EP. 18 First Nations People and Ecological Change PART 1

My Culture Story with Kado Muir

Australia's Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander people's are not strangers to climate change. Major climatic events in Australia's prehistory were backdrops to the occupation and emergence of the various Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander cultures. This interchange between humans and the climate is represented in the archaeological record of Australia, particularly in the form of rock art paintings tools and evidence of occupation. That record lays out a scientific narrative showing how people adapted to changes in ecological systems for instance the development of harvesting grass seeds and the production of flour through the use of mortar and pestle grinding stones commences at the end of the pleistocene era ice age and beginning of the Holocene era. The adaptation to new foods resulted in York take of different health and well-being and you observance of spirituality and customs. Today Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander people's are faced with ecological emergencies, the first is as the result of dispossession of land and it's subsequent transformation through farming, mining and other human impacts. These impacts has resulted in a reduction in ecological integrity which directly correlates back to a reduction in Aboriginal health and well-being. Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander people are responding to these impacts through actions to prevent large scale mining activities like the Carmichael Basin project in Queensland and in the Torres strait people are having serious discussions about rising sea levels. Climate change is not new to Australia's indigenous people's unfortunately they have little opportunity to engage with the solutions and how in the past people were able to adapt and survive today the future is bleak. Join Kado Muir as he offers his thoughts and observations on the multiplicity of factors bearing down on how Aboriginal and Torres strait Islander people's engage with ecological transformations outside of the control.

*For adapted transcript of this story, and slides Visit https://www.myculturestory.com.au/post/first-nations-people-and-ecological-change

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