Sydney, Australia has been home and is still considered home for living and vibrant communities of Aboriginal people- considered as the indigenous tribes and they have made this city their home for two millennia. The Aborigines in Sydney are also living off the land, just like the rest of the Aborigines in Australia. They can also be seen fishing at the shining waters of the Sydney Harbour.
The Aborigines in Sydney are considered a different culture altogether, a culture that is both continuing and living. As tourists, we should not treat Aborigines as museum pieces. They do not exist for our benefit. Aboriginal townships, protest sites & communities are not created primarily as tourist attractions too so we should not be treating these places as such. Instead, we can work together and help these sacred sites & fragile cultural ecosystems thrive by arranging our trips via formal community programs. Unfortunately, despite their popularity, these Australian Aborigines live at a disadvantage compared to the other Australians in terms of education, employment and health. That is why, as a tourist, we should help keep their dignity & well- being by supporting cultural & tourism ventures which are directly ran by the Aborigines. We should likewise always treat them with respect.
One of the greatest things we know about the Aborigines in Sydney is they have a holistic connection both with their surroundings and with the people around them. Their culture is still thriving and they have an oral tradition that remains unbroken. If you want to know more about these indigenous cultures, one thing we can study and observe upon are the Aboriginal bush foods. They are what the Aborigines consider as native plants and how they are being used as food, utensils, weapons & shelter.
There are actually more than a thousand sites of Aboriginal heritage and culture. These can be found in the following areas: Lane Cove, North Sydney, Manly, Willoughby, Ku- ring- gai, Warringa, Ryde & Pittwater and before they were colonized, a lot of Aboriginal clans who lived in these areas left evidences of their ways of life & of their past. As of present, the Australian Aborigines consider these areas significant because not only are they evidences that the Aborigines have occupied much of Australia but these sites are valued because they are considered as links to the Aborigines’ traditional culture. In an archeological sense, these areas are also of value scientifically because stones, bones & shells can determine past environments, tools used and flora & fauna that were used by past Aborigines. Unfortunately, these sites are being threatened on a daily basis by the following factors: vandalism, natural erosion and development that is why Sydney continues to find ways & means to protect them because once these sites are lost, they can never be replaced.
The indigenous tribes in Sydney may be different in their traditions, stories, cultures & ideals but they are people too. We should treat them with utmost respect because they are among the nicest people the world has ever seen.