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Yow, nganing-gin bak-ga Adina Bally - Hello, my name is Adina Bally. I’m a 15 year old half-caste girl. My family and I live in Willyama, or as the white Australians call it, Broken Hill, (put in map) and are part of the Wiljakali tribe. The white Australians have been targeting all half-caste children for the past century. Every morning, we would mix crushed charcoal and animal fat and cover ourselves with it, so when the white people came, all they would see are black children playing at a distance. Our city was disturbed, our way of life was disturbed and our culture and freedom was taken away from us. Every moment possible, we would be told to be wary and attentive. If we saw Australians, even from afar, we are always told to hide behind trees, bushes, even in flour bags. Anything, just as long as we aren't caught. We are living in hell, not knowing what’s going to happen, having whites interrupt our daily lifestyle an often shoot people in the arm or the leg. Every Sunday, we would get a newspaper called ‘Dawn, A Magazine For The Aboriginal People Of NSW’. My father would usually read it out to me and explain what was happening outside after the gates of Willyama. There have been stories of those who were taken, in school, camps and foster homes. They displayed pictures like these (show 3 pics) …show more content…
that showed Indigenous kids happy and content. In these camps, such as The Bomaderry Aboriginal Children’s Home, The Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Girls or The Kinchela Boys Home,(put in a map) all the taken children would be taught English, told that they were white and to forget their native language and old way of life. The pictures and writing on the newspapers falsely illustrated joy and care experienced by the wards of the state in their ‘rightful place’. However, the Indigenous never received the same love in comparison to the white children and were always to blame. Girls are at risk of sexual abuse and boys would be working long, hard hours, sometimes with no breakfast. The Australians have a belief that if you marry Aboriginal kids to white people, slowly, our colour would eventually die out. Since their arrival, not even a trace of basic human rights was ever given to us. The government created two policies that strongly influence the lifestyle and nature of the Indigenous community.
These are assimilation and protection. The policy of assimilation is where it expected is that Aborigines who were ‘not of full blood’ would conform/yield to the attitudes, customs and beliefs of the white majority, which led to the protection policy that segregated the Aboriginal people from the Australian society and became the means of controlling their lives. The whites never recognised us as proper and civilised humans like them just because of our colour. They took away our rights to vote, marry, have land and live freely. They took away our
freedom. It is like a black and white picture, however, in this painting, we are the white.
... we could be or the worst other countries have been but it still is not acceptable the way they are treated, dissimilar to other white Australians. Eventually Australia will and must change.
The Assimilation was a policy set by the government in 1937 and went to till 1964. This policy of Assimilation was set not just for Aborigines in Australia but for all foreign immigrants that were not European and white in colour. Having this policy set in place meant that Aborigines were forced to give up their heritage and adopt the culture of the British/Anglo Saxons. This law sent children away from their families to learn how to become and live like a white Australian, leaving all memories, beliefs, and traditions behind. Another major impact this had toward the Aborigines was they had no rights or freedoms and finally all culture, heritage, beliefs were left behind and made to start a new life living as a 'white fella’.
...ndigenous recognition and the removal of racist remarks has been an on-going theme for a vast majority of time. The necessity of Constitutional reform to close the gap on cultural divide as well as support the on-going concept of reconciliation is essential in ensuring Australia continues to improve and nurture its relationship with Indigenous peoples. The process of amendment through referendum has proven to be problematic in the past, with the success rate exceptionally low. Though with key factors such as bi-partisan support, widespread public knowledge and correct management, the alteration to remove racial discrimination and provide recognition for Indigenous persons within the Constitution is highly achievable. If proposed and eventually passed, this will provide assistance in eliminating many of the cultural gaps Indigenous persons face throughout society.
After the release of Rabbit Proof Fence, many `politically right' white Australians tried to promote that the film was based on myth and misunderstanding but in facet is not as the film itself promotes the openness of racism. Racism was not only a problem is Australia but throughout the world and is continuing to stay a problem, even in our own backyard. The racism between the white Australians and the Aborigines is quite similar to the racism shown in schools and even in parliament here in New Zealand between the Maori and Europeans, or once again between the `white' and the `black'.
Every country has its own unique stories regarding races and how it treated the Indigenous peoples of the land. Australia’s history – shaped by the arrival of European settlers, notwithstanding any concord with the Aboriginal people, had led to the government’s policies of forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families over the period between 1905 – 1970. The movie Rabbit Proof Fence told one such story. Rabbit Proof Fence’s value does not only lie in its influence on the history of Australia’s silver screen but also in its heartfelt depiction of the Stolen Generations. Yet, conservative historian and journalist – Keith Windschuttle – had published articles and books in contemplation of denying the accuracy of the film and the
Aboriginal family life has been disrupted and forcibly changed over the last two hundred years, as a result of the many segregation and assimilation policies introduced by Australian governments. Often a combination of the two was employed. The policy of segregation has impacted upon Aboriginal family life, for through this policy, Aboriginals were restricted and prohibited to practice their traditional culture, hence, resulting in the loss of their Indigenous identity and limiting the cultural knowledge for future Aboriginal generations. The segregation policy also achieved in disfiguring the roles of family members, primarily the male's role within the family. The policy of assimilation, in comparison to the segregation policies, has also affected Aboriginal family life, because through the removal of children from their Aboriginal homes they to as a result were deprived of their Indigenous identity and cultural links. However, the policy of assimilation has had far greater an impact upon Aboriginal family life, for it has not only separated families and communities, but denied the parenting and nurturing of a generation of Aboriginal peoples and has also attributed to breakdowns in relationships between the non-Aboriginal and Aboriginal parent.
