words   |  7 Pagescountry (Siewert: 2006). Government policies have always been discriminatory whether rightfully or wrongfully, it has widened the gap between Aborigines and other Australian (Hughes 2007:181). The Aboriginal life expectancy is 21 years less for men and 19 years less for women compared to non-Aborigines (Henry et al 2004:517). Suicide rates among Aborigines were unknown before the arrival of the first fleet, but between 1996 and 2000 in Queen sland, the suicide rates was 13.7 per 100 000 which is aboutRead MoreHealth Of Indigenous And Non Indigenous Australians Essay2053 Words   |  9 Pagesindigenous and non-indigenous Australians. Indigenous peoples have occupied Australia for more than 60, 000 years, so why are they among the most disadvantaged in our health system? The right to a ‘standard of living adequate for †¦ health and wellbeing’ was established as a basic human right in Article 25.1 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (The Universal Declaration of Human Rights). 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A study on how racism has affected the Aborigines in Australia, shows that this group experiences a substantial health disadvantage compared to the rest of the Australian population. Aboriginal youth who experience racism are at a higher risk for anxiety, depression, suicidal tendencies, and poor overall mental health. At this age youth are more susceptibleRead MoreCountry Risk Analysis2303 Words   |  10 Pagesmust obtain the appropriate licenses and certificates to distribute and manufacture alcohol in its home countries of Australia and New Zealand. For instance,â€Å"the production of fortified wine requires a permit from the Excise Business Line of the Australian Taxation Office† (Drug an d Alcohol Servers Australia, 2009, p. 1). â€Å"Permits are only granted for commercial purposes† (Drug and Alcohol Servers Australia, 2009, p. 1). â€Å"A person who sells liquor without being licensed to do so under the Liquor LicensingRead Moreâ€Å"I Wanted to Go to School but My Parents Told Me, No Essays6683 Words   |  27 PagesAboriginal Australian history and it’s connections to official education policies both past and present. What is the connection between official education policies and key events in Aboriginal Australian history? How have Aboriginal people responded to these policies? Key events in Aboriginal Australian history stem from the time Australia was first discovered in 1788. For instance, when Federation came into existence in 1901, there was a prevailing belief held by non Aboriginal Australians thatRead MoreEvaluate Functionalists Views on the Role of Functions in Society Today2539 Words   |  11 Pagesinstitutions, like religion which join up with others to enable society to work well, maintaining mutual agreement in society. Durkheim researched into the Aborigines in Australia in 1912. The native Australians, believed in Totemism, the belief in worshipping objects with divine properties, such as plants and animals. The Australian aborigines carried out many religious ceremonies to worship their totem, which is an example of collective consciousness securing social solidarity as the tribe were