Tjapukai Village

September 22, 2009 – Tjapukai Village
After a frustrating morning of technology and school and a slipped disc in my back we decided to make the best of a rough day and take in the Aboriginal cultural center called Tjapukai. It was truly amazing and fascinating. It was run by an aboriginal group who had to relearn their own culture. These Aboriginal people were truly persecuted to the point of near extinction. Up until the 1900’s, the Englishmen and Australian settlers used to have snipping parties which would be known today as genocide murders. Laws were then passed to round the Aboriginals up and put them into concentration style reserves known as missions.
The aboriginal children were separated from their families so that they would not be taught the aboriginal culture. Most aboriginal children were raised in orphanages from 1930-1950. Aboriginal people here had no rights until the 1960’s when they were given the right to vote. Despite all the horror stories, these people are not bitter and rebellious. The modern government has implemented strict affirmative action programs and doing what they can to help rebuild this lost civilization. Australia has about 20 million people and the aboriginals constitute less than 400,000 of the population.
We learned a great deal from the Tjapukai center and enjoyed learning about their culture, their struggles, their acceptance of where they are and their positive outlook for the future.
Lizzie got to learn a traditional dance and Emily spent some time learning about traditional medicines made from herbs, roots, berries, leaves and fruits. Nicholas and Chris learned how to throw boomerangs and spears. (Good thing for grocery stores or we would starve to death based upon their accuracy.