Bernie Garcia III

4-9-2015
Australias Dying Culture

Australia is one of the most bio diverse countries in the world, and evidence of
early Aboriginal economies show that they resided on the coast exclusively for
about 30,000 years before venturing inland away from the coastal line (Australian
Indigenous Cultural Heritage. 2008). The Aboriginal people of the Australian
Island are amongst the oldest living people on earth with over 250 indigenous
languages, and a culture that is so colorfully unique that tells their distinctive
story of lifes genesis unlike any other culture today. Religiously speaking,
Australians are pantheistic, which means they believe in multiple deities (Welch, n.d.).
Human, animal, and plant life are all interconnected in the cycle of reincarnation according to
aboriginal beliefs, which comes across in much of the artwork. Artistically the music, dance
and paintings are spiritually interconnected. The infamous Australian instrument known as the
didgeridoo is used in spiritual rituals, as well as body paintings and dance. Ancient artwork
such as the cave images of the Wangjina, tell the story of the deities who are worshiped in
exchange for the wet season rains that bless the people of Kimberley. The wild life and
vegetation in Australia also play a huge role in the culture of the island. Unfortunately all the
aspects that make Australia so culturally diverse are slowly dying away.
With the colonization of the English settlers, the Aboriginal people were forced out of
their way of life, much like how the Native American were treated by the early settlers. In the
school systems, English has become the national language, and the Indigenous languages

have been fading away, becoming severely endangered. In fact, 83% of Aboriginal
people reported speaking English only at home (an increase from 82%
in 2006), and 11% of Aboriginal people spoke an Indigenous language
at home. I think it is so sad that the people are being robed from their
culture.
In an effort to help the Aborigines, programs all over Australia
have been set up by different organizations to provide Aboriginal
children with technology. The education systems have recently become
integrated with aboriginal and non-aboriginal. Aboriginal children that are
being enrolled into schools have increased, it has not been without discomfort
such as acts of racism and prejudice discrimination and political controversy. In
fact the in Sydney, racism is a big part of why young aboriginal youth
might permit their culture to fade away. This is because in many
schools, whites are taking their kids out of schools because of an over
population of Aboriginal children that started enrolling in school. One
effort to save Australian Indigenous culture has been made through
face book at SAVE-Australian-culture, the link is provided at the
bottom in my works sited, and also as a button in on the weebly
profile.

SAVE-Australian-culture.(n.d) Retrtieved Feburary 4, 2015 from:

(https://www.facebook.com/pages/SAVE-Australianculture/122405417833617)

Aboriginal Language. (2010, January 1). Retrieved February 4, 2015, from

http://traveloutbackaustralia.com/aboriginal-language-2.html

Australian Indigenous Cultural Heritage. (2008, January 7). Retrieved April 12,
2015, from http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/austnindigenous-cultural-heritage

A statistical Overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in Australia.

(2008. January 1). Retrieved from https://www.humanrights.gov.au

Welch, D. (n.d.). Aboriginal Religion and Ceremony. Retrieved April 12, 2015 from
http:KKwww.aboriginalculture.com.auKreligion.shtml