Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on which we live and work. We would also like to pay respect to the Elders of this land both past and present and extend that respect to the other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may be participating in this course.
Prior to European colonisation in 1788, the Aboriginal population was distributed similarly to the current Australian population, with the majority living in the south-east, centred around the Murray River. It is estimated that there were approximately 700,000 Aboriginal people living in small semi-nomadic family groups, with each group living in a defined territory, systematically moving across a defined area following seasonal changes.
Membership within each family group was based on birthright, shared language and cultural obligations and responsibilities with emphasis placed on social and spiritual activities rather than on material possessions.
Population
Today, there are just over half a million Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. This makes up around 2.7 per cent of the Australian population.
- This 2.7 per cent is comprised of approximately 90 per cent Aboriginal and 6 per cent Torres Strait Islanders, with approximately 4 per cent of both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin.
- The Australian Bureau of Statistics predicts that there will be over 713,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by the year 2021. The population aged 25-54 is projected to increase from 183,000 to over 260,000 by 2021.
- The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population is the fastest growing population group in Australia. Between 1991 and 2006 the population increased by an average of 2.6 per cent annually, compared with 1.2 per cent for the total Australian population.
Waterhole completed
You have completed the Prelude waterhole. Please click next and then progress to the Reconciliation waterhole.
Reconciliation Waterhole
Reconciliation is about building better relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider Australian community for the benefit of all Australians. Reconciliation allows us to work together to solve problems and generate success that is in everyone's best interests. It includes:
- raising awareness and knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders history and culture
- changing attitudes that are often based on myths and misunderstandings
- encouraging action where everyone plays their part in building a better relationship between us as fellow Australians
A Reconciliation Action Plan specifies actions for encouraging a respectful work culture and building stronger relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in our organisation and in the community. All employees have a role to play in helping achieve objectives for reconciliation. Our vision for reconciliation is to:
Ensure that we build relationships with and provide opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employees and the broader community and develop mutual respect between Indigenous and non-Indigenous employees through a work environment that is respectful and open to diversity.
Our Reconciliation Action Plan is divided into four reportable sections.
Click the waterholes to learn about each section.
National Reconciliation Week
National Reconciliation Week is celebrated across Australia from 27 May to 3 June each year. The dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey - the anniversaries of:
- the successful 1967 referendum and
- the High Court Mabo decision.
- The week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements and to explore how each of us can join the national reconciliation effort.
Waterhole completed
You have completed the Reconciliation waterhole.
Please click next and then progress to the Culture waterhole.
Culture waterhole introduction
Culture is the set of shared attitudes, values, goals and practices that characterises an institution, organisation or group.
Aboriginality is defined by relationships - not skin colour. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders referred to their nation when identifying themselves: 'I am a Dharawal man' or 'I'm an Eora woman'.
Today, an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is defined as a person who:
- is of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent;
- identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander; and
- is accepted as such by the community in which he (she) lives.
Spirituality of Land and Sea
Land and the sea are fundamental to the wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The land is the core of all spirituality. This relationship and the spirit of 'country' are central to the issues that are important to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people today. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people take responsibility and care of the land:
- Land is 'home'
- Land is mother
- Land is steeped in culture
For Torres Strait Islander people, the link between the land, sea and Island Custom is strong, enduring and fundamental to the way of life in the Torres Strait. In traditional times, Island Custom played a major role in determining social, political and economic structures with individual communities.
'The Coming of the Light'
The Coming of the Light festival marks the day the London Missionary Society first arrived in Torres Strait. The missionaries landed at Erub Island on 1 July 1871, introducing Christianity to the region. There were many disadvantages of missionary influences, such as the destruction of traditional cultural religious practices. But there were also positive consequences. Christianity provided a shared identity with the focus on unity that was reinforced through inter-island church meetings, festivals and church openings.
Today, for many Torres Strait Islanders, 'The Coming of the Light' is commemorated on the first of July each year and is regarded as National Torres Strait Islander Day.
Culture exercises
Let’s attempt a set of exercises to help with your understanding. For each exercise, please select the most appropriate definition from the options provided and please try again if you make an incorrect selection.
Select the navigation button displayed on this screen when you are ready to get started…
Betty is the Manager of a busy team in the State office. John, a work colleague, asks Betty for a week's leave to attend to 'sorry business'. John explains that his Mother's Uncle has passed away and that he needs to return to his land to attend the funeral.
