Australia's Indigenous Identity

Submitted By isabellaevans
Words: 622
Pages: 3

Australia’s Indigenous Identity
Our indigenous Identity makes Australia unique and a place where all feel welcome.
Australia is known all over the world for having beautiful landscapes and outgoing friendly people. We are accepting of our indigenous people, the original owners of this land and respect their traditions and customs. There are many places throughout Australia which are Sacred to them, such as Uluru which hundreds of people visit every year.
Uluru also known as Ayers Rock was created over 600 million years ago. It is located west of the Simpson Desert, not far from the ‘red centre’ of Australia. The rock is 3.6kms long and 1.6km wide with many valleys and ridges, which tourists used to be able to climb, until it was banned recently due to the erosion of the rock. The Aboriginals have been visiting Uluru for more than 10,000 years and it is a very spiritual place for them.
Ayers Rock represents Australia’s Indigenous Identity. It is seen as one of Australia’s major attractions and is known all over the world by all different countries. The people visiting Australia are interested in the Indigenous culture of Australia, not only Ayers rock but all different branches of it, Such as the boomerang, Didgeridoo and their traditional paintings and artworks.
The first time Australia’s Indigenous Identity was really showcased was with the athlete Cathy Freeman. When she was training to become a successful runner, she was discriminated against because she was aboriginal. But as she moved forward with her career people in braced the indigenous culture and she went on to do amazing things. Not only for herself, but the indigenous culture in Australia and making people aware of Aboriginals all around the world. In 1990 she became the first female aboriginal to win a gold medal at an international athletics event. So in both 1991 and 1998 she was awarded Australian of the year for her amazing results in the world athletic championships, commonwealth games and the Olympics.
Cathy Freeman truly did amazing things for the indigenous culture in Australia at the time.
The Aboriginal way of living is very different to ours. Most tribes lived in the outback of Australia where they had to contend with the harsh climate of our country, the native animals and no urban equipment.
The heat of the