Kanyini response
Kanyini, a truly touching and emotional movie ultimately about how Europeans came, destroyed, and dominated. They came and called it their own, absolutely shredding the Australian indigenous people's culture and way of life to hundreds of thousands of pieces. Aborigines, have lived in Australia for 40,000 years. They lived during the time of Cleo Patria. Aborigines, lived during the time of Jesus, and Our Lady. It is an tremendous understatement, to say or think that us white Europeans have been here for a long time, as we have not, only 14,000. Now compare that to how long the aborigines have been here. Shocking huh?
The aborigines belief system was striped away from them as they were forced to live as Christians. Because of this, they were not permitted to do the things they originally did. For example, they would not be able to eat the way that their elders had taught them, by throwing a kangaroo on top of a fire, they now had to sit at a table with manners and etiquette. Aborigines would now have to go to church, and be proper wearing clothes like a normal white person would. I can not begin to image what would have been going through the Europeans heads while doing this. As Bob Randall said, they were doing the complete opposite to what they were reading from the bible. Thou shall not kill, yet before their very eyes, guns were shooting down hundreds aborigines.
In the poster my partner and I created, we showed different aspects of the aborigines spirituality and the dramatic change in their land over the time of the white European settlement. We drew a before and after picture of how we perceived the change in history. I feel absolutely devastated and ashamed of how we, the Europeans, thought it was completely ok to come and take over the land, which is also the aborigines spirit. It still amazes me how today, how the Australian indigenous peoples can cope with the modern, advanced and landscaped environment that we now call our cities. I truthfully understand how beautiful their different and diverse land is and how it was their spirit, back when it theirs, and only theirs. Though, I don't understand how the aborigines can now cope with majority of the land covered up by laid grass, sky scrapers, bridges, our OWN houses that we are all concerned about, and yet they're forced to live in rough reserves. How do we get to enjoy their land more than they do?
Finally, their family. The heartache I begin to feel as I imaging being forced to leave my family for ever, on such short notice. I find the aborigines very strong and powerful people trying to fight back to free their kids. It is a unfortunate situation to remember, as it once happened. I still do not understand how the Europeans, at the time, thought that taking their children away was the right and lawful thing to do. I still wonder, if the Europeans had children of their own, and if they ever feel guilty about what they were doing? I am almost in tears as I try to imagine the aboriginal community as they saw the ships coming in, the mothers grabbing their children and running for their lives, the elders, possiably being the final generation to tell the stories of their people and the men who gave up their lives for their family.
Family is what the aborigines were about, and their land is what brought them together. Their belief system, was the spirituality behind their dream time stories. It is not fair, that we came and called Australia our country and didn't care to think about how this would effect the aborigines short term, and long term. We must always remember, that under this concrete and asphalt, this land, is, was, and always will be traditional aboriginal land.
Image source: (www.google.com.au/search?client=safari&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=644&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=eh04Uu_eHoejlQX_2oCoDg&q=kanyini
+the+documentary&oq=kanyini+the+documentary&gs_l=img.3...102973.111046.0.111627.26.25.0.0.0.5.327.4542.7j4j13j1.25.0...
.0...1c.1.26.img..23.3.405.7PLN5gE6kX8#biv=i%7C1%3Bd%7CrrfzzGMzlqqp4M%3A)
The aborigines belief system was striped away from them as they were forced to live as Christians. Because of this, they were not permitted to do the things they originally did. For example, they would not be able to eat the way that their elders had taught them, by throwing a kangaroo on top of a fire, they now had to sit at a table with manners and etiquette. Aborigines would now have to go to church, and be proper wearing clothes like a normal white person would. I can not begin to image what would have been going through the Europeans heads while doing this. As Bob Randall said, they were doing the complete opposite to what they were reading from the bible. Thou shall not kill, yet before their very eyes, guns were shooting down hundreds aborigines.
In the poster my partner and I created, we showed different aspects of the aborigines spirituality and the dramatic change in their land over the time of the white European settlement. We drew a before and after picture of how we perceived the change in history. I feel absolutely devastated and ashamed of how we, the Europeans, thought it was completely ok to come and take over the land, which is also the aborigines spirit. It still amazes me how today, how the Australian indigenous peoples can cope with the modern, advanced and landscaped environment that we now call our cities. I truthfully understand how beautiful their different and diverse land is and how it was their spirit, back when it theirs, and only theirs. Though, I don't understand how the aborigines can now cope with majority of the land covered up by laid grass, sky scrapers, bridges, our OWN houses that we are all concerned about, and yet they're forced to live in rough reserves. How do we get to enjoy their land more than they do?
Finally, their family. The heartache I begin to feel as I imaging being forced to leave my family for ever, on such short notice. I find the aborigines very strong and powerful people trying to fight back to free their kids. It is a unfortunate situation to remember, as it once happened. I still do not understand how the Europeans, at the time, thought that taking their children away was the right and lawful thing to do. I still wonder, if the Europeans had children of their own, and if they ever feel guilty about what they were doing? I am almost in tears as I try to imagine the aboriginal community as they saw the ships coming in, the mothers grabbing their children and running for their lives, the elders, possiably being the final generation to tell the stories of their people and the men who gave up their lives for their family.
Family is what the aborigines were about, and their land is what brought them together. Their belief system, was the spirituality behind their dream time stories. It is not fair, that we came and called Australia our country and didn't care to think about how this would effect the aborigines short term, and long term. We must always remember, that under this concrete and asphalt, this land, is, was, and always will be traditional aboriginal land.
Image source: (www.google.com.au/search?client=safari&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=644&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=eh04Uu_eHoejlQX_2oCoDg&q=kanyini
+the+documentary&oq=kanyini+the+documentary&gs_l=img.3...102973.111046.0.111627.26.25.0.0.0.5.327.4542.7j4j13j1.25.0...
.0...1c.1.26.img..23.3.405.7PLN5gE6kX8#biv=i%7C1%3Bd%7CrrfzzGMzlqqp4M%3A)
'Thinking flags'
If I had to create a type of flag that had to make people think when they saw it, I would choose a 'thinking flag'. These flags would be different from traditional flag which are flown on top of a flag pole, but these flags would be flags given out to people after a significant event, for example, after you get married, or given to a politician after they are elected. Printed onto theses thinking flags, would be a head, heart and a hand. The head would symbolise how you could show wisdom, the heart would symbolise how you could show compassion, and the had would symbolise how you could show justice to either your community, attitude, friendship ect.