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This paper critiques the notion that Aborigines purposefully are the consummate environmentalists that many, both Aborigines and others, claim them to be. It argues that such an understanding is a misrepresentation of Aboriginal cosmologies and ways of relating to country. It explains how the more traditional ways of relating to country still in evidence correspond with more recent theoretical developments in ecological science. Those that pose Aborigines as Ecological Beings manipulate superseded understandings of ecosystems. Noting the extent of environmental change to Australia post-1788, the article concludes that posing Aborigines as environmentalists ignores the structural causes of environmental change, as well as ignoring the interrelationships between epistemologies and the practices they sanction.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Indigenous Studies
Research Group:	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, society and community
Research Field:	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sociology
Objective Division:	Culture and Society
Objective Group:	Understanding past societies
Objective Field:	Understanding Australia's past
UTAS Author:	Rolls, M (Dr Mitchell Rolls)
ID Code:	38535
Year Published:	2005
Deposited By:	Riawunna
Deposited On:	2005-08-01
Last Modified:	2010-05-28
Downloads:	412 View Download Statistics