Outdoor and Environmental Studies Unit Three Indigenous Relationships With Natural Environments

INDIGENOUS RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE ENVIRONMENT Beliefs Perceptions (what we think) Impacts/practices (the effects) Interactions (what we do)

Relationships in and with outdoor environments Relationships in and with Outdoor Environments Perceptions (what we think) Interactions (what we do) Impacts/ practices (The effects)

Introduction Aboriginals first arrived in Australia around 60,000 years ago – they came from Asia by boat, island hoping Aborigines continued to arrive until 10,000 years ago (and after) when the last ice age ended – at this time: The polar caps melted causing the sea to rise separating Australia from Asia Tasmania was separated from mainland Australia Australia began a period of warming which continues today Aboriginal societies were traditionally hunter-gather – they moved to follow the availability of food Aboriginal societies were also semi-nomadic – they moved from place to place over large distances in a seasonal pattern following food supplies

BELIEFS (the dreamtime) The world was created in the dreamtime by spirit ancestors. Equivalent to the bible. Creation stories explain natural features, animals and plants When they died they returned to the earth or became a natural feature/plant/animal h?v=Jcl2inXgFzA

Dreamtime task

Boonjil The Wurundjeri people have two creation totems, Boonjil the Eaglehawk and Waang the Crow The Boonjil was the most important to the Wurundjeri ancestor heroes. It is believed that he came from the skyworld, said to be a land of trees in heaven, and he cut the land with his knife, creating valleys, mountains, rivers and trees. Boonjil breathed life into clay and so created the first people. When his acts of creation were complete, Boonjil returned to the sky.

PERCEPTIONS They believed that the land owned them, rather than the other way around. They had a responsibility to look after the land/plants/animals (custodians/Stewardship) The land would provide for them if it was looked after (Land is mine)

Custodians Because the "Stories of the Dreaming" have been handed down through the generations, they are not 'owned' by individuals. They belong to a group or nation, and the storytellers of that nation are carrying out an obligation to pass the stories along. The Elders of a nation might appoint a particularly skilful and knowledgeable storyteller as 'custodian' of the stories of that people.

Loss of history With the discouragement and 'unofficial' banning of the telling of traditional stories, which continued well into the twentieth century, many stories were 'lost'. The custodians passed away without being able to hand the stories on. This was particularly so in the south-east region of Australia.

Storytelling, while explaining the past, helps young Indigenous Australians maintain dignity and self-respect in the present. Present-day custodians of stories play a vital role in Indigenous communities.

Interactions Practices/Management Semi nomadic lifestyle Seasonal movements Few permanent settlements Hunting and gathering Firestick farming Story places/sacred sites Totems Small populations

Interactions Practices/Management Semi nomadic lifestyle Seasonal movements Few permanent settlements Hunting and gathering Firestick farming Story places/sacred sites Totems Small populations Now write a description of each with a small stick figure drawing that depicts this for you

Impacts of Indigenous Cultures Possible extinction of mega fauna Creation of grasslands/open woodlands Introduction of dingo – impact on mainland Selection of eucalypts over rainforest plants Relatively little impact over 50,000 years compared to 200 years of European settlement

Extinction of mega fauna It is a contentious issue as to whether human habitation led to the extinction of Australia ’ s mega fauna. There is another school of thought that indigenous populations were the route cause. Bit of both?

Extinction of mega fauna The extinction of megafauna around the world was probably due to environmental and ecological factors. It was almost completed by the end of the last ice age. It is believed that megafauna initially came into existence in response to glacial conditions and became extinct with the onset of warmer climates.

Extinction of mega fauna In temperate Eurasia and North America, megafauna extinction concluded simultaneously with the replacement of the vast periglacial tundra by an immense area of forest. Glacial species, such as mammoths and woolly rhinocerous, were replaced by animals better adapted to forests, such as elk, deer and pigs. This all happened about years ago, despite the fact that humans colonised North America less than years ago and non-tropical Eurasia nearly 1 million years ago.

