Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have diverse cultures, social structures and a history of unique, complex knowledge systems
- They have developed and refined their own knowledge about the world which can be used to give context to certain biological concepts
Country and Place
Aboriginal people are represented by over 250 language groups, each associated with a particular Country or territory
- Torres Strait Islander people (five cultural groups from island territories to the north east of Australia) are also Indigenous Australians
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a profound spiritual connection to the land (the land relates to all aspects of existence)
- Rather than owning land, each person belongs to the land via a shared kinship (the land sustains the people, the people sustain the land)
- To First Nations people, Country is alive with a collective agency (hence the capitalisation – Country is not an ‘it’, but a ‘who’)
Country is an area that is traditionally owned and looked after
by an Aboriginal group or community, or by certain people within that
group
- It is more than a geographical area – it encompasses the spiritual meaning and feelings of deep connection associated with that area
Place is a space mapped out by physical or intangible
boundaries that individuals or groups of Torres Strait Islander Peoples occupy
- Places are spaces that have varying degrees of spirituality and are regarded by a particular group as their own
Knowledge Contributions
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have made many contributions to the current societal level of biological understanding
- Aboriginal artwork demonstrates a knowledge of species biological characteristics and beneficial adaptations
- Aboriginal hunting practices and medical treatments (bush medicine) have been developed based on the application of biomimicry
- Aboriginal culture is influenced by the inter-dependencies seen in nature between different endemic species of Australian wildlife
- Aboriginal interventions (e.g. timed burnings) maintained a sustainable ecosystem that has since changed with European colonisation
