Cummeragunja Reserve or Cummeragunja Station , alternatively spelt Coomeroogunja , Coomeragunja , Cumeroogunga and Cummerguja , was a settlement on the New South Wales side of the Murray River , on the Victorian border near Barmah . It was also referred to as Cumeroogunga Mission , although it was not run by missionaries. The people were mostly Yorta Yorta .
90-571: The Yorta Yorta , also known as Jotijota , are an Aboriginal Australian people who have traditionally inhabited the area surrounding the junction of the Goulburn and Murray Rivers in present-day north-eastern Victoria and southern New South Wales . As was customary with many tribal names in the Murray basin – Wemba-Wemba , Latjilatji , Muthi Muthi , Nari-Nari and so on – the Yorta ethnonym
180-593: A Holocene hunter-gatherer sample ("Leang Panninge") from South Sulawesi , which shares high amounts of genetic drift with Aboriginal Australians and Papuans. This suggests that a population split from the common ancestor of Aboriginal Australians and Papuans. The sample also shows genetic affinity with East Asians and the Andamanese people of South Asia. The authors note that this hunter-gatherer sample can be modelled with ~50% Papuan-related ancestry and either with ~50% East Asian or Andamanese Onge ancestry, highlighting
270-706: A claim for the Barmah Forest in 1975 which was rejected by the Victorian Government. The Yorta Yorta Tribal Council ( YYTC ), formally established in April 1983, but according to some accounts originally established in 1972 by Elizabeth Maud Hoffman , Margaret Wirrpanda and others, took over the work of the AAL in working for the Yorta Yorta people. Among the founders were It made another claim for
360-611: A gene flow from India to Australia: firstly, signs of South Asian components in Aboriginal Australian genomes, reported on the basis of genome-wide SNP data; and secondly, the existence of a Y chromosome (male) lineage, designated haplogroup C∗, with the most recent common ancestor about 5,000 years ago. The first type of evidence comes from a 2013 study by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology using large-scale genotyping data from
450-751: A person as Indigenous. (Torres Strait Islanders are ethnically and culturally distinct, despite extensive cultural exchange with some of the Aboriginal groups, and the Torres Strait Islands are mostly part of Queensland but have a separate governmental status .) Some Aboriginal people object to being labelled Indigenous , as an artificial and denialist term, because some non-Aboriginal people have referred to themselves as indigenous because they were born in Australia. Australian Indigenous people have beliefs unique to each mob ( tribe ) and have
540-598: A pool of Aboriginal Australians, New Guineans, island Southeast Asians, and Indians. It found that the New Guinea and Mamanwa (Philippines area) groups diverged from the Aboriginal about 36,000 years ago (there is supporting evidence that these populations are descended from migrants taking an early "southern route" out of Africa, before other groups in the area). Also the Indian and Australian populations mixed long before European contact, with this gene flow occurring during
630-615: A profound spiritual connection. Over the millennia, Aboriginal people developed complex trade networks, inter-cultural relationships, law and religions. Contemporary Aboriginal beliefs are a complex mixture, varying by region and individual across the continent. They are shaped by traditional beliefs, the disruption of colonisation, religions brought to the continent by Europeans, and contemporary issues. Traditional cultural beliefs are passed down and shared through dancing , stories , songlines , and art that collectively weave an ontology of modern daily life and ancient creation known as
720-495: A single group. Aboriginal identity has changed over time and place, with family lineage, self-identification, and community acceptance all of varying importance. In the 2021 census , Indigenous Australians comprised 3.8% of Australia's population. Most Aboriginal people today speak English and live in cities. Some may use Aboriginal phrases and words in Australian Aboriginal English (which also has
810-411: A spirit creates the earth then tells the humans to treat the animals and the earth in a way which is respectful to land. In Northern Territory this is commonly said to be a huge snake or snakes that weaved its way through the earth and sky making the mountains and oceans. But in other places the spirits who created the world are known as wandjina rain and water spirits. Major ancestral spirits include
900-470: A strong connection to the land. Contemporary Indigenous Australian beliefs are a complex mixture, varying by region and individual across the continent. They are shaped by traditional beliefs, the disruption of colonisation, religions brought to the continent by Europeans, and contemporary issues. Traditional cultural beliefs are passed down and shared by dancing , stories , songlines and art —especially Papunya Tula (dot painting)—collectively telling
