M4 - Learner Manual

The impact of land on cultural practice

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, the land is at the core of all spirituality, beliefs, and culture and as such is central to the issues that are important to Indigenous Australians today.[1]

Land is recognised by Aboriginal people as having a value far beyond its economic worth, as former Chairman of the Northern Land Council, Mr Galarrwuy Yunupingu, explains it:[2]

“For Aboriginal people there is literally no life without the land. The land is where our ancestors came from in the Dreamtime, and it is where we shall return. The land binds our fathers, ourselves and our children together. If we lose our land, we have literally lost our lives and spirits, and no amount of social welfare or compensation can ever make it up to us.”[3]

Aboriginal knowledge of the land, water, and culture (often referred to as lore) is passed down from generation to generation, thus forming an extensive matrix of people, totemic, social and spiritual connection with land and country.[4]

“We cultivated our land, but in a way different from the white man. We endeavoured to live with the land; they seemed to live off it. I was taught to preserve, never to destroy”[5]- Tom Dystra

Aboriginal people have established and developed a uniquely strong connection with their land and country since time immemorial; their culture is embedded in the land.[6]

The impact of loss of land on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture

The significance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s connection to land has been very poorly understood by non-Indigenous Australians ever since colonisation in 1788. A considerable lack of understanding and/or respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture has been evident in much of the policies of successive governments since this time of dispossession. From the killing times of the 19^th century, to the protectionist era ending in the late 1960’s and the assimilationist era in force until 1972, Aboriginal historian and poet Kevin Gilbert had to this to say in 1973 about Australia’s black history:

“Ever since the invasion of our country by English soldiers and then colonists in the late eighteenth century, Aborigines have endured a history of land theft, attempted racial extermination, oppression, denial of basic human rights, actual and de facto slavery, ridicule, denigration, inequality and paternalism. Concurrently, we suffered the destruction of our entire way of life- spiritual, emotional, social and economic.”[7]

Resistance to occupation of Aboriginal land was immediate. Numerous stories of Aboriginal warriors and resistance fighters permeate the history of Australia’s colonisation. One of the most famous stories in New South Wales is that of Pemulwuy, a proud Bidjigal leader of the Eora Nation who led counter-raids against those responsible for the injustices being suffered by his people at the time.

In addition to the tragic loss of life of Aboriginal people over battles for land, many lives were lost from disease, a situation exacerbated by the reduced access to shelter and food.

This history of forced resettlement onto reserves, the separation of families, and placement of thousands of Aboriginal children into institutions has had a devastating impact on Aboriginal people, culture, and their connection to the land. The dispossession and removal impacted Aboriginal culture in the following ways:

• Loss of identity, as their identity was connected to the land.
• Separation from kinship groups was destructive for the kinship system and resulted in the loss of language.
• Children removed from their families in an attempt to assimilate them were unable to maintain their cultural identity or learn their traditional language and practices.
• Sacred sites were unable to be visited or protected.
• Ceremonies and traditional practices were often prohibited or unable to be performed in the traditional way at sacred sites.

It has continuously been recognised that the loss of their land and culture, dating back to white settlement, is still evident in the disadvantages that Aboriginal people continue to experience today. Current reports and statistics suggest that Aboriginal people are the most disadvantaged group within Australian society as they are over-represented in the criminal justice and child protection system, have the worst health and housing rates, lowest educational, occupational and economic status compared to any other Australian group.[8]