Indigenous Culture in Australia has been Systematically Broken down since White Settlement - Coursework Example

Name: xxxxxxxxxxx Course: xxxxxxxxxxx Institution: xxxxxxxxxxx Title: Breakdown of the indigenous culture in Australia Date: xxxxxxxxxxx @ 2010 Breakdown of the indigenous culture in Australia Introduction The original inhabitants of Australian make up the indigenous culture; the original inhabitants are classified as either Torres Strait Islanders or the Aboriginal people. Presently, these groups of people make up 2.7% of the entire Australian population. The indigenous culture in Australia has distinctive elements in regards to language, religion, cultural practices, art and traditional recreation among many other elements. Nevertheless, white settlement in Australia has contributed to the systematic breakdown of the indigenous culture. This paper seeks to present an incisive outlook on how the indigenous culture in Australia has broken down systematically since the white settlement in Australia. It will give a clear articulation of the perceptive taken in regard to the systematic break down of the indigenous culture in Australia and form an argumentative discourse in support of the conveyed perspective. This paper will explore the indigenous culture before the white settlement and depict the influences of the white settlement to the indigenous culture in Australia. Indigenous Culture in Australia Indigenous Australians comprise of either the Torres Strait Islanders or the Aboriginal people. There exist great differences between the two indigenous communities in Australia. Each community has its unique customs, cultural practices, beliefs and languages. There were over 250 languages used by the indigenous Australian people prior to the European conquest in Australia. Presently, there are only 15 languages used by the indigenous people the other languages became extinct. Prior to the European conquest, the indigenous people lived as hunters and gatherers. In order to acquire their food these communities hunted on animals and gathered wild fruits. These communities lived a semi nomadic lifestyle and were relatively mobile due to the changes in seasons and the availability of food. The lifestyle and cultural practices of these indigenous communities varied from one region to the other. (Atkinson, Kennedy & Bowers 2007). Influences of the white settlement to the indigenous culture in Australia The arrival of the British colony in 1788 greatly impacted the lifestyle and culture of the indigenous people in Australia. The British settlement in Australia altered surrounding land and water resources. By 1900 the population of the indigenous community declined, a count record indicated a decline of approximately 93, 000. This occurred as a result of being exploited by the colonists. The Europeans established fishing and pearl shelling industries which brought about the act of forced labor, abductions and. hostility to the natives. (Mead 2005). The foreigner brought changes in the economic status as they invented other activities of earning living. For example the setting up of industries, this resulted to water pollution hence the indigenous could not go on with their fishing activity. The natives had to adapt to the new ways of living and neglect their original which was not effective. They were also dislocated from their original settlements and forced to occupy small sites which couldn’t sustain their hunting activity and too dry for farming. This distorted their culture of hunting and gathering. Nevertheless, the natives were not willing to embrace as they were denied their freedom and their labor in the white settler’s firms was forced. (Mead 2005). In 1871 the missionaries came in through London Missionary Society, Their operations began in Darnley and Dauan Islands and with the help of teachers from Loyalty Islands in New Caledonia, they steadily extended to the other Torres Strait Islands. The internal existence of the white settlers meant that the culture of Torres Strait Islander was under the influence of education, religion, colonialism and foreign cultures which was so influential. The natives thought that the whites would offer desirable reforms and also some of these aspects like Christianity would not discourage some of their traditional practices or others like education would boost their standard of living. So the were reluctant to repel them. These four aspects really contributed to the changes of the culture of the natives, they had to abandon some of their traditions and embrace the foreign. Traditionally, when the boys became of age they would be taught hunting tricks, farming or gathering and later join the trading industry. With the coming of the Europeans; the children would be taught Christianity and later join schools so as to acquire knowledge to enable them do the white collar jobs. To the natives, the system of the whites interfered with their social life since they would have so little time to stay with their kids at home and they spend their time working in the foreign farms instead of doing their communal hunting or gathering. Before the coming of the Europeans, the islands were led by the council of elders or the headmen. When they came from 1879 to1904 they used indirect rule to control the islands, this was through the Loyalty Missionary Society (LMS). In 1904 the Queensland Government took over from the LMS and treated the islanders similar to Aboriginal people. According to their culture, the islanders would choose old men who have retired from work to lead them and their roles were to settle matters like land disputes or family matters. They adapted the new culture in which anybody could be the leader so long as he has the qualities. That is one had to be an educated Christian or a hard worker. This had both positive and negative effects. Positive because it forced people to work hard so as to be ahead of the others and negative as it reduced the respect for elders since nobody recognizes them when once they stopped being productive. Originally the Austrians ha so many native languages, after the settlements of the whites some of these languages vanished and those that exists are not the original ones but are distorted by others. When the education came every body was free to enroll not considering the tribe. Because it originated with the whites; the teachers taught in English. Therefore all those enrolled were forced to speak it. Still those that worked in the white settlers’ farms were forced to know their languages so as to be able to communicate with them. Every body was eager to know the new language hence the tribes which were not firm were swallowed by the others. This has a negative impact on the culture since according to their traditions any ethnic language offered an identity to a certain group of people or a sense of belonging. It also brought people together as one. Its elimination separated people and their communal ness. The white settlers brought the development of the political life. The Australian agreement gave