990-427: A tangible influence of Aboriginal languages in the phonology and grammatical structure ). Many but not all also speak the various traditional languages of their clans and peoples. Aboriginal people, along with Torres Strait Islander people, have a number of severe health and economic deprivations in comparison with the wider Australian community. DNA studies have confirmed that "Aboriginal Australians are one of
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#17327648500281080-472: A telegram to former resident and activist Jack Patten and he was arrested when trying to address them, on 6 February 1939, about 170 residents walked off the mission in protest at their treatment, settling across the river, to relocate in Victoria , in camps on the riverbanks. Margaret Tucker MBE and Geraldine Briggs AO were among the most prominent protesters. This protest became known as
1170-588: A thriving community by the turn of the century, but over time its status changed as the New South Wales Government assumed varying degrees of control. Records list it as a group of four Aboriginal reserves spanning the years 1883 to 1964, but its status changed over this period, with differing levels of control by the government. It is known for being the site of a protest known as the Cummeragunja walk-off in 1939, with residents leaving
1260-691: Is a dialect continuum of closely related languages traditionally spoken on either side of the Murray River from west of Echuca to east of the Cobram /Tocumwal area, and south-east along the Goulburn River as far as the Mooroopna / Shepparton . It was the first language for many of these groups down to around 1960 but elements of the language are still transmitted in families by descendants to this day. It shares few similarities in vocabulary with
1350-502: Is a song based on the traditional Aboriginal hymn "Bura Fera". The song is in the Yorta Yorta language and speaks of God 's help in decimating Pharaoh 's armies. The chorus, "Ngara burra ferra yumini yala yala", translates into English as "The Lord God drowned all Pharaoh's armies, hallelujah!" These lyrics are based on an ancient song in Jewish tradition known as the " Song of the Sea " from
1440-773: Is an increase in allele sharing between the Denisovan and Aboriginal Australian genomes, compared to other Eurasians or Africans. Examining DNA from a finger bone excavated in Siberia , researchers concluded that the Denisovans migrated from Siberia to tropical parts of Asia and that they interbred with modern humans in Southeast Asia 44,000 years BP, before Australia separated from New Guinea approximately 11,700 years BP. They contributed DNA to Aboriginal Australians and to present-day New Guineans and an indigenous tribe in
1530-477: Is based on the Aboriginal peoples' geographical isolation, with little or no interaction with outside cultures before some contact with Makassan fishermen and Dutch explorers up to 500 years ago. The Rasmussen study also found evidence that Aboriginal peoples carry some genes associated with the Denisovans (a species of human related to but distinct from Neanderthals ) of Asia; the study suggests that there
1620-526: Is derived from reduplicating their word for "no" ( yota/yoda ). Norman Tindale (1974) listed the following alternative names used to refer to Yorta Yorta people: The Yorta Yorta language may be a language isolate within the Pama-Nyungan language family , though it is often treated as a member of the Yotayotic branch of that family along with Yabula Yabula , which is not particularly close. It
1710-466: Is governed by a board of seven directors, one of whom is an Elder ’s representative, and a Council of Elders comprising 16 Yorta Yorta family group representatives. There is a CEO who manages the day-to-day operations, administration and personnel. The Aborigines Advancement League (AAL) was established in the 1930s by Yorta Yorta activists such as William Cooper , Sir Douglas Nicholls , Marj Tucker , Geraldine Briggs and Shadrach James . It lodged
1800-480: Is no evidence for South Asian gene flow to Australia .... Despite Sahul being a single connected landmass until [8,000 years ago], different groups across Australia are nearly equally related to Papuans, and vice versa, and the two appear to have separated genetically already [about 30,000 years ago]." Aboriginal Australians possess inherited abilities to adapt to a wide range of environmental temperatures in various ways. A study in 1958 comparing cold adaptation in
1890-453: Is only in the last two hundred years that they have been defined and started to self-identify as a single group, socio-politically. While some preferred the term Aborigine to Aboriginal in the past, as the latter was seen to have more directly discriminatory legal origins, use of the term Aborigine has declined in recent decades, as many consider the term an offensive and racist hangover from Australia's colonial era. The definition of
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#17327648500281980-502: Is that the desert people are able to have a higher body temperature without accelerating the activity of the whole of the body, which can be especially detrimental in childhood diseases. This helps protect people to survive the side-effects of infection. Aboriginal people have lived for tens of thousands of years on the continent of Australia , through its various changes in landmass. The area within Australia 's borders today includes
