Belonging To Country

The Indigenous people of Australia have a special connection with the land. This is established, and maintained, by dreamings, which bind the creatures that created the universe, the physical sites their spirits now occupy and the human beings they created to look after their world.

So, for aboriginal Australians, land and being can't be separated; they 'own' their land because they form part of it and are responsible for its upkeep.

The 'dreamings' are sung, as well as spoken, down through the generations and in the more remote parts of Australia, or where aboriginal communities have regrouped, tradition remains strong and indigenous culture thrives.

It's in these places that the dynamic of traditional aboriginal society can still be found. And that's an ethic of cooperation and sharing which is balanced by a competitive spirit based on local identity, communities of interest and strategic alliances.