Aboriginal Kinship In Australia

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Kinship ties are derived from the Dreaming and identify a complex system of responsibilities and relationships towards all others in a clan. A person’s position in the kinship system establishes their relationship to others and to the universe, prescribing their responsibilities towards other people, the land and natural resources.
Kinship is determined by both family relationships and a person's totem and is thus a connection with the ancestor spirits, land and Dreaming, all of which is integral to Aboriginal spirituality. Understanding Kinship ties enables Indigenous people to follow the strict rules and obligations assigned to their relationships with others. For instance mother-in-laws and son-in-law aren't meant to speak. Specific codes …show more content…

The removal of `Stolen Generations' people from their families has, in the majority of cases, prevented them from acquiring language, culture and the ability to carry out traditional responsibilities and in many cases, has prevented them from establishing their genealogical links. In the mission stations operated by the denominational churches, Aboriginals were given new names, forbidden to speak their native language, adopt Christian values, forbidden to marry and removed from their parents and tribes, thereby creating the “Stolen Generations”. The prohibition on traditional Aboriginal practices meant that land, language, totems, kinship and ceremonies were all detrimentally affected. In addition many Aboriginal children experienced continual denigration of their own Aboriginality and that of their families. The complete separation of the children from any connection, communication or knowledge about their Indigenous heritage has had profound effects on their experience of Aboriginality and their participation in the Aboriginal community as adults. Subsequent generations continue to suffer the effects of parents and grandparents having been forcibly removed, institutionalised, denied contact with their Aboriginality and in some cases traumatised and

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