2070-524: The Riverine Herald tells of the petition, presented to a Mr Burns, "when here some months ago with Lord Carrington". It prints a response from the Minister of Lands acceding to the request that "part of the reserve [would] be subdivided into suitable areas for settlement of individual aborigines", dated 20 March 1888. A property of 1,800 acres (7.3 km ) was acquired from the government of
2160-760: The Book of Exodus . Aboriginal communities of Victoria and southern New South Wales may be the only people in the world who still sing the piece (in Yorta Yorta). Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands . Humans first migrated to Australia at least 65,000 years ago, and over time formed as many as 500 language-based groups . In
2250-477: The CC BY 4.0 license. Cummeragunja Reserve It was established between 1882 and 1888 when dissatisfied residents of Maloga Mission moved 5 miles (8.0 km) upriver to escape the authoritarian discipline there under its founder, Daniel Matthews. The mission buildings were re-built on the new site, and the teacher, Thomas Shadrach James , moved too, but Matthews stayed on at Maloga. The new station became
2340-490: The CSIRO stressed the importance of taking a demand-driven approach to services in desert settlements, and concluded that "if top-down solutions continue to be imposed without appreciating the fundamental drivers of settlement in desert regions, then those solutions will continue to be partial, and ineffective in the long term." [REDACTED] This article incorporates text by Anders Bergström et al. available under
2430-660: The Colony of New South Wales , and the entire village was moved from Maloga in 1888, with the name Coomerugunja given to it by a superintendent appointed by the New South Wales Aborigines Protection Association . Matthews' connection with the Aborigines Protection Association ceased in April 1888, when the residents moved. According to his wife Janet, he continued to be "engaged in work on behalf of
2520-502: The Cummeragunja walk-off , and was the first mass strike of Indigenous people in Australia, and was to inspire later movements and protests. Many of the participants in the walk-off settled in northern Victoria, including Barmah, Echuca, Mooroopna and Shepparton . Following World War II , the Government handed parcels of land at Cummeragunja and other Aboriginal reserves over to white Australian returned servicemen under
2610-590: The Initial Upper Paleolithic . They are most closely related to other Oceanians , such as Melanesians . The Aboriginal Australians also show affinity to other Australasian populations, such as Negritos , as well as to East Asian peoples . Phylogenetic data suggests that an early initial eastern lineage (ENA) trifurcated somewhere in South Asia , and gave rise to Australasians (Oceanians), Ancient Ancestral South Indian (AASI), Andamanese and
2700-462: The Kailtheban, Wollithiga, Moira, Ulupna, Yalaba Yalaba , and Ngurai-illiam-wurrung . In a Native title claim submitted in 1995 by the Yorta Yorta people, it was determined by Justice Olney in 1998 that the "tide of history" had "washed away" any real acknowledgement of traditional laws and any real observance of traditional customs by the applicants. An appeal was made to the full bench of
2790-712: The Kimberley region in what is now Western Australia about 60,000 years ago. They migrated across the continent within 6,000 years. A 2018 study using archaeobotany dated evidence of continuous human habitation at Karnatukul (Serpent's Glen) in the Carnarvon Range in the Little Sandy Desert in WA from around 50,000 years ago. Genetic studies have revealed that Aboriginal Australians largely descended from an Eastern Eurasian population wave during
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2880-637: The Makassar people of modern-day Indonesia. Aboriginal Australians have a wide variety of cultural practices and beliefs that some scientists believe make up the oldest continuous cultures in the world, although this is disputed. At the time of European colonisation of Australia, the Aboriginal people consisted of complex cultural societies with more than 250 languages and varying degrees of technology and settlements. Languages (or dialects) and language-associated groups of people are connected with stretches of territory known as "Country", with which they have
2970-683: The Northern Territory to study their genetic makeup (which is not representative of all Aboriginal peoples in Australia). The study concluded that the Warlpiri are descended from ancient Asians whose DNA is still somewhat present in Southeastern Asian groups, although greatly diminished. The Warlpiri DNA lacks certain information found in modern Asian genomes, and carries information not found in other genomes. This reinforces
3060-459: The Pleistocene epoch and lived over large sections of the Australian continental shelf when the sea levels were lower. At that time, Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea were part of the same landmass, known as Sahul . As sea levels rose, the people on the Australian mainland and nearby islands became increasingly isolated, some on Tasmania and some of the smaller offshore islands when
