Should Prime Minister Or Government Say Sorry To The Aboriginal People?

Should the Prime Minister and the government say sorry to the aboriginal people?

The Indigenous people of Australia have had a controversial place throughout Australian history. They have been a racial minority in society and have been the victims of cultural conflict. Australian Aboriginal culture is unique and complex. It existed at least 50,000 years ago and is one of the world's longest surviving cultures. Grambial tribes were the first Australian Aborigines to have met the white settlers in 1788. They even have hundreds of languages and dialects and variety of different customs and rituals.

Through the reading of 'The Dreaming', it focuses on what is known and understood by Aboriginal people. 'The Dreaming' is a broad term that means a complex set of ideas. This reader explains the creation of the land, the various life forms and daily living. The Dreaming stories were from a period of many thousand years ago, long before human beings lived on earth. Many of the traditional stories describe that the Ancestral Spirits in animal and semi-human form. Aborigines also believe that the spirits and the powers live on in these places today (Walsh 1999, 22-23). As such, the Aboriginal people feel they must take every effort to protect and preserve such places.

While most stories tell people about the creation of the environment they also provide knowledge about how to live in and care for particular environment. Many of the stories also provide a mental map for Aboriginal people to locate sacred places, and source of food and water (Sunday Times 2005, 6). The knowledge include in the stories also cover many other areas for example law, marriage, social organisation, hunting and tool making techniques. The Dreaming stories are also celebrated in the dances, song, ceremonies, paintings and carvings of the various Aboriginal groups.

In conclusion, from the reading, the Prime Minister and the government should actually say sorry to the aboriginal people because since British people have taken over this country there has been