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Here's an essay which might help you. It has specific reference to Mabo, Native Title and Wik.
Explain the importance of the following for the Land Rights movement:
Indigenous Australians have struggled with the land rights battle since European invasion in 1788. The policies of protection, assimilation and integration as well as issues such as dispossession, the stolen generations and terra-nullius have had a vastly detrimental impact upon Aboriginal spiritualities which originate from the Dreaming. However, through the Land Rights movement Indigenous Australians have rekindled motivations and gained partial ownership of/native title to the land that is rightfully theirs. The three movements of Native Title, Mabo and Wik are of vital importance in the ongoing process by which Indigenous Australians are trying to attain unconditional land rights and ownership.
The modern land rights movement unofficially began with Vincent Lingiari. In 1975, Lingiari successfully helped pass land rights legislation under the Whitlam Labor Government giving Aborigines specific parcels of land. It was not until June of 1992 when the next major land rights progression occurred. Eddie Mabo and his clan sought to gain full rights of ownership of their land. After a series of legal events ‘terra-nullius’ i.e. land belonging to no one, was overthrown. Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders were finally recognised as the traditional custodians of the land. The next key event was Native Title which was consolidated through the Native Title Act 1993. This gave Indigenous Australians the ability to claim land rights over traditional areas which their kinship group/they themselves owned/occupied in the past e.g. Cape York Peninsula. This gave further acknowledgement to Indigenous Australians as the first owners of Australia’s land. The Wik decision of 1996 stated native title could co-exist with other rights through a pastoral lease. This made it is easier for Indigenous Australians to continue land right claims in the Federal Court. Unfortunately, the Howard Government reworked native title conditions through the Native Title Amendment Act 1998. This was a Ten Point Plan which was of advantage to the leasehold title holder. The legislation enabled leaseholders to upgrade to freehold title at the level of State Government. This had dire consequences on Aboriginal land claim opportunities as it meant many Aboriginal groups lost the rights to pursue native title claims which in turn gave them little to no hope of achieving any form of land rights/ownership.
The Land Rights movement is essential for contemporary Aboriginal spiritualities as it clarifies and more importantly, acknowledges the inextricable bond between the Indigenous peoples and their land. The land is central within their lives physically, economically, socially and ultimately, in a spiritual sense. If the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders are dispossessed from their land they destroy a core facet of their spiritual existence – the obligations to the land as expressed in the Dreaming. The land is the physical medium through which all beings dwell, alive or dead. Native title and land rights are opening Aborigines back up to the land which is rightfully theirs. In this respect it is also reconnecting spiritual links with ancestral spirit beings originating from the Dreamtime. The relationship between the land and people is one of mutual interdependence. The preservation, nurture, care and maintenance of the land is a timeless cycle for Indigenous Australians. Their ritual estate lies at the core of their being. Granting land rights ensures this spiritually foundational bond to the land is passed on to future generations and that in turn; the Dreaming can remain universal and immortal for Aborigines.
Numerous events of the past have restricted Aboriginal life and spirituality through dispossession from the land. A myriad of policies have made life a burden for Indigenous Australians. Their relationship with the land which was destroyed due to Europeans can never fully be recovered. However, through the cases of Mabo, Native Title and Wik Indigenous Australians are redeveloping links with the essence of the dreaming – the land. For Aborigines, all life can be traced back to ancestral spirit beings which form the origins of contemporary Indigenous spiritualities with modern society. Unconditional land rights are a door to the past, a haven for the present and a ticket to a brighter future for Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders.
Explain the importance of the following for the Land Rights movement:
- Native Title
- Mabo
- Wik
Indigenous Australians have struggled with the land rights battle since European invasion in 1788. The policies of protection, assimilation and integration as well as issues such as dispossession, the stolen generations and terra-nullius have had a vastly detrimental impact upon Aboriginal spiritualities which originate from the Dreaming. However, through the Land Rights movement Indigenous Australians have rekindled motivations and gained partial ownership of/native title to the land that is rightfully theirs. The three movements of Native Title, Mabo and Wik are of vital importance in the ongoing process by which Indigenous Australians are trying to attain unconditional land rights and ownership.
The modern land rights movement unofficially began with Vincent Lingiari. In 1975, Lingiari successfully helped pass land rights legislation under the Whitlam Labor Government giving Aborigines specific parcels of land. It was not until June of 1992 when the next major land rights progression occurred. Eddie Mabo and his clan sought to gain full rights of ownership of their land. After a series of legal events ‘terra-nullius’ i.e. land belonging to no one, was overthrown. Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders were finally recognised as the traditional custodians of the land. The next key event was Native Title which was consolidated through the Native Title Act 1993. This gave Indigenous Australians the ability to claim land rights over traditional areas which their kinship group/they themselves owned/occupied in the past e.g. Cape York Peninsula. This gave further acknowledgement to Indigenous Australians as the first owners of Australia’s land. The Wik decision of 1996 stated native title could co-exist with other rights through a pastoral lease. This made it is easier for Indigenous Australians to continue land right claims in the Federal Court. Unfortunately, the Howard Government reworked native title conditions through the Native Title Amendment Act 1998. This was a Ten Point Plan which was of advantage to the leasehold title holder. The legislation enabled leaseholders to upgrade to freehold title at the level of State Government. This had dire consequences on Aboriginal land claim opportunities as it meant many Aboriginal groups lost the rights to pursue native title claims which in turn gave them little to no hope of achieving any form of land rights/ownership.
The Land Rights movement is essential for contemporary Aboriginal spiritualities as it clarifies and more importantly, acknowledges the inextricable bond between the Indigenous peoples and their land. The land is central within their lives physically, economically, socially and ultimately, in a spiritual sense. If the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders are dispossessed from their land they destroy a core facet of their spiritual existence – the obligations to the land as expressed in the Dreaming. The land is the physical medium through which all beings dwell, alive or dead. Native title and land rights are opening Aborigines back up to the land which is rightfully theirs. In this respect it is also reconnecting spiritual links with ancestral spirit beings originating from the Dreamtime. The relationship between the land and people is one of mutual interdependence. The preservation, nurture, care and maintenance of the land is a timeless cycle for Indigenous Australians. Their ritual estate lies at the core of their being. Granting land rights ensures this spiritually foundational bond to the land is passed on to future generations and that in turn; the Dreaming can remain universal and immortal for Aborigines.
Numerous events of the past have restricted Aboriginal life and spirituality through dispossession from the land. A myriad of policies have made life a burden for Indigenous Australians. Their relationship with the land which was destroyed due to Europeans can never fully be recovered. However, through the cases of Mabo, Native Title and Wik Indigenous Australians are redeveloping links with the essence of the dreaming – the land. For Aborigines, all life can be traced back to ancestral spirit beings which form the origins of contemporary Indigenous spiritualities with modern society. Unconditional land rights are a door to the past, a haven for the present and a ticket to a brighter future for Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders.
