Tribal
voices
The
Sydney Morning Herald
http://www.smh.com.au/icon/0103/31/review2.html
ICON
Roulla Yiacoumi looks at the people, culture, health, music and art of
Aboriginal Australia.
Saturday, March 31, 2001
Stories of the Dreaming
http://www.dreamtime.net.au
Indigenous
Australians believe Dreamtime was when everything on Earth was created. This
site
contains a wonderful collection of Dreamtime stories from around the country.
Read how the emu
came into
being, why the waratah, which was once white, is now red, and how water first
reached
the arid
plains of central Queensland. You can read, listen or watch the stories, which
are read
aloud by various narrators. The site explains the importance of storytelling in
this culture and why
some stories
are sacred and can be told only to certain people.
National Native Title Tribunal
http://www.nntt.gov.au/
If
you have no idea what native title is, or what the difference between native
title and land rights
is, this site is worth a look. The tribunal doesn't decide whether or not
native title exists; its
purpose is to help people resolve native title applications through mediation.
The site explains how
to make a native title claim and details the lengthy process. Not much in the
way of light reading
here (it's a
Federal Government site) but informative all the same.
Yothu
Yindi
http://www.yothuyindi.com/
Easily
Australia's most successful Aboriginal musical export, Yothu Yindi has produced
a stunning
site to
showcase the band. You can listen to music samples, watch video clips and find
tour dates.
The site has
an annoying Java scroll feature that r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w-l-y brings up the text
on the
site. So do
yourself a favour and hit the "Text Version" link and read at your own
pace. By the
way, did you
know Yothu Yindi means "child and mother"?
Aboriginal
Art and Culture Centre
http://www.aboriginalart.com.au/
The
Arrernte Aboriginal tribal group, 100km south of Alice Springs, has run the
centre since 1995.
Online
visitors can study the culture, peruse an art gallery and book a desert tour.
The truly
adventurous
can step in to the Didgeridoo University of Central Australia. Odd as this
sounds, it
contains a
detailed tutorial outlining the intricacies of mastering the didgeridoo,
including circular
breathing
and how to make owl and kookaburra sounds.
Australian
Indigenous HealthInfoNet
http://www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/
Indigenous
Australians die, on average, 18 to 19 years earlier than non-indigenous
Australians.
Babies born to indigenous women are twice as likely to have a low birth weight,
and the level of
kidney failure among indigenous people has reached epidemic proportions. Barely
three months
old, this
well-developed site is full of such glum statistics and health information for
indigenous
Australians.
HealthInfoNet takes on a broad definition of "health", and also
addresses social,
emotional
and cultural factors. There is a noticeboard for job vacancies, a listing of
upcoming health
conferences
and even a medical glossary.
Lakes Entrance Aboriginal Art Group
http://www.aboriginal.net.au/
Sure,
there are some nice paintings and carvings you can buy here, but the best thing
about this
site is the
Indigenous Business Directory. You can support Aboriginal businesses in the
fields of
tourism and
hospitality, arts and culture, and even auto services. The only drawback is that
the
directory is
Victorian-based. A national version should definitely be considered.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission
http://www.atsic.gov.au/default_ns.asp
When
former ATSIC commissioner the late Charles Perkins said visitors to the Sydney
2000
Olympics
would be met by burning buildings and torched cars as part of an Aboriginal
protest, all
hell broke
loose. But while ATSIC has had a colourful past, including controversy over its
management,
it has worked persistently to promote issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres
Strait
Islander
people. The site addresses several areas of concern, including deaths in custody,
the
stolen generation, mandatory sentencing, native title, unemployment and housing.
The "Fact or
Myth"
part of the site is curious; rather than being upfront and dispelling untruths
about Aboriginal
people,
history and even ATSIC itself (aside from a handful of "fact sheets"),
the section is used to
promote the sale of a $9.95 book which will do just that.
Aboriginal
Languages of Australia
http://www.dnathan.com/VL/austLang.htm
Indigenous
Australians spoke hundreds of languages but most are now extinct, according to
site
editor David Nathan. The site contains detailed information about 40 of the
remaining languages,
including Arrernte, Yolngu, Noongar, and Pitjantjatjara. There are excellent
references to further
online and
offline reading materials, including a link to the Aboriginal Studies WWW
Virtual Library.
Aboriginal
Australia
http://www.aboriginalaustralia.com/
An
extremely thorough and user-friendly site, aboriginalaustralia.com brings
together a bunch of
Aboriginal-run
enterprises. You can shop for books, homewares, art and clothing; plan a holiday
with an
Aboriginal flavour; and learn about various aspects of Aboriginal culture,
including
spirituality
and bush medicine.