3150-627: The Rainbow Serpent , Baiame , Dirawong and Bunjil . Similarly, the Arrernte people of central Australia believed that humanity originated from great superhuman ancestors who brought the sun, wind and rain as a result of breaking through the surface of the Earth when waking from their slumber. Taken as a whole, Aboriginal Australians, along with Torres Strait Islander people, have a number of health and economic deprivations in comparison with
3240-497: The Soldier Settlement Scheme . Indigenous returned servicemen were not eligible for the scheme, so even those from Cummeragunja who had served in the war were not rewarded in this way. In 1953, Cummeragunja's status as a station was ended, and it was reduced to the status of Aboriginal reserve . Only a few residents remained, but they persisted in claiming the right to begin farming again. Cummeragunga Pty Ltd
3330-587: The State of Victoria . Parks Victoria , as designated manager of Barmah National Park, will have responsibility for implementing many of the plan's strategies and actions, working in partnership with the YYNAC and other partners such as the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning (DELWP). The track " Ngarra Burra Ferra " sung by indigenous artist Jessica Mauboy , from the 2012 hit film The Sapphires ,
3420-778: The 1970s and 1980s, when Aboriginal people moved to tiny remote settlements on traditional land, brought health benefits, but funding them proved expensive, training and employment opportunities were not provided in many cases, and support from governments dwindled in the 2000s, particularly in the era of the Howard government . Indigenous communities in remote Australia are often small, isolated towns with basic facilities, on traditionally owned land . These communities have between 20 and 300 inhabitants and are often closed to outsiders for cultural reasons. The long-term viability and resilience of Aboriginal communities in desert areas has been discussed by scholars and policy-makers. A 2007 report by
3510-677: The 19th century. Scholars believe that most Aboriginal Australians originated from Southeast Asia. If this is the case, Aboriginal Australians were among the first in the world to have completed sea voyages. A 2017 paper in Nature evaluated artefacts in Kakadu . Its authors concluded "Human occupation began around 65,000 years ago." A 2021 study by researchers at the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage has mapped
3600-652: The Barmah Forest in 1984 under the Cain government , which did not succeed. The Yorta Yorta Tribal Council was superseded by the Yorta Yorta Clans Group ( YYCG ) in 1989, which broadened its scope and encompassed a wider geographic area of traditional Yorta Yorta land. YYCG was superseded by the YYNAC in 1999. In October 2010, the State entered into a Traditional Owner Land Management Agreement with
3690-650: The Board powers to remove children from their families, which they did. The girls were often placed in domestic service , or the Cootamundra Girls' Home for training as domestic servants, in particular the " half-caste " children. The Board took all profits earned by the Station, and the community was neglected. Poor sanitation , inadequate housing and lack of clean water led to illness such as from tuberculosis and whooping cough , which especially affected
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3780-679: The Cumeroogunya Aboriginal reserve in the Parish of Bama, County of Cadell on a total of 2,600 acres (1,100 ha), consisting of four reserves: the main one existed from 9 April 1883 to 24 December 1964, while three smaller ones have starting dates in 1893, 1899 and 1900. Most of the people who lived on the Cummeragunja Reserve were Yorta Yorta people. The original residents moved there from Maloga Mission, 4 miles (6.4 km) away, where they had grown tired of
3870-496: The Dreaming . Studies of Aboriginal groups' genetic makeup are ongoing, but evidence suggests that they have genetic inheritance from ancient Asian but not more modern peoples. They share some similarities with Papuans , but have been isolated from Southeast Asia for a very long time. They have a broadly shared, complex genetic history, but only in the last 200 years were they defined by others as, and started to self-identify as,
3960-620: The East/Southeast Asian lineage, including ancestors of the Native Americans . Papuans may have received approximately 2% of their geneflow from an earlier group (xOOA) as well, next to additional archaic admixture in the Sahul region. Aboriginal people are genetically most similar to the indigenous populations of Papua New Guinea , and more distantly related to groups from East Indonesia. They are more distinct from
4050-606: The Federal Court on the grounds that "the trial judge erroneously adopted a 'frozen in time' approach" and "failed to give sufficient recognition to the capacity of traditional laws and customs to adapt to changed circumstances". The Appeal was dismissed in a majority 2 to 1 decision. The case was taken on appeal to the High Court of Australia but also dismissed in a 5 to 2 majority ruling in December 2002. In response to
