2023-10-15 15:15:19
The original peoples of what we know today as Australia have been there for at least 60,000 years.
Indigenous peoples in Australia have called for a “week of silence” and mourning after the rejection of the country’s white majority to a referendum that sought to grant them greater political representation.
With more than 70% of the votes counted on Sunday, approximately 61% of Australians answered “no” when asked whether the country’s 1901 Constitution should be amended to recognize the nation’s original inhabitants. Despite the fact that indigenous people make up less than 4% of Australia’s population of 26 million.
This disproportion is the long-term result of British colonization that began in 1770, when the Endeavor expedition, under the command of Royal Navy Lieutenant James Cook, mapped and landed to begin centuries of extermination and conquest.
The vote against also involved rejecting the creation of a new advisory body, known as the “Voice”, which would have had influence on issues related to indigenous peoples in Australia.
A rejection of the native peoples: They have been there for 60,000 years
Indigenous supporters of the “Voice” expressed their disappointment at what they considered a “bitter irony,” since “people who have only been on this continent for 235 years They refused to recognize those whose home this land has been for 60,000 years”.
The first Minister Anthony Albanese, leader of the center-left Labor Party that supported the referendum, said “sharing this continent with the oldest continuous culture” was a source of pride for Australians. However, Albanese showed visible distress when he addressed the nation Saturday night and called for “a spirit of unity and healing.”
The referendum, known as “The Voice”, was the first in Australia in almost a quarter of a century. With most of the votes counted, the “No” overtook the “Yes” by a margin of approximately 60% to 40%.
This rejection came after a tense and often divisive campaign. Supporters argued that including indigenous people in the Constitution would strengthen Australia’s unity and usher in a new era. However, critics argued that the idea was divisive and would create special classes of citizens, slowing down government decision-making.
They were accused of targeting undecided voters with a message of “You don’t know? Vote no” and spreading misinformation about the effects of the plan.
The result leaves Albanese searching for a way to advance his vision for the country, while the resurgent opposition is eager to capitalize on his victory.
Indigenous senator Lidia Thorpe, who opposed the referendum and advocated a no vote, said the nationwide elections had “caused nothing but harm to the First Peoples.”
The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization (NACCHO), an Indigenous-led health entity, provided mental health resources for people experiencing “increased anxiety and depression” as a result of the no vote.
Mental health is one of many areas where Indigenous people in Australia face disadvantage, adding to a gap of more than seven years in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Native peoples have been in Australia for 60,000 years
The most conservative estimates say that the first native peoples arrived around 60,000 years ago, but others even place the first settlers there around 120,000 ago.
They formed a hunter-gatherer society that had adapted exceptionally to the environment that surrounded them. In 1788, when the British arrived in these lands, it is estimated that between 300,000 and 950,000 Aboriginal people populated the Australian continent. At that time, there were around 260 different linguistic groups, each with its own communication system that gave rise to more than 500 dialects.
The life of the aborigines was characterized by mobility and organization in small family groups. Each group lived in a defined territory and moved systematically throughout a given area, following seasonal changes. Each group had its own history and culture, with notable differences between them. Periodically, these family groups gathered for social, ceremonial and commercial purposes, sometimes gathering up to 500 people. Membership in a family or language group was determined by birthright, shared language, and cultural obligations. The relationships within these groups established categories of responsibilities and commitments towards both the group and the family.
The Aboriginal people built semi-permanent homes that suited their nomadic lifestyle. The importance fell on family and group relationships, as well as the connection with their ancestral land, rather than on the development of an agrarian society or the accumulation of material goods. The semi-nomadic life promoted non-materialization and the value of social, religious and spiritual activities.
From the perspective of Aboriginal beliefs, each local area possessed a deep connection to its physical environment, which had been created and shaped by the actions of spiritual ancestors who, according to mythology, had traveled across the landscape. These living and non-living beings were the result of the actions of the dreaming ancestors, mythical figures who played a fundamental role in the worldview of the Aboriginal people.
This relationship with the land and nature was more spiritual than physical, and their religion was intrinsically linked to their ancestral land. Aboriginal people believed their environment was controlled by spiritual means, and their respect for nature and the land was a crucial pillar of their culture.
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