Historical Journeys of the Aborigines - Essay Example

HISTORICAL JOURNEYS OF THE ABORIGINES Name Professor (Tutor) University Course City and State Date Historical journeys of the Aborigines Introduction The Australian culture is wide and popular as evident by the many international tourists that visit the country. Among some of the historical culture, aspects that attract the tourists are the Aborigines who are the oldest group of indigenous people in the world (Gammage, 2012). The Aborigines have been struggling for land rights and for their culture and identity to be recognized throughout their existence (Crawford & Tantiprasut, 2003). Research based on the spiritual, social, and emotional issues of the Aborigines is limited (Craven, 2011). However, issues of spirituality and their effects on social lifestyle have been widely researched. The relationship between spirituality and the health and social welfare of the Aborigines will be discussed in this paper. Besides, policies that were put in place to manage the Aborigines and other Australian indigenous communities (Pascoe, 2014). This paper will focus on the integration policy adopted in 1965 and its impact on the Aborigines people today. Furthermore, several strategies and methods of improving spirituality as a cultural tool and the policy making process will be provided. Deriving the spirituality of the Aborigines Spirituality, especially to the Aborigines, entails a sense of belonging, whether to the land, sea or to culture. The derivation of spirituality lies in the times when the continents occupation was not challenged by anyone. Besides, the derivation also depends on values, structures, dance and ceremonies, and stories. Aboriginal spirituality is derived from stories especially those of the dreaming. The Dreaming is referred using different terms depending on the language group. For example, the Yolngu people of the northeast refer to it as Wongar, the Broome refer to it as Bugari, and the North West people of South Australia refer to it as Tjukurpa (Edwards, 1994). Edwards (1994) explains that five primary features characterize The Dreaming. Historical is about life as being continuous historically with The Dreaming. Spiritual is explained as every individual having a spirit that is related to as spirit ancestor intimately. Naturalistic all about exists in the land and the social relationships that exist among the people. The social relationship between the people in the land is important in determining individual's behaviors concerning taboos, rules, and punishments for breaking the rules. (Broome, 2010). Totemistic explains that the life of religion is in existence because of a religious group with each group having an animal species or plants that are a totem. Finally, tied to the land is a belief that the activities of spiritual beings led to the formation of the land. The land is a representation of religious beliefs and individual identity. The Aborigines believe that they can access powers that they can use in rituals by contacting the spiritual beings. The male initiation ceremony is the most important ritual carried out by the Aborigines (Edwards, 1994). The spirituality of the Aborigines has influenced all the spiritualities in Australia especially at the start of the new millennia where there was redefining process. The Australian people view on spirituality and its relations to the country has been undergoing transformation and modification through a development process over the years. However, these developments have been determined by the economic, social, and political condition of the country at the time. Colonization and secularization in Australia interfered with the spirituality of the Aboriginal people significantly, as it did for all indigenous groups globally. Some people of the decent Aboriginal show their spirituality as Christians due to the influence of missionaries while others have ignored and rejected Christianity because of issues such as family break-ups, paternalism, and the loss of tradition. Besides, others have mixed both the traditional and new systems but still consider the traditional systems of spirituality stronger. The celebration of The Torres Strait Islanders’ of the coming of light annually shows how these people have embraced Christianity. Spirituality as a tool for improving the emotional and social wellbeing of Aborigines. Research by McLennan and Khavarpour (2004) showed that there are some common beliefs that are held by all the six communities of the Aborigines. These beliefs are related to issues of kinship, land, and spirit; they ultimately contribute to the general well-being of the Aboriginal people. The two authors concluded that it is important that the Aborigines recognize spirituality as it aids in developing their overall wellbeing especially their health. Traditional medicine used by the Aboriginal people is derived from traditional beliefs as it demonstrates the value of health and life through physical, social, and spiritual aspects. The spirituality of the Aborigines seeks to find meaning for illness, regarding its effects on an individual, his or her family, and the community in general (Devanesen, 2000). Causes of illness in the Aboriginal society are perceived to be spiritual, and some of the causes include displacements from homelands, metaphysical forces, and breaking of customs and traditional taboos (Maddocks & Rayner, 2003). The traditional doctors who are known as Ngangkari use object removal techniques to deal with issues of spirituality, psychology, and physicality. Some doctors experience with the Aborigines has been exciting. One doctor gave as story where an Aborigine patient was diagnosed with bone pointing and not expected to live through twelve hours, but she did survive after a traditional doctor reversed the bone pointing and was discharged. It is important to note from these experiences and explanations that spirituality is a strong tool when it comes to the social and emotional wellbeing of the Aboriginal people. It is important to note that the current Australian government has recognized the issues of spirituality and the wellbeing of the Aborigines. On 13th February 2008, the Australian Prime Minister issued an apology to the Indigenous people of Australia in parliament. The Australian government is taking the right measures in ensuring that the culture and beliefs of the Aborigines are protected and therefore ensuring that their social wellbeing is maintained. In summary, spirituality has become essential custom for the Aboriginal people and their placement in the society is highly dependent on it. The policy of integration The Aboriginal integration policy came into place due to the failure of the Assimilation Policy (Rowley, 1970). The Assimilation policy failed to take into account issue with the value of the people culture, and it did not allow the Aboriginal people to maintain culture, traditions, and languages (Attwood & Markus, 2007). Paternalism and arrogance about the beliefs that the Aborigines would one day become like their white counterparts had to be discredited. It, therefore, led to abandoning attempts to achieve equality by assimilation through abandoning the culture and identity of the Aboriginal people. The integration policy