Read the articles and watch the videos of Dharug knowledge holders for provided for

Week 4. Using the information from these texts create a post of roughly 250 words
respond to the following:

In your own words, describe what Country means from an Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander perspective.

Make sure you include key points from the readings and compliment these with
examples from the videos. You will need to use Harvard referencing to reference the
key points readings.

There are many differing perspectives on what country is, and what country means, for both
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as colonisers, and immigrants to Australia.
Fredericks, (2013) states that: “Country means a place of origin in spiritual, cultural, and literal
terms”, referring to a specific clan or tribe, and encompasses everything around them; the people,
their traditions, the resources within the area, their cultural and societal values and norms.
Fredericks further states that the deep connection with country found within many Aboriginal
people is not always a shared experience, as those who have not lived on country for generations,
whether the move be voluntary, or as a result of coloniser interference may not share the same
bond to the land, and therefore may define it differently.

Rey, (2019) talks about the struggle of Aboriginal people within the Dharug nation to maintain
custodianship and tradition in the face of a colonised urban environment on country, where parts of
country such as resources like the riviers that once flowed, and “significant identifiers” (Rey, 2019),
such as kookaburras and wagtails, are moved, or removed from the environment, and points out
that to her, and many others, that country is not just nature, it is the land itself, no matter what that
country may currently look like, custodians still have the responsibility to take care of the country.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander definition of country varies from person to person, but
broadly, I believe it is best summed up as a place, in its entirety, the land, the people, the resources,
the animals, the air and the water, all as one in a place of belonging, where we are charged to be the
custodians of country, and to look after it, as it looks after us.

References

Fredericks, B. (2013). ‘We don’t leave our identities at the city limits’: Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people living in urban localities. Australian Aboriginal Studies, (1), 4-16.

Rey, J.A (2019), Dharug Custodial Leadership: Uncovering Country in the City. WINHEC: International
Journal of Indigenous Education Scholarship, (1), 56-66.
Uncle Richard. “ABST102 Theme 03_11.” www.youtube.com, Macquarie University, 7 May 2019,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=F27IpXsJiiw.

Uncle Richard. “ABST102 Theme 01_01 Video.” www.youtube.com, Macquarie University, 24 Apr.
2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-bFhc-3LE8.