EDAB161 Assessment 1:

The National Indigenous Television channel is made by and about Indigenous and Torres
Strait Islander people. It educates and entertains its indigenous and non-indigenous
audiences. I have watched a news program and another program called Milpirri. Watching
both these programs have taught me more about the language, culture, customs and traditions
of indigenous Australians. It has also provided me with an awareness of the issues that are
happening in this country related to indigenous Australians and that these issues are not raised
in other news programs which is viewed by the majority of the country and I believe should
be.
3. Reflect on your own personal feelings about the issues raised, the way the issues are
raised and how the issues are presented in both programs watched.
After watching the news program on the 10th of March, I realised just how many issues there
are out there that we dont hear about because it is not presented on the common news
programs such as channel 7, 9 and 10. After watching the NITV news I realised this is very
similar to channel 7 or 9 news but it was more focused on indigenous Australians. Another
aspect I noticed on the way it was presented was that just how channel 7 and 9 news has
music to go with it like at the start or before and after commercials, so did NITV news as it
had Aboriginal didgeridoo music at the start of the news and before and after commercials.
They have a range of speakers from different groups both indigenous and non-indigenous
speakers. Some issues presented were that many jobs in the Northern Territory have been cut
which means workers are out of employment which would lead to higher alcohol rates,
suicide, homelessness etc. Child abuse cases are usually hidden, 43000 children are in out of
home care and this increases 9 times more for indigenous children. All these issues made me
see how hard it is to live as an Indigenous Australian in their own country and shouldnt be
like that. They also bring news that is happening throughout the country and worldwide
however this section of the news it presented very quickly and briefly just to give viewers a
brief insight on whats going on in the world around them. Sport is also presented by an
indigenous person. The weather report I found was really interesting because they show all of
Australia showing many different cities especially the smaller cities in the northern, southern
and western parts that we dont normally see or hear of on channel 7 or 9.
The second program I watched on the 5th of March was called Milpirri winds of change, by
watching this program it gave me a deeper insight on just how important the land really is,
the land is their identity and if they deny their home they deny their identity. This made me
realise of just how similar we all are. Our home, where we live, our family and our friends
are what makes us who we are and without it we fail to have an identity. This program helped
me understand that we also all rely on the land for survival and we all rely on it for different
things and through different ways. To Indigenous Australians the country is where they feel a
sense of belonging, identity, life and death. These are very important elements in their lives,
for their survival and future and all this was taken away from them. As a result of this
Eurocentric scholars believed that indigenous knowledge and heritage dont change, only
European society progresses (Battiste, 2000). This made me realise that no one really knew or
understood Indigenous culture and heritage and didnt even try to understand as so many
assumptions were made about their rich culture. This program was presented in a way that
informed viewers about Aboriginal culture and heritage and different ceremonies they do for

different reasons. This program informed us about the challenges for a remote community in
Central Australia.

4. Write a personal reflection and analysis which stories your journey. This is not a
description of what you have watched.
Throughout my schooling life I have learnt a great deal about Indigenous culture, language
and heritage. Ive learnt that the land is very important and sacred, Ive learnt that there are
many languages and many dreamtime stories that explain different things like how the earth
came to exist and how animals have different features. By understanding and seeing the way
the indigenous people view the land and its importance in their life it has made me look at
different aspects of nature from a different perspective and I have learnt to also respect the
land and value its importance throughout all aspects of life. Im an Australian Egyptian and
after learning about the ancient Egyptian culture and traditions throughout school, I have
been able to make connections between both Indigenous and Ancient Egyptian culture. I have
noticed many similarities such as both rely heavily on the land to provide. Although the
Ancient Egyptian heritage isnt practiced anymore many artworks and land marks have lived
on. This is very similar to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander cultures as traditions, cultures,
customs and language still lives through the use of paintings and artworks as well as
landmarks. Also the beliefs, law, language and culture are still practised today such as
language is practiced in some schools and people are always being educated about
Indigenous culture, I cannot say this about Ancient Egypt because although we still learn
about the ancient culture, it is no longer practiced. In the week 3 lecture and tutorial we
discussed Aboriginal literacies this was about how drawings and symbols were used as a form
of communication this is very similar to the Ancient Egyptian form of literacies as they used
Hieroglyphs in order to communicate and is often misrepresented as a form of art. Which I
believe is also similar to Indigenous culture as we just recently learnt that these so called
Artworks actually explain and tell stories and as a result is a form of communication.
In conclusion after watching both programs it made me aware of the issues happening with
our Indigenous communities and that it is not widely addressed in the media and I believe
should be as they are very much part of this country as anyone else. After taking part in this
assignment and having to reflect on my personal journey I came to realise that the ancient
Egyptian culture and heritage is also very similar to that of indigenous cultures. I realised
some belief systems were very similar such as both cultures relied and rely heavily on the
land, and that both forms of communication were very similar. I believe Indigenous culture is
a very rich culture and should be nurtured, protected and acknowledged so that it continues to
live on for many more generations to come.