'Sorry business' can take some time and supervisors should be sensitive and consider the request for leave for bereavement purposes favourably. In some instances, this may require flexible working conditions or leave without pay options.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages
How many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are spoken today?In 1788, there were about 250 separate Indigenous languages spoken in Australia, plus dialects. Today, only two thirds of these languages survive and only 20 of them (eight per cent of the original 250) are still strong enough to have a chance of surviving well into the next century. The languages with the most speakers currently are, Arrernte, Djambarrpuyngu/Dhuwal, Pitjantjatjara and Warlpiri. There are also many speakers of Torres Strait Creole and Kriol. Many languages are no longer spoken in their entirety by anyone; rather, words and phrases used. There is widespread community support for language projects to assist the revival and maintenance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. Bilingual education was introduced in some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in the early 1970s and continues today.
We all know how to say yes in Spanish don't we?
We all know how to say yes in German don't we?
We all know how to say yes in French don't we?
Do we know how to say yes in any of the 360 Aboriginal dialects in this country?'
Ernie Dingo, Aboriginal Actor and Yamatji man
The Aboriginal flag
The Aboriginal flag was designed by a central Australian Luritja man, Harold Thomas, to signify the unity of the Aboriginal people during the land rights movement in the 1970s.
Divided into two halves, the red base of the flag represents the earth, ochre and the spiritual relationship to the land, while the black panel symbolises the Aboriginal people. The two halves of the flag are connected by a central yellow circle, representing the sun - the constant giver of life.
First flown at Victoria Square in Adelaide on National Aborigines day, July 12, 1971, the flag was proclaimed the official 'Aboriginal flag of Australia' in 1975. In 1995, it was legally recognised by the Australian government as a 'Flag of Australia' under section 5 of the Flags Act 1953.
The Torres Strait Islander flag
The Torres Strait Islander flag consists of a blue horizontal mid panel, flanked by two green panels. These are separated by thin black lines representing the people. A 5-pointed white star, symbolic of peace and the Aboriginal islander groupings, sits central to the flag. This is surrounded by a 'deri'/'dharri' headdress, symbolic of the Torres Strait Islander people.
The Torres Strait Islander flag was designed by the late Bernard Namok of Thursday Island in 1992. The Torres Strait Islander flag was officially recognised by the Australian Government as an Australian flag in 1995.
Welcome to Country
Welcome to Country ceremonies acknowledge the traditional custodians of a particular area or region, demonstrating respect for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culture and their heritage.
It is undertaken by a traditional owner of the land and symbolises the consent of the traditional land owners for the event to take place on their land, by welcoming the event and people in attendance, to their country and giving safe passage.
Acknowledgement of Country
An Acknowledgement of Country demonstrates respect for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and traditional custodians of the land and acknowledges their continuing relationship and connection with the land and water.
Generally, Acknowledgement of Country takes place at the beginning of a meeting and is undertaken by the chair or speaker.
Click here to view guidelines for conducting a Welcome to Country or Acknowledgment of Country.
In the text boxes provided, enter your responses to each of the following questions:
Waterhole completed
You have completed the Culture waterhole.
Please click next and then progress to the Communication waterhole.
Past Government Policies Waterhole
All Australians are bound by a collective past and present. Australia's history explains the current situation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
In 1606 Spaniard Luis Vaez de Torres was credited as discovering the Torres Strait Islands however it is likely that Chinese, Malay and Indonesian traders had explored the islands before him. It was not until the 1860s, when there was a discovery of pearl shell, that the Islands received an influx of people from all over the region who settled primarily on Thursday Island (Wyben/Waiben).
'I grew up feeling alone, a black girl in a white world and I resented them for trying to make me white but they couldn't wash away thousands of years of dreaming.'
Aunty Rhonda Collard, member of the Stolen Generation
1962
The Commonwealth Electoral Act is amended to give the vote to all Aboriginal people.
1967
The Commonwealth Referendum passes. This ends constitutional discrimination and all Aboriginal people are now counted in the national census.
1971
The first census including Aboriginal people.
1972
The Whitlam Government introduces a policy of self-determination. The Department of Aboriginal Affairs was established. The “Aboriginal Embassy' is pitched outside Parliament House in Canberra. The Whitlam Government freezes all applications for mining and exploration on Commonwealth Aboriginal Reserves.
1976
The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act is passed by the Federal Parliament.
1987
A Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody begins.
1991
The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation Act passes through Federal Parliament. The Council is formed. The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody presents its Report and Recommendations to the Federal Parliament.
1992
The High Court of Australia rules in the Mabo case that native title exists over particular kinds of land and that Australia never was terra nullius or 'empty land'.
1993
The Office of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner is established by the Federal Government in response to issues of discrimination and disadvantage highlighted by the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's National Inquiry into Racist Violence.
1995
The National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families is established in response to efforts made by key Indigenous agencies and communities.
1996
The Wik Decision. The High Court found that pastoral leases did not necessarily extinguish native title (as earlier ruled) and that both could co-exist but where there was conflict, native title rights were subordinate to the rights of the pastoral lease holder.
