Aboriginal Culture & History
This is the name for the native people who have lived in Australia for over 50,000 years.
Who are the Aborigines?
Britain originally used Australia as this type of "colony" for their prisoners.
What is a penal colony?
This term refers to Aboriginal children who were forcibly removed from their families by the government.
Who are the Stolen Generations
This is the nickname for the vast, dry, and remote interior of Australia.
What is the Outback
This long, wooden wind instrument was created by Aborigines and is known for its deep, humming sound.
What is a didgeridoo?
This term refers to the Aboriginal belief system about the creation of the world by ancestral spirits.
What is The Dreaming (or Dreamtime)?
This was the main reason the Aboriginal population declined so rapidly after Europeans arrived.
What are infectious diseases (like smallpox)?
In 2008, the Australian Prime Minister issued a formal "sorry" for this reason.
To apologize for the mistreatment of Aboriginal people (Stolen Generations).
Most Australians live along this coast because the climate is temperate and there is more rainfall.
What is the East Coast (or Southeast)?
This type of "art" uses small dots to tell stories of the Dreaming and is famous worldwide.
What is Dot Painting?
This curved wooden tool was traditionally used for hunting and returning to the thrower.
What is a boomerang?
The British claimed the land was "Terra Nullius," which means this in Latin.
What is "Nobody’s Land"
Aboriginal people were not considered "citizens" or counted in the census until this year
What is 1967?
This is the largest desert in Australia, named after a famous British Queen.
What is the Great Victoria Desert?
These are the "paths" across the land which Aboriginal people followed to mark the routes of ancestral spirits.
What is the Sun?
Most Aboriginal groups were "nomadic," meaning they moved from place to place to do this.
What is hunt and gather (finding food/water)?
This British explorer claimed the east coast of Australia for Great Britain in 1770.
Who is Captain James Cook?
Today, the majority of Australians (including Aboriginal people) live in this type of area.
What is urban (cities)?
This mountain range runs along the eastern coast and affects Australia's climate by blocking moisture.
What is the Great Dividing Range?
This is the name for a traditional Aboriginal coming-of-age journey where a young male lives in the wilderness.
What are Songlines?
This famous massive sandstone rock in the Northern Territory is a sacred site for the Anangu people.
What is Uluru (Ayers Rock)?
Unlike the Māori in New Zealand, the Aboriginal people did not sign one of these with the British.
What is a treaty?
This 1992 court case overturned "Terra Nullius" and recognized Aboriginal land rights.
What is the Mabo Case?
Because Australia is located below the equator, it is often referred to by this nickname.
What is "The Land Down Under"?
This is the name for a traditional Aboriginal coming-of-age journey where a young male lives in the wilderness.
What is a Walkabout?