was therefore formulated. Those that formulated the integration policy defined it as a policy that allowed the Aboriginal people to maintain their culture and beliefs and recognized their culture regarding its value to the nation (Attwood, 2009). The programs that were put in place under this policy include increasing funds in matters of education, employment, and health (Harrison, 2011). The objective was achieved formal equality by advancing social and economic aspects of the community (Rowley, 1970). Besides, other measures were put in place to increase the funding of community projects for the Aborigines including issuing of land rights. In 1972, the government established a separate federal department to manage issues of the Aboriginal people (Harris, 2010). The Woodward Commission established in 1973 was another organization that was to deal with the implementation of Aboriginal land rights (Goodall, 2008). The effects of the Policy of Integration. The integration policy had an opposite effect to the Aborigines than expected by those that put it in place. The government integrated indigenous children into the white society but had to apologize to the public, as the system did not work (Keddie & Niesche, 2012). Most of the indigenous people reconnected with their culture and beliefs, but the problem arises when they face issues such as poor health, unemployment, high rates of alcohol abuse, and high-interest rates (Fraser, 2009). Several researchers have investigated and compared how Aborigines that are attached to their culture and those that are not fair on concerning social and economic life using data from the 2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Survey. Information from these surveys showed that there is an important relationship between culture and wellbeing and therefore issues of employment and education should not be dealt with at the expense of culture (Lewthwaite & McMillan, 2010). However, Aborigines that had decided to go back to their culture (stolen generation) bucked the trend of pursuing cultural matters such as opposed to economic matters such as employment (Harris, 2012). The data from the survey, however, showed that the economic well-being was lower when compared to Aborigines and other indigenous groups that are living under the same circumstances currently. The legacy of the integration policy has left the Aborigines in isolation, as they are worse regarding health status and high rate of alcohol abuse. The policy's main objective was to fasten the process of integrating Aborigines into the economic mainstream of the country. However, the results achieved have been negative as shown by issues such as high unemployment rates. Tom Calma, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner stated his views about the apology offered by the Prime Minister. He stated that the Aborigines and other indigenous people we are hoping for progress by the government through acting on the apology they offered (Harris, 2012). He stated that a healing body to deal with issues of stolen generations and the society was needed. The government had been able to aid people to connect with their families after years of separation and therefore an independent and indigenous healing body were important in dealing with emotional and psychological issues. Mr. Calma, however, stated the need for the Aborigines to have a say in the development of policies that govern the nation as a method of national reconciliation. It is essential to note that the policy of Aboriginal integration was determined to enhance the social, emotional and economic well-being of the Aborigines by ensuring that their culture and tradition is maintained but at the same time providing them with resources to improve their economic well-being through education and employment (Phillips & Lampert, 2012). However, the policy achieved opposite results that the expected ones. The policy left the Aboriginal people in isolation since the rate of unemployment in indigenous communities was still high and so was the rate of alcohol abuse. The only positive result from the integration policy was that the social wellbeing brought about by culture and spirituality was maintained. Conclusions and Recommendations Looking forward the Australian government needs to deal with spirituality issues that are related to health in a careful but productive manner. The health plan is one of the tools put forward by the Australian government and further improvements on the plan will ensure that there is a harmonious coexistence. The plan has to ensure that that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people live a safe and healthy lifestyle with a strong connection to their beliefs and culture (Scott & Heiss, 2015). Strategies should be put in place to ensure that social inequality and racism in the health system of the country is a thing of the past. The Aborigines and other indigenous people should have access to modern health services regardless of their beliefs in spirituality. The issue of policy making especially those policies that govern indigenous people of Australia should also be properly managed. One way is by ensuring that these people have a contribution to the policy making process (Barbara, 2005). The Aborigines should be able to retain their social identity and at the same time adopt the new European lifestyle whether partially or wholly. Support programs should be put in place, and the Aborigines themselves should manage these programs (Hocking, 2005). The main objective regarding policymaking should be to ensure that the culture and tradition of the Aborigines are maintained to improve their social well-being while also ensuring that they grow economically as they adopt other cultures. References Attwood, B. & Markus, A., 2007. The 1967 referendum: race, power and the Australian Constitution 2nd ed., Canberra, ACT: Aboriginal Studies Press. Attwood, B., 2009. Possession: Batman's Treaty and the matter of history, Carlton, VIC: Melbourne University Press. Barbara A. Hocking ed., 2005. Unfinished Constitutional business, Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press. Broome, R., 2010. Aboriginal Australians: A history since 1788, 4th ed., Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. Crawford, J., & Tantiprasut, L., 2003. Australian Aboriginal culture. [Western Australia], R.I.C. Publications. Craven, R.G. (Ed) 2011. Teaching Aboriginal Studies. Sydney, Australia: Allen & Unwin. Devanesen, D. 2000. Traditional Aboriginal Medicine Practice in the Northern Territory, paper presented at the International Symposium on Traditional Medicine: Better Science, Policy and Services for Health Development, 11–13 September, Kobe, Japan. Accessed at: http://www.maningrida.com/mac/bwc/documents/traditional_aboriginal_ medicine_practice.pdf. [28 March 2017]. Edwards, W., 1994. ‘Living the Dreaming,' in C. Bourke, E. Bourke & W. Edwards (eds), Aboriginal Australia, University of Queensland Press, Brisbane, pp. 1–7. Fraser, N., 2009. Scales of Justice: Reimagining political space in a globalizing world. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. Goodall, H., 2008. Invasion to the embassy, Sydney: Sydney University Press. Harris, M., 2010. 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