respect for ones cultural personality and the clinch of diversity in return for a commitment to the rules. At the beginning its citizens fought against diversities but for active development of cultural and social unity. Although they tried to repel the ruling of the whites, later they copied their form of leadership and it is after they got a stable government that they were able to set their own rules and defend their culture. Although their organizations were abolished they also had some positive impacts. (Dawson 2008) The white settlers brought the technological development. For example, in the field of communication. The invention of radio station made it easier for people to communicate especially to the mass. Traditionally the Austrians communicated through massagers or others methods like using a whistle. These methods were not effective as they were time consuming or not applicable for a wide geographical area. The new forms of communication helped to improve their social life since it was easer to address even a whole nation or share the cultural beliefs and not within a small group of people. This invention had some negative outcomes as well; the radios and other communication device have captured so much of people’s attention that they are like their role model. People who spend most of their time listening to radios or watching television are likely to change their style of doing things and copy the media’s. Many end up neglecting their culture calling it old fashioned and emulate the new which belongs to a different group. According to the culture of the indigenous Austrian the occupations were specified for each sex. For example, men would specifically go hunting, gathering or fishing while women either did farming or remained at home. With education which did not recognize people with sex but performance came to equalize people. So long as one is professionally qualified he or she could do any kind of work. It gave women a chance to work in positions even senior than their counter parts. This change is seen in a negative perspective since it completely distorts the cultural belief on equality. Women were considered to be inferior and evil. Some of them were isolated and branded ‘witches’. The interaction between the indigenous Austrian and the foreigners has led to multiculturalism. This is where by people live in the geographical areas but guided by divergent cultures. This reduces the togetherness and the love for each other because they feel that they do not belong to the same origin or destination. For example, if the women of the whites can supervise men and give them orders while those of the indigenous cannot .The two groups will live against each other because their women do not live to their expectations. The coming of the whites did not only affect verbal communication but also had its effects on the non verbal languages. This is the most sensitive area as really do we find two cultures with similar sign language. For example an area like the interpersonal space is so distinct in various groups of people. For example, the European students are known to interact so closely than the Austrians. If these two groups of people live together what is most likely to happen is that they will abandon their sign language and it is very necessary in communication. Sign language is the most sincere and fast methods, for example, thumb up to show OK, illustrate speech or convey emotion. (Matsumoto & Juang 2008). Before the white settlers the indigenous Austrians lived a semi nomadic lifestyle that is they would move from one place to climatic changes and seasons. For example if the weather was so dry they would move to areas convenient for their survival. Where they would easily gather fruits or do their farming. When the whites came they invented other ways of obtaining food and also other kinds of foods to supplement the traditional ones. This led to permanent settlement of the natives since during the dry seasons they would have places to work and food was available in the market. This also brought about the development of permanent houses. Instead of building the temporary houses and in communities as they used to do so as to shift easily in case of weather change, they established permanent houses. Even though food was available throughout the year; the natives were disadvantaged in that they were displaced from their original inhabitants and forced to live in small and congested areas away from built-up centers. (Mead 2005). Conclusion Unlike the other animals, human beings are social and highly depend on others for survival thus they are fundamentally connected to each other. There are a number of factors that basically connect people but the main one is culture. That is the norms or beliefs a binding a certain group of people and it can be determined through language, behavior, dress code or activities of a certain community. Culture gives a sense of belonging or identifies a group of people, for example, one can easily identify a certain race by the language they use or their traditional dress. (Matsumoto & Juang 2008). Culture has some advantages both to the individual and the society. It brings cooperation, which is the capability of the people to work jointly so as to attain a common goal. This is all about an individual belonging to a certain social group. He or she feels to be a member of that group and is free to be involved to its activities. Culture also improves discipline among people in the society as they live by their cultural beliefs. Like anything else; cultures also have some disadvantages. Multiculturalism is where by the society has got so many different cultures. These cultures may cause many problems, for example, they affect intergroup relations, and this is as a result of differences in beliefs. It may also lead to misunderstandings between married parties from different cultures or discrimination of others based on their group membership. (Matsumoto & Juang 2008). The merits and demerits of culture show why white settlers had both positive and negative impacts in the culture of the indigenous Austrians. Bibliography Atkinson, J., Kennedy, D., & Bowers, R, 2007, Aboriginal and First Nations approaches to counseling: The practice of counseling. Thomson Publishers. Melbourne, pp. 224-245. Dawson, E, 2008, Australia’s diversity advantage: Centre for Policy Development. Retrieved March 21, 2009, < http://cpd.org.au/article/australias-diversity-advantage> Matsumoto, D, & Juang, L, 2008, Culture and social behavior. In Culture and psychology Wadsworth Cengage Learning, Belmont. Matsumoto, D, & Juang, L, 2008, Culture, language, and communication. In Culture and psychology. Wadsworth Cengage Learning, Belmont Mead, R, 2005, Comparing cultures. In International management: Cross-cultural dimensions. Blackwell Publishing, 3rd ed, Oxford Publishers, UK, pp. 27-54. Mead, R. (2005). Shifts in culture. In International management: Cross-cultural dimensions (3rd ed., pp. 55-75). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing. Read More

