Aborigines

There are about 500 different Aboriginal peoples in
Australia, each with their own language and territory and usually made up of
several different clans. Their land was invaded from the end of the 18th century
onwards, with catastrophic consequences for them.

How do they
live? Land is absolutely crucial to Aboriginal peoples, at the centre
of both their physical and spiritual lives. Before the invasion, most Aborigines
lived in semi-permanent communities along the coast, and lived by agriculture,
fish farming, and keeping animals. Those Aborigines who lived inland in the bush
and the desert lived by hunting and gathering, burning the undergrowth to
encourage the growth of plants favoured by the game they hunted. They were
experts in seeking out water. Today more than half of all Aborigines live in
towns, often on the outskirts in terrible conditions. Many others work as
labourers on cattle ranches that have taken over their land. Many, particularly
in the northern half of the continent, have managed to cling on to their land
and still hunt and gather 'bush tucker'.

What problems do they
face? Ever since the British first invaded, Aboriginal peoples have had
their land stolen from them or destroyed. Until 1992, when it was finally
overturned, the legal principle governing British and then Australian law
regarding Aborigines' land was that of 'terra nullius' – that the land was empty
before the British arrived, belonged to no-one, and could legitimately be taken
over. Most has still to be returned today, and the loss of their land has had a
devastating social and physical impact on Aboriginal peoples. The initial
invasions also sparked huge waves of disease that killed thousands – many others
were massacred. In just over one hundred years from the first invasion of their
land, their numbers were reduced from up to an estimated one million to only
60,000. During much of the 20th century, outright killings were replaced with a
policy of removing Aboriginal children from their parents and giving them to
white families or placing them in mission schools, to eradicate traces of
Aboriginal culture and language. Today they still face racism and violence, and
many live in terrible conditions. As a result, Aborigines have a far higher
infant mortality rate and suicide rate and a lower life expectancy than the rest
of the population, and make up a disproportionate section of the prison
population. Although a landmark judgment in 1992 finally threw out the racist
'terra nullius' principle, the government has since done everything it can to
obstruct Aborigines reclaiming title over their lands. Despite the many hurdles
placed in their way, however, some Aborigines such as the Martu of western
Australia are finally securing ownership titles to their
land.

How can I help?
Click here to donate to Survival.
Click here to write a letter to your MP or MEP (UK).
Click here to write to the President, your senators, congressmen or other elected officials (US).
Write to your local Australian high commission or embassy, click here to find out more.

How does Survival help? Survival has provided
funds for some 'homeland' projects, whereby Aboriginal people return from towns
to their ancestral land. We support Aboriginal efforts to win recognition of
'Native Title' to land in the courts and in parliament. In particular, Survival
has been supporting the campaign of the Mirrar Aborigines in the Northern
Territory against a proposed uranium mine on their sacred land. This campaign
now seems to have succeeded in persuading the mining company not to go ahead.