Aboriginal connections to water

1. Summarise the different connections

2. Lake Mungo is an example of burial practice (part of spirituality, religion and culture). What key facts are proof of Aboriginal burial practices in this area?

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3. a) What is a modern use of the Murray River by the Narrindjeri people? ___________________________________________________________________________

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b) How is this an example of an economic use?___________________________________________________________________________

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Video: Northern Australia water management

4. What are the benefits of gathering bushtucker?

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5. Compare the sign to the art work. How could they both be communicating similar

messages?

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6. What was the significance of Eddie Mabo?

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7. What did the National Water Initiative do in 2004?

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8. Make notes next to each picture about the relevant environmental knowledge shared

Billabong levels drop – plants collected include:

lotus lily

Speargrass, kangaroo and dragonfly

water chestnut

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red caper flowers – crocodiles laid eggs

Ghost gums bark peeling – bull sharks ready

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9. Food exchange and sharing: summarise the key points about how this works and how government decisions about water could affect it

- Food is brought back and some is kept in own household, but some shared- Food is shared and traded with other communities across region- Water management practices brought in by govt will not only affect one community where

the water is, but all the people they exchange with

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10. What are some other ways that water management might affect Indigenous people?

Action Effect

When the red caper flowers, what does it signal?

At the end of the wet season, river high, what is collected and hunted?

Farmers using too much water in dry season

Building dams

Polluting aquifer (underground layer of rock, gravel or sand which holds water, from which groundwater can be extracted)

Aboriginal connections to water

Jack Wunuwun, Fish trap story, 1984

Spiritual: ______________________

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Religious: ______________________

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Cultural: _______________________

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Practical: ______________________

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Spiritual: ______________________

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Cultural: _______________________

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Practical: ______________________

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Womb Cave, Mystery Bay, Narooma

Practical: ______________________

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Economic: _____________________

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Social: ________________________

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Economic: _____________________

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Cultural: _______________________

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Spiritual: ______________________

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Religious: ______________________

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Cultural: _______________________

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Practical: ______________________

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Challenge question: was it sometimes difficult to split up the art and stories into religious, cultural, practical, social, economic categories? Why?

Practical/environmental

Starter sentence:

Aboriginal people have practical uses for water and the environment, which provides a source of food. For example………Another example is………………….

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_______________________________________________________Spiritual and religious

Starter sentence:

As well as using waterways for food sources, Aboriginal people have many spiritual and religious connections to water. For instance…………And also………………………………

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_______________________________________________________Cultural and social

Starter sentence:

In addition to spiritual uses for water, the cultural and social uses of waterways in Aboriginal life include…………………………….. Another example is ………..

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Economic

Starter sentence:

The economic uses of waterways for Aboriginal people may involve …………………………………………

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Aboriginal connections to water - summary

Aboriginal connections to land – modified summary

Practical -Waterways are a source of food such as barramundi and bream-Many berries, red currants and white currants grow around the water -Water helps to cleanse, such as in the womb cave, the salt cleans the women after giving birth-In the NT when the red caper flower comes out, that shows that the crocodile eggs are ready to collect

Spiritual and religious The people of Arnhem Land believe that

Aboriginal people have practical uses for water and the environment, which provides a source of food. For example, __________________________________________________________________

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Another example is __________________________________________________________________

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As well as using waterways for food sources, Aboriginal people have many spiritual and religious connections to water. For instance, ____________________________________________________

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And also __________________________________________________________________________

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In addition to spiritual uses for water, the cultural and social uses of waterways in Aboriginal life include___________________________________________________________________________

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Another example is __________________________________________________________________

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The economic uses of waterways for Aboriginal people may involve __________________________

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