Lucas Spelsberg (10/04) Shawn Andrews: We Don’t Conquer Mountains, We Understand Them

Shawn Andrews’ writing on aboriginal Australians provides some perfect examples of thought processes and ways of life that would be beneficial to the land and those that rely on the land. The main features of this story are how Europeans devastated and attempted to erase the culture and presence of Indigenous Australians upon their arrival. All the while their injustices were looked at as something to be celebrated. This history shows the ways that Aboriginals were living in harmony with the land for tens of thousands of years without the help of the English. Not forgetting about these kinds of stories not only prevents them from ever reoccurring but also probably provides a sense of belonging to the land that was once fully his people. It would be beneficial to all if Australians were able to reinstate the thought process that the aboriginals had when it comes to land management. Although in our day and age it would be unrealistic because people are so used to having products that are transported from all over the world or at least manufactured in places that have cheap labor. I think that this thought process can be directly correlated to many Native American stories and the same idea of land management from the indigenous mindset applies to being beneficial to the land in the US. I believe that there is a link between treating the land and the people humanely, especially when the people rely on the land. If you are provided with everything that you need to live via the natural processes surrounding you then why would you want to treat that land inhumanely? If you take care of the land then the land will continue to take care of you. Andrews states “We don’t need to be fixed, what we need to do is educate non-Indigenous Australians about us, they are the ones that need to be fixed.