1997
The 700-page report of the 'Stolen Children' Nation Inquiry 'Bringing Them Home' was tabled in Federal Parliament.
2000
National Recognition Week and People's Walk for Reconciliation.
2004
Abolition of ATSIC - Formation of National Indigenous Council.
2008
Apology to Australia's Indigenous People. The apology in the Australian Federal Parliament on 13 February 2008 to the Stolen Generations of Australia became a defining moment in the nation's history.
Living Standards Waterhole
'It is not credible to suggest that one of the wealthiest nations in the world cannot solve a health crisis affecting less than three per cent of its citizens.'
Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Primary health care aims to prevent disease from occurring in the first place or to detect it early. As a result, illnesses that could be prevented become chronic problems.
Overcrowded and poor-quality housing in many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and limited access to fresh and healthy food, are also major contributors to health inequality.
Today cardiovascular disease is the single biggest killer of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Other serious health problems include diabetes, respiratory diseases, musculoskeletal conditions, kidney disease and eye and ear problems.
A variety of factors have resulted in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experiencing a deplorable health status compared to non-Indigenous settlers. These include:
- colonial dispossession
- land alienation
- forcible relocation
- suppression of indigenous cultural practices, values and beliefs
- loss of language
- disruption of families
- violations of indigenous inherent sovereignty and the right to self-determination
- treaties
- international law and indigenous cultural law
In 2008, the Council of Australian Government (COAG) set specific and ambitious targets for closing the gap. Namely:
- to close the life-expectancy gap within a generation
- to halve the gap in mortality rates for Indigenous children under five within a decade
- to ensure access to early childhood education for all Indigenous four-year-olds in remote communities within five years
- to halve the gap in reading, writing and numeracy achievements for children within a decade
- to halve the gap for Indigenous students in Year 12 (or equivalent) attainment rates by 2020
- to halve the gap in employment outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians within a decade
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience much higher levels of unemployment than non-Indigenous Australians. There is a clear link between unemployment and other aspects of disadvantage. Unemployment is linked to:
- poor health
- poor living standards
- low self-esteem
- imprisonment and substance misuse
- At the time of the last Census (in 2011), the labour force participation rate was 50.7% for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and 64.4% for non-Indigenous Australians. Being employed leads to improved wealth and asset creation for families and communities, which in turn has a positive influence on the health and education of children. Finding ways to increase the economic participation of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander working age population is important for supporting Government initiatives.
Factors that can make it difficult for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to obtain work include:
- lack of relevant training;
- lack of exposure to the mainstream workforce;
- the culture of work organisations and the expectations of organisations;
- the challenges involved in balancing family and community obligations with the demands of full time work; and
- poor health.
Celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Culture waterhole
Prominent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people...
There have been many successful and influential Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people involved in various fields such as sport, arts, politics, media and law. David Unaipon (1872 - 1967) was a Ngarrindjeri man, inventor and writer. He based his helicopter design on the principal of a boomerang. David Unaipon's portrait is depicted on the Australian $50 note, along with drawings from one of his inventions and an extract from his original manuscript, Legendary Tales of Australian Aborigines.
Apology to the Stolen Generations
On 13 February 2008 then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offered an apology to the Stolen Generation. The apology was a crucial step in our reconciliation journey and was a formal acknowledgement of the experiences of the 'Stolen Generations' and the profound sorrow caused by past government practices.
National Reconciliation Week
Sorry day
The National Sorry Day is held on 26th of May to express regret over the historical mistreatment of Aboriginal peoples. The day was chosen in commemoration of the Bringing Them Home report being handed to the federal government on 26th May 1997.
NAIDOC Day
Held on the second Friday in July, the original Day of Remembrance for Aboriginal People and their Heritage. In 1957, it was decided that the event should cover a week and NAIDOC Week was developed.
NAIDOC Week
From the first to the second Sunday in July, NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
National Aboriginal and Islander Children's Day
On 4th August, National Aboriginal and Islander Children's Day (NAICD) is a celebration of Indigenous children.
Credits
The content of this course was originally developed by Interaction Training Pty Limited in conjunction with the Australian National University. Design elements have been reproduced by Interaction with permission from the Workforce Design and Strategy Section at DIMA. We would like to join them in acknowledging assistance provided by the department's Indigenous Employees Network (IEN) and Reconciliation Ambassador Network (RAN) and The Australian National University.
Three Stories
The design used throughout this course is an element of Lyndy Delian's Three Stories screen print series which features cross gum leaves and journey lines connecting water holes and meeting places.
The Three Stories series is about family. The selected elements represent the journey we all take through culture. These journeys occur through storytelling, dance, work, learning, caring, for community and by community taking care of us.