Ending
Offending
http://www.ourmessage.org/
There's
no getting around this: most inmates in Northern Territory correctional
facilities are
Aboriginal. This site takes a peek inside to see how education, art and music
are being used to help
offenders
overcome alcohol and drug-abuse. The Prisoner Education Unit offers courses in
construction,
hospitality and horticulture. More than 100 inmates are enrolled in
music-related
courses such
as songwriting, stage lighting and band management.
CathyFreeman.org
http://www.angelfire.com/stars2/cathyfreeman/cathy.html
There's
always a nasty lawyer somewhere ready to rip down unauthorised fan sites. This
one,
dedicated to
Aboriginal athlete Cathy Freeman, formerly lived at cathyfreeman.org. "Cathy's
lawyers
wanted me to
remove it," writes the site's creator, Woopa Nice. So here it is, in a new
location with
a mouthful
of a URL. The site takes a while to download, but persevere. Grammar aside, a
lot of
thought has
been put into creating a slick, one-stop site for Cathy Freeman photos, press
clippings
and vital statistics. Hopefully, the site will be relocated soon. Currently
hosted on a free
Web page
hosting service, an annoying pop-up window activates every time you click on a
link.
Ausflag
http://www.ausflag.com.au/flags/ab.html
We
have all seen the distinct red, black and yellow Aboriginal flag, but did you
know it was born out
of a need to
stand out at demonstration rallies? Aboriginal artist Harold Thomas designed the
flag
in 1971
after attending land rights campaign marches and decided a more visible presence
was
required. The black symbolises the Aboriginal people, the red represents the
earth and the yellow
circle in the centre is the sun. Interestingly, Thomas has dismissed the
much-mooted idea of
somehow combining the Aboriginal flag with the Australian flag, declaring
"our [Aboriginal] flag is
not a secondary thing".
NSW
National Parks and Wildlife Service
http://www.npws.nsw.gov.au/culture/index.html
The
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service is responsible for protecting and
preserving Aboriginal
sites,
including burial grounds, carved trees, engravings and paintings. There are more
than
18,000 known
sites in NSW, many dating back thousands of years. This site explains the
significance
of the protected areas and where they can be found. The service also maintains a
database of
the sites that will cost you $30 a pop to access.
Australian
Stone Tools
http://rubens.anu.edu.au/student.projects/tools/homepage.html
A
bit thin on graphics, this site contains a basic assessment of various
Aboriginal artefacts.
Assembled by
student Stephanie Hawkins at the Australian National University in Canberra, it
presents a
series of early tools used by Aborigines, including grinding stones, blades,
spears and
axes. A
history of the implements explains their origins and uses, and a detailed
bibliography
contains
useful references for further investigation. The Aboriginal tools are on loan
from the
Australian Museum, Sydney.
Apology
Australia
http://www.apology.west.net.au/
"This
site is provided in good faith as an opportunity for the people of Australia to
apologise for
the suffering of the stolen generation," writes webmaster Anthony Shipley.
Almost 20,000 people
have
answered the call, visiting the site to register their names. The site doesn't
tell you what will
become of
this list, whether it be presented to the Government or simply act as a peaceful
protest.
There are Sorry T-Shirts ($15) and Sorry Song CDs ($10) to buy, as well as a
list of upcoming
reconciliation events in each State.
The
hardest word
"Bringing Them Home" Report
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/special/rsjproject/rsjlibrary/hreoc/stolen/
In
August 1995, then attorney-general Michael Lavarch asked the Human Rights and
Equal
Opportunities Commission to examine laws that had facilitated the removal of
indigenous children
from their parents. This controversial report does not make easy reading. It
contains distressing
accounts of babies taken from their mothers at birth, young children kidnapped
and abused by
authorities
and Aboriginal camps raided so children could be taken and placed into homes.
The
report found
that the laws that separated indigenous children from their families "have
contributed
directly to
the alienation of indigenous societies today".
Australians
for Native Title and Reconciliation
http://www.antar.org.au/
As
official as "Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation" sounds,
this group is a non-political,
self-funded outfit seeking to raise awareness of reconciliation issues. Its
most successful campaign
to date has
been a "Sea of Hands" in 1997, where thousands of plastic hands
bearing the
Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander flags were planted in front of Parliament House. Some
250,000
people have signed an online petition calling for justice and reconciliation.
The site also
contains an
easy-to-understand background to native title, including a summary of the High
Court's Mabo
and Wik decisions.
Other
sites dealing with indigenous issues:
Council
for Aboriginal Reconciliation
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/orgs/car/
Human
Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
http://www.hreoc.gov.au/
Indigenous
Australia
http://www.indigenousaustralia.com.au/
Mabo
http://www.mabo.com.au/
Wirudgerie
Didgeridoos
http://www.didgeridoo.com.au/
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