Extinction of mega fauna At the end of the last ice age, Australia's climate changed from cold-dry to warm-dry. As a result, surface water became scarce. Most inland lakes became completely dry or dry in the warmer seasons. Most large, predominantly browsing animals lost their habitat and retreated to a narrow band in eastern Australia, where there was permanent water and better vegetation. The diprotodon, one of Australia's megafauna, may have survived on the Liverpool Plains of New South Wales until about 7000 years ago. If people have been in Australia for up to years, then megafauna must have co-existed with humans for at least years. Regularly hunted modern kangaroos survived not only years of Aboriginal hunting, but also an onslaught of commercial shooters.

Extinction of mega fauna Worldwide, there is no evidence of Indigenous hunter- gatherers systematically hunting nor over-killing megafauna. The largest regularly hunted animal was bison in North America and Eurasia, yet it survived for about years until the early 20th century. For social, spiritual and economic reasons, Indigenous hunters harvested game in a sustainable manner.

Mega fauna Diprotodon and the short faced Kangaroo

Diprotodon Diprotodon optatum, evolved about a million years ago and may have become extinct as recently as 15,000 years ago, has the distinction of being the largest marsupial ever. It was the size of a rhinoceros — three metres long, almost two metres high at the shoulder, and weighing as much as two tonnes. It had pillar-like legs and broad footpads, a little like those of an elephant.

Thylacoleo carnifex

Zaglossus hacketti

Procoptodon goliah

Wakaleo vandaleuri

Varanus priscus

Euryzygoma dunense

Dromonis stirtoni

Nimbacinus dicksoni

Introduction of the Dingo According to Dr Tim Flannery, from about 5,000 years ago, the dingo revolutionised Australian Aboriginal culture and the natural environment. Flannery argues that the arrival of the dingo was closely associated with profound changes in aboriginal language, stone tool technology, food production, population levels and trade patterns. At the same time, these changes in indigenous culture were linked to environmental changes which were, in turn, also associated with the impact of the dingo.

As Flannery states: "Imagine the boost given to a clan that could harvest meat twice as rapidly as its neighbours". The decline in marsupial numbers as a result of the arrival of the dingo, Flannery further argues led to an increased abundance of grasses, which in turn provided the basis for the increased propensity of Aboriginal people to harvest and eat grass seeds. This increased propensity appears to have occurred by about 1000 years ago.

This shift in diet may have been associated with a further increase in human population. As Flannery states: "In this dingo-driven revolution we see a profound restructuring of Australia 's ecosystems and human cultures, which involved a further diminution of the role of large herbivores, and an increase in human population fuelled by harvesting newly available plant foods. This was a dramatic departure from what had gone before."

Australian relationships video

Now your turn to read Read pages 134 to 138 of your text book and answer the following questions. Aboriginal Relationships with Nature 1. What practices ensured that areas of land were ‘rested’ and impact on the land minimised? 2. List some popular foods of the Aboriginals. 3. What is Murrnong? How was it gathered and cooked, and what nutrient was it rich in? 4. What is fire stick farming? List 3 benefits of firestick farming. 5. What specific long-term impacts has firestick farming had on the natural environment? 6. Explain the system and purpose of Sanctuary Zones. 7. Identify the fishing techniques of the Aboriginal people and the associated impacts. 8. What fauna species have become extinct as a result of the aboriginal people? 9. List and describe 3 forms of evidence of Aboriginal presence in the Victorian environment?