The foreigner brought changes in the economic status as they invented other activities of earning living. For example the setting up of industries, this resulted to water pollution hence the indigenous could not go on with their fishing activity. The natives had to adapt to the new ways of living and neglect their original which was not effective. They were also dislocated from their original settlements and forced to occupy small sites which couldn’t sustain their hunting activity and too dry for farming.

This distorted their culture of hunting and gathering. Nevertheless, the natives were not willing to embrace as they were denied their freedom and their labor in the white settler’s firms was forced. (Mead 2005). In 1871 the missionaries came in through London Missionary Society, Their operations began in Darnley and Dauan Islands and with the help of teachers from Loyalty Islands in New Caledonia, they steadily extended to the other Torres Strait Islands. The internal existence of the white settlers meant that the culture of Torres Strait Islander was under the influence of education, religion, colonialism and foreign cultures which was so influential.

The natives thought that the whites would offer desirable reforms and also some of these aspects like Christianity would not discourage some of their traditional practices or others like education would boost their standard of living. So the were reluctant to repel them. These four aspects really contributed to the changes of the culture of the natives, they had to abandon some of their traditions and embrace the foreign. Traditionally, when the boys became of age they would be taught hunting tricks, farming or gathering and later join the trading industry.

With the coming of the Europeans; the children would be taught Christianity and later join schools so as to acquire knowledge to enable them do the white collar jobs. To the natives, the system of the whites interfered with their social life since they would have so little time to stay with their kids at home and they spend their time working in the foreign farms instead of doing their communal hunting or gathering. Before the coming of the Europeans, the islands were led by the council of elders or the headmen.

When they came from 1879 to1904 they used indirect rule to control the islands, this was through the Loyalty Missionary Society (LMS). In 1904 the Queensland Government took over from the LMS and treated the islanders similar to Aboriginal people. According to their culture, the islanders would choose old men who have retired from work to lead them and their roles were to settle matters like land disputes or family matters. They adapted the new culture in which anybody could be the leader so long as he has the qualities.

That is one had to be an educated Christian or a hard worker. This had both positive and negative effects. Positive because it forced people to work hard so as to be ahead of the others and negative as it reduced the respect for elders since nobody recognizes them when once they stopped being productive. Originally the Austrians ha so many native languages, after the settlements of the whites some of these languages vanished and those that exists are not the original ones but are distorted by others.

When the education came every body was free to enroll not considering the tribe. Because it originated with the whites; the teachers taught in English. Therefore all those enrolled were forced to speak it. Still those that worked in the white settlers’ farms were forced to know their languages so as to be able to communicate with them. Every body was eager to know the new language hence the tribes which were not firm were swallowed by the others. This has a negative impact on the culture since according to their traditions any ethnic language offered an identity to a certain group of people or a sense of belonging.

It also brought people together as one. Its elimination separated people and their communal ness.

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