M4: Learner Manual

The defining characteristics of Aboriginal perceptions of community are primarily based on family relationships, involving a sense of belonging along family lines and country or area of origin. Aboriginal perceptions of belonging to a community can be both physical and psychological, based on shared interest or shared location. For some groups, the concept may also hold a political and abstract dimension—an understanding of the entire cultural group of Aboriginal people working against oppression and towards self-determination. This concept of community is often used by those who are in leadership positions and representing Aboriginal interests. Community can also be a broad and fluid concept, uniquely shared by people and by those that work in the area.[1]