Native Land Takeovers

When the European explorers discovered the new lands like America, Australia, and New Zealand. They were forced to make some unforgivable decisions involving the indigenous people to those lands. The main idea between these disputes, the domestic people were easy to defeat and the English took advantage of them and their land. But after the battles, slavery, and other problems facing them, the natives were allowed to live in peace. Years after that, they were given rights in the countries and their own undisterbable land. Some were given public apologies.

For instance, the Maori's lived in peace until the rate of English settlers became critical. The rise of slavery and gold rushes only contributed to their loss of land. Then in 2008, the NZ govt. returned land to the Maori's as an apology (Source-Wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C4%81ori#Modern_Challenges). Similarly with the Aboriginals, the Australians were introduced to diseases before the European Settlers arrived, soon enough though, they began taking their land and began a gold rush. Despite the wars though, the Europeans saw their wrongings and gave the Aboriginals many benefits like citizenship, voting rights, and public apologies (Source-Wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australians#Since_British_Settlement). 

Although some Natives were cheated out of much more than they were returned. For example, the Native Americans even after battles, diseases, slavery, and robbery, they were still forced to leave their homes. Even though they were given a yearly payment and reservations to stay on, these were also reduced and taken away from them, so this hardly qualifies as an apology (Source-victoriana.com/history/nativeamericans-1.html). Also in a similar and different example, the Maoris signed the Treaty of Waitangi which guarantied ownership of their own land. But similarly they were taught to act more civilized and European like so that there are fewer full blooded Maoris left(Source-travelexpertguide.org/forum/Australia/New-zealand-random-information-392297.htm).

Our ancestral creation stories

I believe people create and use creation stories to give themselves explanation to life. Because any civilization new to the world would dislike not knowing whatever doesn't make sense to them. Plus, having to understand the scientific reason would make it all the more frustrating. So simple stories based on religion and Gods makes more sense to understanding the world in their own vision. Also, we know different civilizations had their own creation stories so they are another way to signify themselves from the other religions.

It's stories like the creation stories that can very easily define a culture because they were made both after the same mind. The Australian Aborigines for example, learned to think for others and not whats best for themselves. In the place of the worlds first creations, we can tell they value the animals of their land. As for the Maori's, they recognized their land better by basing their gods off of elements and objects. They also mention the creation of their sacred color, ocher.

Creation stories are all significant in their own specific way, although some have similar and different story lines that follow its basis. Like the Maori and Aborigines, the world  was created by multiple gods in both beliefs. Because they saw the world as made up of different forces which were specifically made from its own god. One difference in creation stories I see is the Catholic and Aborigines, because the Catholic story uses humans as the most important creation rather than animals for the other story. I believe this came to be because the Catholics were in a time and place where man was seen as most important, and the Aborigines lived in a time and place where nature and life were seen to be worshiped.

As time progressed into the scientific revolution, people started answering questions with more scientifically believable answers that reveal the truth of the world. However, eternal questions answer so much more for people, not everyone at once, but the individuals who want to know more of themselves. Myths can answer questions about people, and more easily groups of people, for instance the Maori sacred color is ocher. This is because in their creation story the Sky Father and Earth Mother bled it when they were forced apart. As in other religions, people pray to their gods for help just because they know they have someone to ask. Myths can answer those rare questions of the world and people that science can't.

Throughout this assignment, I've written how peoples myths on the creation of the world trace back to themselves and their beliefs. As for me, I'm Catholic, so I believe in God creating the Earth and Putting Adam and Eve on it. I guess this relates back to us because believing in at least one story from your faith can help you believe even more from it. For my creation story, I believe this helps me see the world as closer together, from seeing how it was so small to start with. So faith can be important for some people, maybe not for religious reasons, but just to have an answer to some aspects of their life.