Country

The Map of Aboriginal Australia (based on the map by Norman Tindale) identifies Aboriginal Countries/Nations throughout this Land. It is these areas that Aboriginal people identify as their 'country,' where they come from, where they belong and have strong spiritual connections. Even though, through the event of colonialism, many Aboriginal people were removed to Missions and Reserves, the spiritual, emotional, and strong obligations to our Traditional Country can never be broken. Many Aboriginal people now identify very strongly with Missions/Reserves where they were born and grew up and families have lived for generations (eg. in Queensland = Cherbourg, Palm Island, Yarrabah, etc.). Thus they have developed strong attachments and historical associations with those Missions and Reserves. This is the same for Aboriginal people who have been born and grown up in townships and cities. It may not be their Traditional Lands, but they have been there for generations, and they have also developed strong attachments and historical association and ties within those places. What is important for Aboriginal people are the ties with their Traditional Country; they can never be broken, and these ties are passed on from generation to generation.