Are there any traditional Aboriginal tribes in Australia?

Question

Ones with very little western influence?

Answer 1

Yes, there are many. I pity skattered for being so narrow-minded. Please understand that it is an opinion, NOT an informed and educated answer. It is a common response from a non Aboriginal person in Australia because this is a very racist country where many people are kept ignorant of the facts by a sly and devious government. A government that deliberately chooses not to make Aboriginal culture compulsory in the education curriculum.

Until 1967 Aboriginal people were not even counted in the census or were considered Australian citizens. They were classed under the native flora, fauna and dog act. Disgraceful don't you think? Australia had a policy just like South Africa where blacks were not allowed to enter into white areas - Apartheid. It wasn't until the mid 1980's that it was made compulsory for Aboriginal people to vote in elections. If people feel margianalised, it's because they are.

In places where the culture is still strong and untouched by European settlement you WILL see Aboriginal men using traditional tools, speaking their own language, hunting traditionally etc. Why? Because that's the way it works best for the environment and ensures natural resources are not abused. (Oh, and paperbark trees don't grow all over Australia, so it is fair to say in some places you won't see Aboriginal men stripping paperbark trees.)

Aboriginal people have not destroyed any part of their land through traditional means. The incursion of European settlement brought separation from families and culture, which in turn introduced rubbish, disease, poverty and dozens of other social and environmental problems.

The farmer pays the government for land that was illegally taken in the first place. Aboriginal people did not sell their land, it was invaded and taken over by people who have no idea how to manage it properly. Where is the deed of sale to the government and who has paid the Aboriginal people?

Since the farmers have been using it, in a short 200 years there are thousands and thousands of acres across Australia that are now unviable because of overclearing, pollution of the waterways and ecological disaster. Cattle grazing in remote areas has seen the hard hoofs of the cattle destroy the natural landscape and its beauty. Instead, what is left now in many southern areas is a white and parched salty terrain that is useless for anything. Now, because the farmers have destroyed the land through poor farming practices, THEY are the ones with their hands out to the government begging for money. Seriously! They want compensation for something they did themselves. Aboriginal want compensation for something the Australian government did to them.

As for being drunk, well, here is a statistical FACT. Aboriginal people are less likely to consume alcohol than non Aboriginal people. 71% of Aboriginal people in Australia drink alcohol, compared to 82% of non Aboriginal people. Alcohol is an item introduced by the Europeans. The rate of homelessness is far higher for Aboriginal people, which means they are more visible on the streets. This is why there is a misguided perception that more Aboriginal drink alcohol. Just as many non Aboriginal people stumble out in front of cars coming out of nightclubs and pubs in the cities. It's a factor defined by social habits, not defined by race.

In some communities there are chronic alchol problems and issues with getting children to school. It wasn't until the mid 1970's that schooling was compulsory for Aboriginal children - so why should the parents today care if it wasn't compulsory for them? Remote communities that do have schools need to take into account that English is often a second or third language, if it is spoken at all. Sending a child to school who has no grasp of the language is pointless. How about educating the teachers in the first languages of Australia and working form there? Make education have value and people will attend.

Sexual abuse is endemic in Australia, not just Aboriginal communities. Non Aboriginal people hide it better because they have homes to go to. Aboriginal people are aware of areas where it is a chronic problem and are not ashamed to admit it and are trying to stop it. Non Aboriginal people just sweep it under the carpet and send their school teachers to work in other schools, and their priests to work in other parishes and tell them "it will be alright, we won't sack you from your job - just don't tell anyone."

But hey, skattered just visits like a seagull - goes in drops sh*t and flys out again. Aboriginal people don't have that luxury. They are there 24 hours a day. They are there seeing and living all the social interactions that happen. They see older kids teaching younger ones about the stories of their land. They see the Elders making artwork in the sand and passing on knowledge. They see how family dynamics and community caring that hasn't been influenced by European involvement is strong, beautiful and proud.

All the problems skattered speaks of are not caused by Aboriginal people. They are caused by the introduction of the non Aboriginal elements.

