LESSON 10.9 What is connection to Country?
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this lesson may contain images and references to people who have died.
LEARNING INTENTION By the end of this lesson you should be able to explain the cultural connectedness and sense of belonging that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have to Country and Place and how this inþuences liveability.
Tune in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have a deep connection and responsibility to Country. Read the excerpt provided in FIGURE1 from The Lost Girls to learn more about the importance of Country.
FIGURE1 Excerpt from The Lost Girl by Ambelin Kwaymullina (illustrated by Leanne Tobin)
The girl had lost her way. She had wandered far from the Mothers, the Aunties, and the Grandmothers, from the Fathers and the Uncles and the Grandfathers. She had hidden in the shadow of a rock and fallen asleep while she waited for her brothers and sisters to ýnd her. Now it was night, and no one answered when she called, and she could not ýnd her way back to camp. The girl wandered, alone. She grew thirsty, so she stopped by a waterhole to drink, and then hungry, so she picked some berries from a bush. Then the night grew colder, so she huddled beneath an overhanging rock, pressing herself into a hollow that had trapped the warm air of the day. Finally, she saw a crow þying in the moonlight, þapping from tree to tree and calling ‘Kaw! Kaw! Kaw!’. The girl followed the crow. She followed him through the trees and over the rocks and up the hills, until at last she saw the glow of her people’s campýres in the distance. The people laughed and cried at once to see the girl was safe. They growled at her for her foolishness, and cuddled her, and gave her a place by the ýre. Her little brother asked if she had been afraid; but the girl said, ‘How could I be frightened? I was with my Mother. When I was thirsty, she gave me water; when I was hungry, she fed me; when I was cold, she warmed me. And when I was lost, she showed me the way home’.
1. What does the story The Lost Girl highlight about the importance of the land and Country to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples? 2. Highlight any phrases that indicate a spiritual connection, a cultural connection and a familial connection to Country.
10.9.1 A connection to Country Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples refer to the land as Country. They have a deep spiritual and cultural connection developed over 65 000 years. They believe their identity and wellbeing are connected to their Country; therefore, they have a responsibility to care and protect the land, as it cares for and protects them. Despite this, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are becoming increasingly urbanized; according to the 2021 census, 75 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples live in urban areas. Connection to Country is achieved through very speciýc local knowledge of a region’s natural history, coupled with complex layers of past personal and family experiences. So living remotely isn’t the same as living on Country. A relationship with the land must exist.
TOPIC10 Place and liveability 391
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