Teacher background information

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have the longest continuing living cultures on record. As such, many people feel that this is evidence of perhaps the most successful model of sustainability in existence. For millennia Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have maintained a careful balance of the environment and the complex ecosystems within their Country/Place. This elaboration provides students with the opportunity to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ world view and understand how such cultures identify themselves as a fundamental part of the environment. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Peoples have deep knowledge of the dependencies of living things in an environment and perceive themselves as integral to these systems. This elaboration will deepen students’ understanding of the place of Peoples in the environment and the consequences of removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples from the environment.

As the First Peoples of Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have established and maintained a shared living culture with their environment since time immemorial. As Noonuccal woman Karen Martin-Booran Mirraboopa of North Stradbroke Island explains:

“We believe that Country is not only the Land and People, but is also the Entities of Waterways, Animals, Plants, Climate, Skies and Spirits. Within this, one Entity should not be raised above another, as these live in close relationship with one another. So People are no more or less important than the other Entities.” (Martin & Mirraboopa, 2003, p. 207).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples live in a symbiotic relationship with their Country or Place and see themselves as belonging to the environment rather than having dominion over the environment. A reciprocal interrelationship exists between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and the environment, which integrates sustainable practices with obligations to Country/Place. Humans, other animals, and the natural environment are all fundamentally connected in this holistic, ecocentric environment. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples view themselves as living components required by the environment, and dependent on other living things, for the environment to thrive.

Environmental understandings held by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have been developed through long-held intellectual practices to generate, validate and interpret scientific knowledges gained empirically about the natural environment. This knowledge base is often called ‘traditional ecological knowledge’ (TEK). For millennia in Australia, First Nations Peoples have been an integral part of the environment and have developed deep understandings of the interrelationships that exist in the environment. This has resulted in potentially the most successful example of long-term environmental sustainability. For example, prior to colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples used their long-held knowledge to protect parts of the environment that provided sanctuary for specific animal species. Within the boundaries of a sanctuary, no hunting, fishing, burning or gathering was allowed. The sites were refuges to protect a breeding or nesting ground for a particular species, as well as the organisms in that area. The species is protected from human interference for the benefit of the environment and the Peoples. Eunonyhareenyha, north-east of Wagga Wagga in New South Wales, is a breeding ground for emu that, prior to colonisation, was protected by the Wiradjuri Peoples. Similarly, in the central desert of Australia, Aboriginal Peoples manage parts of the land by banning human activities such as hunting, gathering and burning, to ensure there are areas of sanctuary for the Red Kangaroo.

Care of the environment by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples has changed the land, and over many thousands of years, the animals and plants within delicately balanced ecosystems have adapted to human interaction. As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples were completely dependent on the environment, they implemented carefully considered practices that ensured the existence of co-dependent species. For millennia Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have used fire to consciously and deliberately promote the wellbeing of organisms within their environment. This is often referred to by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as “cleaning up the Country”, and reflects a practice of care and consideration in maintaining a healthy and well-managed environment. The Martu Peoples of the Western Desert use fire in specific areas to encourage the regrowth of plants that are important food sources for people and animals, to create habitats for species, including endangered species such as the mankarr (bilby), and to prevent larger, damaging fires. Some areas of Country are not burnt in order to protect flora and to provide patches of older growth as refuge from predators. As humans are an integral part of the environment, changes to human interactions can impact other species within that environment.

Colonisation in Australia led to forced dispossession and physical disconnection from Country/Place for many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Consequently, the Australian environment, of which people are such a vital component, changed from the carefully balanced and managed system to an unbalanced system. For example, prior to colonisation, the Kuku-Yalanji Peoples of the rainforest regions in far north Queensland carefully managed large areas of tropical rainforest, and areas of open sclerophyll forest, through the implementation of fire regimes. Different types of environments require different fire regimes. Rainforest environments contain species that are susceptible to fire and rely on the dense tree canopy to provide a shaded, humid environment. Many sclerophyll forest plants are resistant to fire or may require fire for germination, and thrive in open well-lit conditions. For millennia, the Kuku-Yalanji Peoples have applied fire only to specific areas of their Country, to provide the environmental conditions necessary for plants to thrive. The disruption of these practices by policies of fire suppression following colonisation of the region has impacted the environment, as the integral role of People within the environment became disconnected. This disruption had a significant impact on biotic and abiotic factors within the environment, and as a consequence, caused significant change in the structure and composition of communities within ecosystems. Another consequence was the encroachment of dense, shaded rainforest into sclerophyll regions, which overshadowed open well-lit conditions and prevented the germination and establishment of seedlings of plant species such as Eucalyptus spp. This, in turn, impacted other living things in the interdependent environment.

The physical disconnection and forced displacement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples at the time of colonisation affected Peoples from fulfilling their obligations to Country/Place. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have intimate and highly detailed knowledge of their Country/Place and understand the complex and intricate processes required for healthy, productive Country/Place. As the land no longer had Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ careful and controlled interactions, not only did the environment become unbalanced, but the Peoples who could no longer carry out their cultural responsibilities to Country also suffered greatly. As an integral part of the environment, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are needed for the balance and survival of all living things within that environment.   

This elaboration provides students with the opportunity to understand the interconnected world view of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. This ecocentric perspective places Peoples within the environment, as an intrinsic part of the larger system rather than in a place of dominance. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have long understood the intricate relationships within the environment and have carefully implemented management practices that promote the sustainability of all organisms within the environment. Students will have the opportunity to understand how living things depend on each other and the environment to thrive, and that the change to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ role as living components within the environment impacts other elements within systems.