The assimilation policy was a policy that existed between the 1940’s and the 1970’s, and replaced that of protectionism. Its purpose was to have all persons of aboriginal blood and mixed blood living like ‘white’ Australians, this established practice of removing Aboriginal children (generally half-bloods) from their homes was to bring them up without their culture, and they were encouraged to forget their aboriginal heritage. Children were placed in institutions where they could be 'trained' to take their place in white society. During the time of assimilation Aboriginal people were to be educated for full citizenship, and have access to public education, housing and services. However, most commonly aboriginal people did not receive equal rights and opportunities, for example, their wages were usually less than that paid to the white workers and they often did not receive recognition for the roles they played in the defence of Australia and their contribution to the cattle industry. It wasn’t until the early 1960’s that expendi...
Within Australia, beginning from approximately the time of European settlement to late 1969, the Aboriginal population of Australia experienced the detrimental effects of the stolen generation. A majority of the abducted children were ’half-castes’, in which they had one white parent and the other of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. Following the government policies, the European police and government continued the assimilation of Aboriginal children into ‘white’ society. Oblivious to the destruction and devastation they were causing, the British had believed that they were doing this for “their [Aborigines] own good”, that they were “protecting” them as their families and culture were deemed unfit to raise them. These beliefs caused ...
Aboriginal Act 1905 is an act to make provision for the better protection and care of the Aboriginal inhabitants of Western Australia ( ). Though the act was designed to improve conditions for the Aboriginals, it strictly segregating them from the rest of the community ( ). Premier John Forrest has claimed that the denial of basic rights as citizens of this country for Aboriginals is for their own good ( ). According to the Act, the police could enter their houses without permission and steal their children ( ). My heart ached for the kids who went through the trauma and their family when I saw the true story Rabbit Proof Fence (Noyce 2002). Many children were sent to missions and in some cases they never saw them again (). The chief protector
Key events in Aboriginal Australian history stem from the time Australia was first discovered in 1788. For instance, when Federation came into existence in 1901, there was a prevailing belief held by non Aboriginal Australians that the Aborigines were a dying race (Nichol, 2005:259) which resulted in the Indigenous people being excluded from the constitution except for two mentions – Section 127 excluded Aborigines from the census and Section 51, part 26, which gave power over Aborigines to the States rather than to the Federal Government. Aboriginal people were officially excluded from the vote, public service, the Armed Forces and pensions. The White Australia mentality/policy Australia as “White” and unfortunately this policy was not abolished until 1972. REFERENCE
‘Aboriginal Australians are arguably one of the most traumatised people in the world’ (Nadew, 2012, p.2). The forcible removal of Australian Indigenous children from their families during the 1900’s became official government policy until 1969; the children who were taken away are now known as the ‘Stolen Generations’. A loss of cultural affiliation, an entrenched mistrust and anger towards non-Indigenous peoples, a loss of spirituality and connection to ancestors, substance and alcohol abuse and mental illness (Korff, 2015) are a mere few effects that ‘continue to resound through generations of Aboriginal families’ (Dudgeon & Hirvonen, 2014). This essay aims to explore the significance of these complex social repercussions seen in society
Aboriginal Education of the early 1800’s was typified by an ineffective range of institutions like the Native Institution in Parramatta, that provided informal training echoing the needs of white colonists rather than the needs of the Aboriginal students. It was the first of many to take children forcefully.’ (Lipmann 1994:10)
The "Bringing Them Home" (1997) report acknowledged that ‘Indigenous children have endured the violent removal from their families and their communities since the very first days of the European occupation of Australia by the Government and Missionaries. Children were taken away from their
In the eighteenth century, when the Europeans settled in Australia, they discouraged aboriginal people to speak their ancestral languages and to express their traditions or anything that could be related to their culture. They ended up feeling ashamed of speaking their mother tongue. So they were not respected and had to hide their culture. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people existed in Australia prior to British colonisation, however, they only started to be counted in the Australian Population after the 1967 referendum. Aboriginal people always faced injustices in history and regarding laws. Today, they continue to feel misunderstood by white Australian politics. Racism against Aboriginal people is less important than it was many years ago, but it is still present. According to the pic.gov.au, a study of 755 Aboriginal Victorians reported that nearly all respondents (97%) had experienced at least one incident they perceived as racist in the preceding 12 months. However, experiencing racism doubles the risk of alcohol and substance use, behavioral problems and suicidal thoughts. Furthermore, a study published in 2014 found, that aboriginal people experiencing racism were more likely to have low test scores along low final grades. Again, this shows how cultural wellbeing and cultural integrity are related and how the one cannot remain without the other. Cultural wellbeing cannot be achieved if cultural integrity is weak. Also, Aboriginal people express their culture through songs and stories mostly. If their language disappears, they won’t be able to pass it on to their children. It means, that their knowledge and history would be less and less transmitted within time and some of them would be forgotten. So it could lead to the disappearance of their culture. Cultural expression needs to persist and it is one of the reasons why language must be remembered. Without
Even though slavery was different among Aboriginal people, Aboriginal together with African- Americans faced racial discrimination and violence. Most of the harms against Aboriginal peoples in Australia and North America relied on the law of legitimacy. Most harm aimed at destroying indigenous cultures. Cunneen (2005) acknowledges that cultural harms included issues like; colonial laws, denial of basic citizenship rights, and forced the removal of children. Inquiry indicated that 10% of Indigenous children were removed from their homes under state sanctioned policies in Australia from 1910 to 1970. The Indigenous children were not cared the same way as non-indigenous children. Racial discrimination thus provides a good reason for