4140-881: The Holocene ( c. 4,200 years ago). The researchers had two theories for this: either some Indians had contact with people in Indonesia who eventually transferred those Indian genes to Aboriginal Australians, or a group of Indians migrated from India to Australia and intermingled with the locals directly. However, a 2016 study in Current Biology by Anders Bergström et al. excluded the Y chromosome as providing evidence for recent gene flow from India into Australia. The study authors sequenced 13 Aboriginal Australian Y chromosomes using recent advances in gene sequencing technology. They investigated their divergence times from Y chromosomes in other continents, including comparing
4230-646: The Murray and Goulburn rivers. Ultimate decision-making responsibility was retained by the Environment Minister . The Yorta Yorta Nation Aboriginal Corporation ( YYNAC ), established in 1999 and not to be confused with the former Yorta Yorta Local Aboriginal Land Council which took ownership of Cummeragunja Reserve in NSW in 1984, has its headquarters in Barmah and a branch office in Shepparton . YYNAC
4320-859: The Northern, Southern and Central cultural areas. The Northern and Southern areas, having richer natural marine and woodland resources, were more densely populated than the Central area. There are various other names from Australian Aboriginal languages commonly used to identify groups based on geography , known as demonyms , including: Other group names are based on the language group or specific dialect spoken . These also coincide with geographical regions of varying sizes. A few examples are: However, these lists are neither exhaustive nor definitive, and there are overlaps. Different approaches have been taken by non-Aboriginal scholars in trying to understand and define Aboriginal culture and societies, some focusing on
4410-771: The Philippines known as Mamanwa . This study confirms Aboriginal Australians as one of the oldest living populations in the world. They are possibly the oldest outside Africa, and they may have the oldest continuous culture on the planet. A 2016 study at the University of Cambridge suggests that it was about 50,000 years ago that these peoples reached Sahul (the supercontinent consisting of present-day Australia and its islands and New Guinea ). The sea levels rose and isolated Australia about 10,000 years ago, but Aboriginal Australians and Papuans diverged from each other genetically earlier, about 37,000 years BP, possibly because
4500-590: The Protection of Aborigines even wider powers, the Board took greater control of Cummeragunja and its residents. Residents were subjected to confining and restrictive conditions, and the managers of the Reserve had the power to remove residents for misconduct, to in order to make them earn their living elsewhere. All the funds raised from the farm went to the Board, which "rewarded" workers by doling out inadequate and unhealthy rations. The 1915 Amendments had given
4590-408: The Yorta Yorta, which established the Yorta Yorta Traditional Owner Land Management Board to jointly manage Barmah National Park (a "TOSA" settlement, under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010 ). The Yorta Yorta Traditional Owner Land Management Board is a unit of YYNAC. As recognised traditional owners of the land, a joint management plan is as of 2020 being agreed between the YYNAC and
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#17327648500284680-444: The ancient people expanded and differentiated into distinct groups, each with its own language and culture. More than 400 distinct Australian Aboriginal peoples have been identified, distinguished by names designating their ancestral languages, dialects, or distinctive speech patterns. According to noted anthropologist , archaeologist and sociologist Harry Lourandos , historically, these groups lived in three main cultural areas,
4770-445: The area suggested a higher population density in former times, and it is known that the area was ravaged by smallpox epidemics. In modern times, the Yorta Yorta comprise a number of historically distinct tribes, as well as clans and family groups descending directly from the original Yorta Yorta. Tribes that now come under the general umbrella term of Yorta Yorta include the Bangerang and Kwatkwat . Clans groups represented include
4860-504: The blacks"; the couple stayed on at Maloga Mission, doing their "particular work", and were looking to establish a new mission at Bribie Island after the residents had left (which never came to pass ). Thomas Shadrach James continued as teacher at the new location, and was praised as a dedicated teacher by Matthews' son, John Kerr Matthews, and was said to have taught his Aboriginal students well, many of whom went on to be activists. The "Cumeroogunga Mission Church, removed from Mologa"
4950-452: The deep split between Leang Panninge and Aboriginal/Papuans. Mallick et al. 2016 and Mark Lipson et al. 2017 study found the bifurcation of Eastern Eurasians and Western Eurasians dates to least 45,000 years ago, with indigenous Australians nested inside the Eastern Eurasian clade. Two genetic studies by Larena et al. 2021 found that Philippines Negrito people split from the common ancestor of Aboriginal Australians and Papuans before
5040-497: The desert-dwelling Pitjantjatjara people compared with a group of European people showed that the cooling adaptation of the Aboriginal group differed from that of the white people, and that they were able to sleep more soundly through a cold desert night. A 2014 Cambridge University study found that a beneficial mutation in two genes which regulate thyroxine , a hormone involved in regulating body metabolism , helps to regulate body temperature in response to fever. The effect of this