Indigenous relationships

PERCEPTIONS (what they thought)  The land was perceived in terms on kinship (connection by blood, marriage, adoption, family)- Land as mother and protector  Spiritual connection with land  Land was perceived in terms of worship  The land owned the people as much as they owned the land- equal to it.  They are related to and part of the land  The sacred nature of the land impacted on all aspects of life.  The Dreaming (aboriginal spirituality) made strong links with people, the land and all living things  Spirits formed the earth’s landscape (eg. rainbow serpent)  When spirits die they are absorbed into the earth or go to the sky- sacred sites  People came from the earth & return to the earth when they die  Sacred sites extremely important  Part OF the land. Equal to the land. RELATIONSHIPS BEFORE EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT

PERCEPTIONS (what they thought)  Aborigines had totems – individually and as a tribe  Nature provides everything needed for survival – food, tools, clothing, shelter  People have a responsibility to protect and care for the land, individually and collectively  People are part of the earth and must live in harmony with it

INTERACTIONS (what they did)  Hunting and gathering  Nomadism/semi-nomadism- moved with the seasons or after small period of time so they did not exhaust supplies  Firestick farming- use of fire to clear land to create/regenerate grasslands to attract large mammals for hunting and make travel easier  Sacred sites- burial sites, sites of worship to the ancient spirits and ceremonies. The sites often coincided with ecologically sensitive areas – such as breeding grounds for food species  Sustainable  Conservation zones  Rock painting  Food – shellfish, bird eggs, yams etc  Hunting – possums, kangaroos, emus, seals  Tools - made stone tools from rocks on beach  Clothing – made cloaks & bags of possum or kangaroo skin  Shelter – stacked sheets of bark against a tree/branch  Transport – made canoes from bark to travel to Phillip and French Islands  Annual ceremonies & feasts RELATIONSHIPS BEFORE EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT

IMPACTS (the effects)  Nomadic lifestyle meant impact was minimal  Generally very low- middens, rock art, scarred trees and stone carving sites are often all that remain  Introduction of Dingo (extinction on mainland of Thylacine) and possible impacts on some marsupials.  Firestick farming may have change forest environments- creation of grasslands, assist in destruction of fire sensitive species (beech forest), promotion of plants that regenerate after fire (eucalypts) RELATIONSHIPS BEFORE EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT

 IMPACTS (the effects)  May have helped in extinction of Megafauna due to hunting – giant wombat (diprotodon) & giant kangaroo (procoptodon)  Fish traps  Decreased populations of aquatic birds due to harvesting of eggs in spring RELATIONSHIPS BEFORE EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT

Aboriginal people after colonisation Unfortunately in many parts of the country, aboriginal people where treated worse than feral animals. Farmers and landowners would ride into camps shooting men, women, children and babies for the sport of it. While this was still considered murder, it mostly went unreported. Aboriginal people were often forcibly moved from their land if it was of value to settlers. Children who had mixed blood, were routinely taken from their parents and moved to orphanages across the country (the stolen generations). A lot of people in more populated areas of Australian were put onto reservations and missions

operated by the government and the church. Today aboriginal people make up less than 1% of the population, they survived in larger numbers in more remote country areas. Aboriginal history is unfortunately a very sad one, however in 1967 they were allowed to vote (previous to this they could not vote as they were officially recognised at Fauna – native animals). I n 1992 the landmark ‘Mabo’ case recognized native title of the first time’. This case disputed the legal principal of ‘Terra Nullius’, by which the British legally occupied Australia. The British Government successfully argued that the aborigines did not have a civilised society, until it was overturned in 1992.

There is very little evidence to back up any of these claims. Gippsland squatter Henry Meyrick wrote in a letter home to his relatives in England in 1846: The blacks are very quiet here now, poor wretches. No wild beast of the forest was ever hunted down with such unsparing perseverance as they are. Men, women and children are shot whenever they can be met with … I have protested against it at every station I have been in Gippsland, in the strongest language, but these things are kept very secret as the penalty would certainly be hanging … For myself, if I caught a black actually killing my sheep, I would shoot him with as little remorse as I would a wild dog, but no consideration on earth would induce me to ride into a camp and fire on them indiscriminately, as is the custom whenever the smoke is seen. They [the Aborigines] will very shortly be extinct. It is impossible to say how many have been shot, but I am convinced that not less than 450 have been murdered altogether.

Work task 3 Investigate the Indigenous people of the Grampians area.