Dreaming & Land Rights

Year 12 Half-Yearly Exam Feedback 2016

1U/2U Section 1: (Mean: 14.3)

Question 11/21: Dreaming & Land Rights

Strong responses:

Gave a solid understanding of The Dreaming and incorporated syllabus relevant ideas such as Native Title, Mabo & Wik and spoke about the motivation of Mabo and Wik being a spiritual connection to the sacred sites. They also linked in these main events from the LRM to how they allowed for a rebuilding of The Dreaming. Examples were used to demonstrate the inextricable link between land and Dreaming e.g. Dreaming stories are site specific hence requiring retelling on the land. Lack of access to land meant no access to elders and therefore no access to spiritual inheritance (e.g. understanding of kinship/duties)

Middle/Weaker Responses: Talked about the Dreaming and how it connects to the land. While some of these explanations were really good, they didn’t talk about the land rights movement as mentioned above.

Suggested areas for improvement:

Examples: One area that students could have used to improve responses in this area is to use Mabo as an example to explain how the sacred stories of Malo-Boami (Dreaming stories of the Mer Islanders where Mabo was from) were a motivation for seeking land rights. In this way students would not only provide a specific example of the Dreaming, but one that was directly linked to the acknowledgement of land rights.

Understanding Native Title: Native is not something that was ‘given’ in the Mabo Case. It is something that pre-existed European settlement. Native Title refers to the rights to the land which emerge from a system of law governing a place (which can be as simple as do not steal etc). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders had Native Title prior to Captain Cook declaring Australia Terra Nullius in 1770. In declaring Terra Nullius, Cook ignored the fact that under British law there was an existing right to land in Australia which would need to be addressed through war, buying the land or a treaty in order to pass the title over to the British. Thus because Mer Island was crown land, it could be passed back to the Mer Islanders as their Native Title was not extinguished by Cook’s declaration of Terra Nullius (it was invalid). The Native Title Act (1993) and Native Title, therefore, are two quite different ideas.

Question 12/22: Aboriginal Reconciliation

Strong responses:

Students coherently explained the contribution of TWO religious traditions towards reconciliation, while providing specificity in regards to such contributions. Students demonstrated a clear understanding of the Reconciliation movement.

Areas for Improvement:

Overall improvement in content/knowledge and understanding of this area of the syllabus is needed.

Diversity in Examples: Examples relating to religions other than Christianity and their work toward reconciliation were quite limited. This is an area for students to ensure is updated in their study notes. Remember, the syllabus speaks of religious traditions - not simply one religion working toward reconciliation. Christianity’s long and fraught history in Aboriginal relations necessitates a reconciliation movement but other major religious traditions have also participated in the process of reconciliation movement.