5130-658: The elderly and young, leading to deaths. By the 1930s conditions had drastically deteriorated. Residents were confined to the station and many of their relatives were forced away. Decent rations and supplies were lacking and residents were forced to share blankets and live in rag huts. Station manager, Arthur McQuiggan, bullied and punished residents if they complained. In May 1938, anthropologists Joseph Birdsell and Norman Tindale visited Cummeragunja. The then teacher, Thomas Austin, considered himself an expert on Aboriginal people, who had already passed on his ideas to Sydney anthropologist A.P. Elkin . Although they were not given
5220-433: The failed native title claim, in May 2004 the Victoria State Government led by Premier Steve Bracks signed an historic co-operative management agreement with the Yorta Yorta people covering public land, rivers and lakes in north-central Victoria. The agreement gives the Yorta Yorta people a say in the management of the traditional country including the Barmah State Park , Barmah State Forest, Kow Swamp and public land along
5310-412: The government can apologise for the stolen generation and what the stolen generation is not a good thing On 9 March 1984 ownership of the land was passed to the newly created Yorta Yorta Local Aboriginal Land Council. Many Aboriginal families still live on Cummeragunja. As of 2020 , Cummeragunja is owned and managed by the Cummeragunja Local Aboriginal Land Council, under the umbrella organisation of
5400-411: The government), when their funds ran dry and management was handed over to the government's Board for the Protection of Aborigines . In 1907 the blocks were revoked and later leased out to white farmers. The Aborigines Protection Act 1909 gave the government greater control, and in 1915, after the local farmers' committee was abolished and amendments to the Act gave the New South Wales Board for
5490-525: The haplogroup C chromosomes. They found a divergence time of about 54,100 years between the Sahul C chromosome and its closest relative C5, as well as about 54,300 years between haplogroups K*/M and their closest haplogroups R and Q. The deep divergence time of 50,000-plus years with the South Asian chromosome and "the fact that the Aboriginal Australian Cs share a more recent common ancestor with Papuan Cs" excludes any recent genetic contact. The 2016 study's authors concluded that, although this does not disprove
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#17327648500285580-401: The idea of ancient Aboriginal isolation. Genetic data extracted in 2011 by Morten Rasmussen et al., who took a DNA sample from an early-20th-century lock of an Aboriginal person's hair, found that the Aboriginal ancestors probably migrated through South Asia and Maritime Southeast Asia , into Australia, where they stayed. As a result, outside of Africa, the Aboriginal peoples have occupied
5670-653: The increased suicide rate, many researchers have suggested that the inclusion of more cultural aspects into suicide prevention programs would help to combat mental health issues within the community. Past studies have found that many indigenous leaders and community members, do in fact, want more culturally-aware health care programs. Similarly, culturally-relative programs targeting indigenous youth have actively challenged suicide ideation among younger indigenous populations, with many social and emotional wellbeing programs using cultural information to provide coping mechanisms and improving mental health. The outstation movement of
5760-457: The indigenous populations of Borneo and Malaysia , sharing drift with them than compared to the groups from Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. This indicates that populations in Australia were isolated for a long time from the rest of Southeast Asia. They remained untouched by migrations and population expansions into that area, which can be explained by the Wallace line . In a 2001 study, blood samples were collected from some Warlpiri people in
5850-512: The islands of Tasmania , K'gari (previously Fraser Island) , Hinchinbrook Island , the Tiwi Islands , Kangaroo Island and Groote Eylandt . Indigenous people of the Torres Strait Islands, however, are not Aboriginal. In the 2021 census , people who self-identified on the census form as being of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin totalled 812,728 out of a total of 25,422,788 Australians, equating to 3.2% of Australia's population and an increase of 163,557 people, or 25.2%, since
5940-400: The land was inundated at the start of the Holocene , the inter-glacial period that started about 11,700 years ago. Scholars of this ancient history believe that it would have been difficult for Aboriginal people to have originated purely from mainland Asia. Not enough people would have migrated to Australia and surrounding islands to fulfill the beginning of the size of the population seen in
