Case Study

Australian Indigenous worldviews

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Australian Indigenous worldviews

Introduction

The Australian Aboriginal people have consistently tried to explain their connection with the land to the non-indigenous Australians. However most are yet to grasp the sincerity and depth of this connection (Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies and Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies 1983 p.2-200). For the Aboriginal; people the country or land is life. The land is proof that their belief system is bona fide. Each animal, each landform has meaning as well as a creation story from The Dreamtime. However the key importance of this creation has been overlooked. There is an obvious prejudice towards the indigenous Australians: even the government of Australia has abandoned the ideas of self determination within the indigenous communities. Somewhat due to prejudice, substance abuse has become a health issue In terms of emotional and social wellbeing of the Aboriginal people. A health worker states that the situation is getting worse since there is a huge underinvestment in mental health. It is clear that the young do not have goals and hope. He goes on and says that they are loosing their culture and their language and violence is all around them. He concluded by saying that there is no safe basic shelter for the people and the people do not have shelter from storm. As a society which has been oppressed the young indigenous Australians are also oppressing themselves. The young Aboriginal people are striving to understand their belief system and to learn their own culture. Emotional and social wellbeing for the Aboriginal people encapsulates not just individual’s health, but also the health of the community. Essential to the community’s wellbeing is the connection between land and people. According to the Aboriginal belief systems, or even The Dreaming everything depends on something and all the living things...