GEOGRAPHY 1050
TERM ASSIGNMENT
Fall 2011
Value: 25%
Due: November 14, 2011 (in class)
This assignment focuses on several themes related to aboriginal or indigenous peoples in Australia and selected other countries. Geographers, along with other researchers, have published many studies on issues related to the geography, history, culture, demographics and migration of aboriginal peoples as well as the ways they were affected by the colonial aspirations of European nations. This assignment requires that you investigate some of the reference materials in the MUN library that will help in your understanding of Australian Aboriginal geography. You will also be required to retrieve some census data and to produce graphs and a map to display these data for easier interpretation. In the second part of the assignment, you will watch a film in class and then answer the questions based on the themes in that film.
PART A
1.a)Using the MUN library database, find references relevant to one or more of the bolded themes listed above. You will need at least TWO references from academic books and at least TWO chapters or articles in an edited collection. Provide the full and complete citations. Use the APA format. Details on this format can be found at
b)Choose ONE of these reference sources and write a one-paragraph summary of its content and, in a second paragraph, discuss how it could be useful for the study of Australian aboriginal people.
2.a)Using the journal databases listed under “geography” in the article database section of the MUN library site, find at least FIVE articles (at least three of these must be written by geographers) related to these same bolded topics. Provide full and complete citations and include the abstract.
b)Download and read one of the articles. In your own words, discuss the key messages. Limit your discussion to 300 words.
PART B
3.The Australian Bureau of Statistics and Statistics Canada are two organizations that provide a wealth of data on various aspects of demography and population geography. Search their websites to find the data necessary to answer the following questions:
a)Draw population pyramids comparing aboriginal and non-aboriginal populations for all age cohorts for 2006 in Australia. Superimpose one pyramid on the other and colour to distinguish between the two. Label and give a title to your graphs.
Print the data tables and include in your assignment.
b)What do these pyramids indicate about the aboriginal population of Australia?
4.Download the same census information for indigenous and non-indigenous populations in Canada in 2006. Print and include the tables.
a)Draw the population pyramids as you did for Australia.
b)What similarities do you find in the two countries’ pyramids? What differences?
What accounts for the differences?
PART C
5.The United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index (HDI) rankings are published annually for countries in the world. At the national level, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States all rank among the top 20 countries in the world. Yet, if one examines the indigenous peoples of these four countries, the HDI values are considerably lower than those for the country as a whole.
a)Download the article Indigenous well-being in four countries: An application of the UNDP’S Human Development Index to Indigenous Peoples in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States by Cooke, Mitrou, Lawrence, Guimond and Beavon, BioMed Central 2007.
Examine Table 3: Life Expectancy (LE) at Birth, years. Add the following data for 2005/6 taken from a number of reference sources:
Australia non-aboriginal 82aboriginal 70.1
Canada non-aboriginal 81aboriginal 72.6
New Zealand non-aboriginal 81aboriginal 72.7
USA non- aboriginal 77.7aboriginal 71.7
b)Input the LE years in an excel spreadsheet for the four census years and for the four countries.
c)Produce a graph of vertical columns of different colours of the values of LE for the aboriginal and non-aboriginal populations of the four countries for the four census years.
d) Compare and contrast the gaps and trends of LE in the four countries.
PART D
6.Find the table in the 2006 Canadian census that shows the aboriginal and total populations for each province and territory in order to produce a choropleth map of the aboriginal population of Canada.
a)Input the data into an excel spreadsheet and calculate the % of each region’s population that is classified as aboriginal. Sort the data in descending order of % aboriginal population.
b)Have excel calculate the four quartiles for this range of data. Assign each province and territory to a quartile. Choose an appropriate colour to each of your four quartiles and then colour the provinces and territories of Canada. (In a choropleth map, the colours should be of increasingly darker tone of the same colour for increasingly higher % categories.)
Print and include the table of data (%, quartiles, categories for regions).
c)Be sure to provide all the necessary information on your map. (Title, legend, etc).
d)Describe the geography of aboriginal population in Canada. How might using data for provinces and territories be potentially misleading about actual population distribution?
PART E
Rabbit-Proof Fence tells the story of three aboriginal children in Australia who were “stolen” from their homes in 1931 and relocated to a residential school, in an attempt to "advance" them into white society - as domestic servants and farm labourers. Thousands of children were forcibly removed from aboriginal mothers between 1900 and 1971 and became known as the Australian "stolen generations." The film focuses on three girls, their escape from the school and their 1000 mile journey home to their families. It also clearly profiles the racist policies of the Australian government in the beginning of the 20th century. Director: Philip Noyce
Based on the book by Doris Pilkington Garimara
1.What is the significance of the title of the film? Your answer should be a half page in length. List the references to two reliable websites that you used at the end of your answer.
2.What Australian policies formed the basis of the story in the film? What geographic regions, people and time periods were affected? Your answer should be limited to one page.
3.Describe two specific scenes in the film and explain how they added most to your understanding of the aboriginal people of Australia at that time. Again, limit your discussion to one page.