6030-417: The languages used by neighbouring tribes, and lexically seems closest to Pallanganmiddang . The Yorta Yorta were divided into clans , of which the names of ten were enumerated by Edward Micklethwaite Curr based on the situation in the 1840s: Tindale (1974) named only three: Another source mentions "Dhulinyagan" . The numbers may well estimate the historic population since evidence from oven mounds in
6120-406: The last 10,000 years it may have occurred—newer analytical techniques have the potential to address such questions. Bergstrom's 2018 doctoral thesis looking at the population of Sahul suggests that other than relatively recent admixture, the populations of the region appear to have been genetically independent from the rest of the world since their divergence about 50,000 years ago. He writes "There
6210-464: The latter two diverged from each other, but after their common ancestor diverged from the ancestor of East Asian peoples . The dingo reached Australia about 4,000 years ago. Near that time, there were changes in language (with the Pama-Nyungan language family spreading over most of the mainland), and in stone tool technology. Smaller tools were used. Human contact has thus been inferred, and genetic data of two kinds have been proposed to support
6300-496: The likely migration routes of the peoples as they moved across the Australian continent to its southern reaches and what is now Tasmania , then part of the mainland. The modelling is based on data from archaeologists , anthropologists , ecologists , geneticists , climatologists , geomorphologists , and hydrologists . It is intended to compare this data with the oral histories of Aboriginal peoples, including Dreaming stories, Australian rock art , and linguistic features of
6390-423: The many Aboriginal languages which reveal how the peoples developed separately. The routes, dubbed "superhighways" by the authors, are similar to current highways and stock routes in Australia. Lynette Russell of Monash University believes that the new model is a starting point for collaboration with Aboriginal people to help reveal their history. The new models suggest that the first people may have landed in
6480-403: The micro-level (tribe, clan, etc.), and others on shared languages and cultural practices spread over large regions defined by ecological factors. Anthropologists have encountered many difficulties in trying to define what constitutes an Aboriginal people/community/group/tribe, let alone naming them. Knowledge of pre-colonial Aboriginal cultures and societal groupings is still largely dependent on
6570-411: The observers' interpretations, which were filtered through colonial ways of viewing societies. Some Aboriginal peoples identify as one of several saltwater, freshwater, rainforest or desert peoples . The term Aboriginal Australians includes many distinct peoples who have developed across Australia for over 50,000 years. These peoples have a broadly shared, though complex, genetic history, but it
6660-638: The oldest living populations in the world, certainly the oldest outside of Africa." Their ancestors left the African continent 75,000 years ago. They may have the oldest continuous culture on earth. In Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory , oral histories comprising complex narratives have been passed down by Yolngu people through hundreds of generations. The Aboriginal rock art , dated by modern techniques, shows that their culture has continued from ancient times. The ancestors of present-day Aboriginal Australian people migrated from Southeast Asia by sea during
6750-480: The original 250–400 Aboriginal languages (more than 250 languages and about 800 dialectal varieties on the continent) are endangered or extinct, although some efforts are being made at language revival for some. As of 2016, only 13 traditional Indigenous languages were still being acquired by children, and about another 100 spoken by older generations only. Dispersing across the Australian continent over time,
6840-420: The other studies had utilised complete Y chromosome sequencing, which has the highest precision. For example, use of a ten Y STRs method has been shown to massively underestimate divergence times. Gene flow across the island-dotted 150-kilometre-wide (93 mi) Torres Strait, is both geographically plausible and demonstrated by the data, although at this point it could not be determined from this study when within
6930-479: The past, Aboriginal people lived over large sections of the continental shelf . They were isolated on many of the smaller offshore islands and Tasmania when the land was inundated at the start of the Holocene inter-glacial period , about 11,700 years ago. Despite this, Aboriginal people maintained extensive networks within the continent and certain groups maintained relationships with Torres Strait Islanders and
7020-440: The presence of any Holocene gene flow or non-genetic influences from South Asia at that time, and the appearance of the dingo does provide strong evidence for external contacts, the evidence overall is consistent with a complete lack of gene flow, and points to indigenous origins for the technological and linguistic changes. They attributed the disparity between their results and previous findings to improvements in technology; none of
