The Dreaming Of Indigenous Australians

Indigenous Australian peoples culture is linked to the land through The Dreaming. The Dreaming is described as the traditional epoch for Indigenous Australians. It is believed to be a period where the ancestor spirits walked along the land, forming animals, plants, and other forms of life/structures known today. They created the relationships between groups of individuals to the land, and other organisms, furthermore, giving Indigenous Australians their; customs, beliefs, languages, etc. Once everything was formed, the spirit ancestors returned to the land, and are known to be living in it. The land is respected and cared for using various land management techniques, as well as, cultural practices being performed, because of the events in the
Indigenous Australians used various land management strategies; like water storage, which fulfilled basic needs, created vast biodiversity and maintained sustainability. Prior 1788, Indigenous Australians dug underground reservoirs, to conserve water due to the extremely hot and dry conditions in Australia. They had extensive knowledge regarding the underground water systems, and where potential water could be found. However, after 50 years of the settler’s arrival, the ecosystem was disrupted, as settlers were unaware of how to conserve or find water (Skatssoon,
They believed that Indigenous Australians weren’t utilising the land in an appropriate way and that they were unaware of how to care for it. Joseph Banks stated how Indigenous Australians were too uncivilised and ignorant regarding cultivation (Wilson, 2015). The settlers believed so, because Indigenous Australians had no interest in gaining profit from the land, instead, their sole purpose was to respect their spiritual ancestors and the land. For example, the Indigenous water management practice was considered inefficient, as it was tedious. However, it conserved water well, considering the extreme weather conditions of Australia. Settlers replaced the system with a tank stream, which contaminated the water. European settlers disliked the way Indigenous Australians used the land and manipulated proficient land management strategies with practices that involved profits status-wise, but a loss of