But hey, that's just my opinion because I am Aboriginal, I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do drugs, I have travelled the world, I have never been on the dole, I have a university degree, I earn over $63,000 per year, I own my own home, I own my car, I bought my mother her own home, and...so the list of achievements goes on, and I'm only 30 years old. I speak my traditional language and sing the songs, I know who my ancestors in this country are and that they go back over 40,000 years. I live in both worlds and make them both work. I am just as happy sitting in the red dust at home, as I am sitting in an up market restaurant dining with friends in the city. Aboriginal culture is alive, strong and proud.

The references to my facts are below if you want to check them.

Answer 2

Yes, many. Aboriginal spirituality is a part of all Aboriginal people whether you live in a town surrounded by westerners, or in remote and isolated areas surrounded by only your tribe. Skin colour and mixed heritage does not exclude an Aboriginal person from being accepted into a traditional life.

If you are looking to travel to remote locations to visit Aboriginal communities you will often need prior approval to enter the lands. Even if you wish to travel where a permit is not required, it is polite protocol to approach a middle-man who speaks the language and knows the customs so you do not accidentally cause offence.

The Department of Indigenous Affairs in Western Australia has a useful website. For more tourist type information Birds Bees and Things is a company that operates in the Northern Territory and can provide contact with traditional Aboriginal people. For more information about names and archaeological places and signifcant sites of interest, use the Dreaming on Line link.

Indigenous is a collective term used to describe both the Aboriginal people of Australia, and the Torres Strait Islander people. When referring to them separately, you only need to use the term Aboriginal, or Torres Strait Islander. Using Indigenous to refer to an Aboriginal person will cause offence. Find out their tribal name and use that instead. If you don't know it, just use Aboriginal.

Answer 3

Tribes In Australia

Answer 4

No there are none and I dont know what everyone else on this is talking about, but there are no Aboriginal tribes that still live traditionally...

You wont see an Aboriginal man selecting a tall paperbark tree then cutting away the bark using a stone axe that he made himself. You wont see them in this hand made canoe from the paperbark using a spear to hunt fish and turtle. Why? Too much work!

But you will see them asking to be given land so they can go and destroy it, even though it has been used for years by a farmer who is paying the governement leasing rates to produce useful crops or grazing cattle, sheep or other livestock. You will also see them drunk in the streets, asking for money. Or you might be lucky enough to hit one with your car as they stumble drunk from the pub and walk out onto the road in front of your car. If you do visit a community you are likely to be encountered with children running the streets and not at school getting an education and this is cause their parents were still drinking from the night before and cant be bothered getting them ready for school. You will encounter little girls the ages of six and below who are being treated for sexually transmitted diseases because Uncle Johnny decided it was traditional for him to be raping his neice...

But hey, thats just my experience of living where I do, where Aboriginal communities are very close to where I live and I have actually visited a few...

Answer 5

'Indigenous Australians', as they are known, are mainly identified by their languages, including
1. Koori (or Koorie) in New South Wales and Victoria
2. Murri in Queensland
3. Noongar in South Western Australia
4. Yamatji in Central Western Australia
5. Wangkai in the Western Australian Goldfields
6. Nunga in Southern South Australia
7. Anangu in Northern South Australia, and neighbouring parts of Western Australia and Northern Territory
8. Yapa in Western Central Northern Territory
9. Yolngu in Eastern Arnhem Land (NT)
and
10. Palawah (or Pallawah) in Tasmania.

Census figures reveal, that there are still some 458,920 members of these tribes :
The regions with significant populations, are :
New South Wales : 134,888
Queensland : 125,910
Western Australia : 65,931
Northern Territory : 56,875
Victoria : 27,846
South Australia : 25,544
Tasmania : 17,384
ACT : 3,909
Other Territories : 233

Answer 6

There are in remote communities but in general the aboriginals have interbred like everyone else or they live in cities. But there are some that live in remote communities and they have an elder and abide by tribal law. I guess they believe in the Dreamtime too.

Answer 7

They must have been very well adapted. After all they remained there for at least 40,000 years although I believe the less supported 70,000 years. They had remained there for so long, considering how so many indigenous people have left their lands for greener pastures, such as the Polynesians etc. But Indigenous Australians did not go anywhere which makes me believe that yes they where very well adapted the the Australian environment.

Answer 8

Northern Territory would still have some.

Answer 9

Full of them

Answer 10

No.