7110-414: The previous census in 2016. Reasons for the increase were broadly as follows: Most Aboriginal people speak English, with Aboriginal phrases and words being added to create Australian Aboriginal English (which also has a tangible influence of Aboriginal languages in the phonology and grammatical structure ). Some Aboriginal people, especially those living in remote areas, are multi-lingual. Many of
7200-487: The remaining land bridge was impassable. This isolation makes the Aboriginal people the world's oldest culture. The study also found evidence of an unknown hominin group, distantly related to Denisovans, with whom the Aboriginal and Papuan ancestors must have interbred, leaving a trace of about 4% in most Aboriginal Australians' genome. There is, however, increased genetic diversity among Aboriginal Australians based on geographical distribution. Carlhoff et al. 2021 analysed
7290-403: The reserve to cross the river in protest at poor conditions and treatment. In March 1984 the newly created Yorta Yorta Land Council took possession of the land. Many Aboriginal families still live on Cummeragunja. The name of the settlement referred to today as Cummeragunja has been recorded as Cumeroogunya and other variations such as Coomeragunja, Cumeroogunga and Cummerguja. Records show
7380-633: The right to halt the study, members of the community, who were aware of their rights and aired their grievances, were listened to by Tindale and Birdsell. Years later, Tindale would use some of the issues at Cummeragunja to support his theory that while mixed-race Aboriginal people (" half-castes ") could be assimilated successfully, the reserve system was not successful in this aim, citing the unrest at Cummeragunja in his report. The scientists' visit did have one positive outcome: they created an archive of photographs and accounts which are valued by descendants of Cummeragunja residents. After some residents sent
7470-545: The same day that it was presented to the governor. In July 1887, the Governor of New South Wales , Lord Carrington , visited Moama , where he was presented with a petition by Maloga residents requesting Queen Victoria grant the community land. The petition was signed by Robert Cooper, Samson Barber, Aaron Atkinson, Hughy Anderson, John Cooper, Edgar Atkinson, Whyman McLean , John Atkinson (his mark), William Cooper , George Middleton, Edward Joachim (his mark). An article in
7560-406: The same territory continuously longer than any other human populations. These findings suggest that modern Aboriginal Australians are the direct descendants of the eastern wave, who left Africa up to 75,000 years ago. This finding is compatible with earlier archaeological finds of human remains near Lake Mungo that date to approximately 40,000 years ago. The idea of the "oldest continuous culture"
7650-589: The story of creation known as The Dreamtime . Additionally, traditional healers were also custodians of important Dreaming stories as well as their medical roles (for example the Ngangkari in the Western desert ). Some core structures and themes are shared across the continent with details and additional elements varying between language and cultural groups. For example, in The Dreamtime of most regions,
7740-628: The strict religious lifestyle and the authoritarian style of its founder, Daniel Matthews. In April 1881, 42 of the Yorta Yorta men living at the Maloga Mission wrote a petition to the Governor of New South Wales , Augustus Loftus , requesting land. Daniel Matthews took the petition to Sydney on their behalf and it was published in the Sydney Morning Herald on 2 July 1881 and the Daily Telegraph on 5 July 1881,
7830-409: The term Aboriginal has changed over time and place, with the importance of family lineage, self-identification and community acceptance all being of varying importance. The term Indigenous Australians refers to Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the term is conventionally only used when both groups are included in the topic being addressed, or by self-identification by
7920-517: The wider Australian community. Due to the aforementioned disadvantage, Aboriginal Australian communities experience a higher rate of suicide, as compared to non-indigenous communities. These issues stem from a variety of different causes unique to indigenous communities, such as historical trauma, socioeconomic disadvantage, and decreased access to education and health care. Also, this problem largely affects indigenous youth, as many indigenous youth may feel disconnected from their culture. To combat
8010-424: Was registered in 1965. In 1956, ahead of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics , the remaining families were moved to 10 especially built houses at an area known as Rumbalara. The Rumbalara Aboriginal Co-operative was established 1980, and runs health services for the community. There is also a Rumbalara Football Netball Club . and on 13 of August 2008 thousands of people gathered so
8100-428: Was reported to have reopened for worship on Easter Monday in 1889. At Cummeragunja Station, they established a farm with the aim of communal self-sufficiency . In the early years, the residents of Cummeragunja shaped most of the land into a productive farm, producing wheat , wool and dairy products, The NSW Aborigines Protection Association administered the station from its beginnings until 1892 (subsidised by
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