Indigenous People Of Australia The Aborigines example essay topic

... ts of this land. The word Aborigine is actually from Latin language, meaning 'from the beginning'. The Europeans gave this name to native Australians, but this is not what they call themselves. They prefer to be called Koori (Ponnamperuma). They adapted to their environment well: the people in the colder southeast tended to be short and thick-set which was useful for conserving body heat, and the people in the hot desert were taller and lean. The Aboriginals lived solely by hunting and food gathering.

Each group accumulated detailed knowledge of the habits, cycles, and and food values of the plants, insects reptiles, marsupials, and fish found in its area, developing methods and equipment for obtaining them and, when necessary, for making them edible. The behavior of one insect, plant, or animal was a sign the condition or appearance of certain others, each in its own place in time. When one population group of natives increased beyond the number that could live within practical range, some of its members moved to the next unoccupied area, and still held kinship, social, economic, and ritual ties with the original group. By this process, all of Australia was occupied. The basic part of Aboriginal life was complete dependence on nature and on intelligent adaptation through knowledge and skill. This equilibrium between the native people and nature was hugely upset by European settlements beginning in 1788.

The better lands were seized, and the food-gathering, theology, and social activities were stringently changed. The groups located near white settlements became more on an unbalanced diet furnished by whites. The inevitable result was the economic decline of the native people. The Aboriginals did, however, adjust to their new environment. For example, some Aboriginals in the northern cattle area were employed as stockmen. The Australian Federal Government is working along with natives to employ gradual self-determination and consultation in decision making.

(Altman) However, continuing impoverished lifestyles of many groups of Aboriginals continues to be a problem. Education is poor and housing is inadequate (Real Borges 5 World). They received the right to vote in 1967, and are continuing to be successful in continuously demanding their rights as people (Ponnamperuma). Indigenous People of Hawaii In 1893, the United States Government along with U.S. Minister John L. Stevens, through covert operations, overthrew the Hawaiian monarch led by Queen Liliuokalani and helped to establish a Provisional Government which took full possession of all government functions and buildings of the Hawaiian islands. That same year, President Grover Cleveland submitted to Congress a full report that condemned the role of the American minister and the U.S. Marines and called for a restoration of the Hawaiian monarchy.

In 1898, Congress ignored President Cleveland's previous request and brought into the Union the Hawaiian Islands through the 'Newlands Resolution' This was legally questioned as to whether the U.S. Congress had authority to admit territory into the Union because it is not specified that it had right to acquire land other than through conquest or treaty. The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL) realizes that the actions taken by the U.S. are illegal and thus are the basis for their legal claims for the restoration of human, civil, property, and sovereign rights of Hawaii's indigenous people. The JACL believes that the unlawful overthrow holds special significance, as it has neither been addressed nor remedied for over a century. This loss of self-rule, according to the JACL 'remains an important cultural and political factor today (Costanha) '. Additionally, the JACL believes that 'unresolved justice to one is harm endured by all... full range or consideration of Hawaii's peoples' rights and freedoms must be completely explored in order to bring about harmony within Hawaii's society,' (Costanha). The JACL Many Hawaiians are bitter about the current 'hip Hawaiian culture,' with hula girls and surfers.

Many believe that they are being exploited, including one of the leaders of the native Hawaiian's sovereignty movement, Haunani-Kay Trask (Nakao, 1). There are two proposed plans for a sovereign Hawaii. One is the 'nation within a nation' model in which 4.2 million square acres are set aside as Hawaiian homeland and residents pay taxes to elected Hawaiian representatives. The United States would still be in charge of defense and most legal matters, but Hawaii would have control over its land and resources. The other plan is that of complete sovereignty, in which Hawaii holds complete rule. The countries of Brazil and Australia and the state of Hawaii all have things in common: internal conflict, one group thriving at the bottom of a social hierarchy, and that same group fighting for their rights.

