The Aboriginal Land: Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islanders

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were hunters and gatherers back to the time of the Dreaming. The concept of land ownership as it was not a part of their world view. The reason why, is because the land is the Aboriginal peoples ‘Mother’, who has supported and protected the people for many tens of thousands of years. To the indigenous peoples, arguing over who owns the land, was like two fleas arguing over who owns the kangaroo they were living on. The ‘Mother’ or land, was something that cannot be owned. If anything the ‘Mother’ owns the people, and the Aboriginal people are obligated to maintain the lands natural balance.
As such when the British colonies arrived, the Aboriginal people made no claim to the lands. The invading Colonies

They were deprived of their lands and scared sites. Punished and humiliated in detention camps. The Aboriginal population was overwhelmed by diseases brought in the wake of European settlement. For which they had no immunity, and many died. The change of diet brought by the Europeans, upset the natural and balanced diet that was found from hunting and gathering. Diabetes, heart disease, obesity and alcoholism are now common problems among the Aboriginal population. The indigenous people were also exploited as cheap labour, if they were lucky enough to get payed. More often than not, they were paid with food or alcohol. Once the European way of life was imposed on the people, they were denied the right to practise their own culture, language and Dreaming. This meant a significant loss of Aboriginal identity. (Australians-Together,

It supported the removal of Aboriginal children from their families. It was thought at the time that children would be more easily assimilated into white society. Unfortunately it was founded on the assumption of black inferiority and white superiority. As such this legislation was aimed at allowing the Indigenous people to “die out” through a process of natural elimination, or to integrate where possible into the white community. These children became the stolen generations. Over 100,000 children were forcibly taken from their families and communities and place in a white societies. Many grew up never knowing their parents, heritage, language and culture. There are still many families that suffer from the devastating events of the past