A History of Aboriginal Futures (Essay Sample)

A History of Aboriginal Futures
In the article "A History of Aboriginal Futures" by Ginsburg and Myers, Australian Aboriginal history and culture have existed for many years. The culture is older than the stone age and Acropolis and is better known to be the world’s oldest culture (Ginsburg and Myers 42). The article critiques the anthropologist’s belief that the Aboriginals are growing to extinction. The article further addresses the growing Artwork, indigenous media, and acrylic painting of the Australian indigenous people. Although the Aboriginals faced a great dilemma about their futures in the recent past, the article asserts that their history and culture have continued to be preserved and protected by several Australian policies. For instance, the Aboriginals won the 1963 land protest by the Yolngu people at Yirrkala of northern Australia, meant to preserve about 300 km2 of land believed to be sacred (Ginsburg and Myers, 32). The Australian federal government further created the Aboriginal culture and identity acceptable at the national level.
The author claims that the Aboriginals view all forms of life, the fish, humans, and birds, as part of the world’s network of a constant relationship that can be traced from the great ancestors who existed in the Dreamtime. They also understand the world and its creation stories through Dreamtime (Ginsburg and Myers 40). The article further argues that the Aboriginals’ beliefs that the laws of existence and the beginning of knowledge started in the Dreamtime, which the individuals should adhere to survive. They have a strong connection with the land, sea, and sky; they also argue that their ancestors came from the sky and the earth. Moreover, they believe that they don’t own the world; instead, the land owns them. Their ceremonies and religious life generated a wide array of art, including ornamentation, body painting, wood carving, ground and rock sculpture which were informed by their cultural and religious beliefs (Ginsburg and Myers 44). According to the author, the British and other white settlers saw the Aboriginal culture as primitive and valueless, lacking civilization, and opted to missionize and offer them protection between 1788 and the 1930s (Ginsburg and Myers 45).