These groups need and deserve to be given the land that Europeans have taken from them, and also should be treated equally. Indigenous People Indigenous people are those that are native to an area. Throughout the world, there are many groups or tribes of people that have been taken over by the Europeans in their early conquests throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, by immigrating groups of individuals, and by greedy corporate businesses trying to take their land. The people indigenous to Australia, Brazil and South America, and Hawaii are currently fighting for their rights as people: the rights to own land, to be free from prejudice, and to have their lands protected from society. Indigenous People of Brazil and South America The people indigenous to Brazil and South America are an extremely noteworthy group. The Brazilian population originally derives from four ethnic sources.

From the beginning, the country has been a mixture of many 'races' of people. Of these, are the native Indians, the colonizing Portuguese, the enslaved African blacks, and the various immigrant groups from Europe and Asia. Many of the indigenous tribes are quarreling with Brazil's officials and businesses. Rainforests are depleting at a rapid rate and, as they are a home to many indigenous tribes, is causing great turmoil. Although the Constitution of 1988 claims to recognize the indians' 'original land rights to the lands they traditionally occupy' and promise that these lands will be 'demarcated' and 'protected', the Government Agency Funai is charged with the demarcation of of nearly fifty percent of the lands (Peace Net). The report claims that, 'in reality, most most indian lands whether demarcated or not are coveted for some form of development.

' This claim is substantiated by the fact that 'mineral concessions have been made on fifty-eight percent of all demarcated indian lands, while thirteen percent are affected by hydroelectric projects,' (Peace Net) The link between global environmental change and the rights of indigenous populations results from the close relationship between indigenous people's cultural and economic situations and their environmental settings. Therefore, if the environment of the native Indians of Brazil continues to be changed and removed, the people born on these lands will be exterminated out of existence. Additionally, many societal views of the indigenous people is killing them. The Amnesty International report, as commented upon by Peace Net cites one occasion in which a thirty-five year old Macuxi Indian by the name of Damian Mendes was found lying face down on a muddy riverbank, shot in the neck. Nearby lay his nineteen year-old nephew, murdered by the same means.

Opposition from local ranchers stalled the demarcation of the land belonging to the Macuxi Indians. The Macuxi are a group whose ancestral lands lie on the plains of Roraima. The Indians' claim to the land has resulted in the attacks, and thus far have forced many to abandon the ancestral grasslands. The report continues, 'Da maio Mendes and Mario Davis were killed for land. The investigation into the killing was cursory. No one has been brought to justice.

Dozens of Indians in Brazil have been murdered in similar circumstances. ' One group, the leaders of the Mexica Movement, accuse Europeans of invading their lands in 1492 and and 1519, and breaking up 'our lands that they call Mexico (1821), 'Central America' (1823), and the 'U.S. Southwest' (Texas in 1836 and the rest in 1848). (Mexica, 2) ' They also point out that 'In the last 500 years, in addition to the theft of our lands, we have seen the destruction of of our Anahuac cities, the execution of our leaders, the genocide if 23 million of our people (95% of our population killed), the theft of our wealth, the theft of out labor, and most importantly, the theft of our true Anahuac identity, history, heritage, and theology. ' They point out many of the successes of the Anahuac civilization, including developed sciences, agriculture, philosophies, all of the civilized arts, and three cities larger than Europe's largest city. Powerful phrases are used, such as 'racial rape and cultural castration of our population', and claim that the the influx of Europeans caused the Anahuac to become a society riddled with 'ignorance, poor education, low-self-esteem, poverty, crime, gangs, dropouts, lack of indigenous representation, and and an inferiority complex of the worst kind: the self-hate of an entire people. ' The Mexica Movement believes that the best way to solve this problem that they, as a society, are faced with, is to provide knowledge of its history and true heritage.

They believe that 'Knowledge, vision, courage, and perseverance will change our people into an authentically proud people, and a revived creative world force... We will hold our heads and hearts proudly. We will happily know who we are. ' Indigenous People of Australia The Aborigines are an indigenous group from Australia. They were the first human inhabitants of this land.