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Assimilation policies aboriginal
Assimilation policies aboriginal
The stolen generation the issue
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Dominant and Subordinate Cultures Some of the greatest assaults committed on particular cultures have been with good intentions. In some cases, the cultures just may have different viewpoints as to what is right, or best in that specific situation. For the Australian Aboriginals, the greatest assault may well have been the taking of children from their families; they later became known as the ‘Stolen Generation’. These children were then raised among the white community, usually with minimum knowledge of their true identity. This essay will focus on the good intentions of the white Australians, the objective of which was to incorporate these Aboriginal children into the white Australian culture, as well as the reasons for such a drastic failure of this effort. This effort caused families to be torn apart and children to grow up in a culture that was not naturally their own. From the late 1800’s until the practice was officially ended in 1969, Indigenous children were taken from their families to be raised by white Australians. This was a common occurrence in every Australian state and could generally be separated into three forms: some children were placed into Government run institutions, others were adopted into white families and the remaining children were fostered into white families (Stolen Generation [accessed July 2003]). The adoption and fostering of Indigenous children was more common among the ‘fair-skinned’ children, as they were expected to be less cons... ... middle of paper ... ... BIBLIOGRAPHY: * Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Social Justice, [access July 2003] Brining them home: The ‘stolen generation’ report < http://www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice/stolen_children/index.html> * Davies, Nick 1996. Of white lies and stolen lives. The Age 6/7/96, 14. * Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, [access July 2003] Bringing Them Home- The Report. http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/special/rsjproject/rsjlibrary/hreoc/stolen/part1.rt * McGuinness, 1994, ‘A history of invasion ignores more balanced school of thought’ The Age: 15. * Muecke, Stephen 1999, Postcolonial Studies. Volume 2, Issue 1- The Institute of Postcolonial Studies * Stolen Generation [accessed July 2003] Stolen Generation. www.dreamtime.net.au/indigenous/family.cfm
Nan Dear, the matriarch of the family, is challenged and is subsequently forced to reflect on her past experience with white Australians. In the past, Nan Dear experience the Stolen generation, ‘they forced us to leave. Forced us to leave Cummeragunja. Our home.’ The inclusive pronoun ‘us’ places herself amongst other children who were taken away from their home.
Toronto: Pearson Prentice Hall. The Justice System and Aboriginal People: Child Welfare. n.d. - n.d. - n.d. The Aboriginal Justice Implementation Commission. Retrieved December 12, 2013, from http://www.ajic.mb.ca/volumel/chapter14.html.
Struggles by Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people for recognition of their rights and interests have been long and arduous (Choo & Hollobach: 2003:5). The ‘watershed’ decision made by the High Court of Australia in 1992 (Mabo v Queensland) paved the way for Indigenous Australians to obtain what was ‘stolen’ from them in 1788 when the British ‘invaded’ (ATSIC:1988). The focus o...
As European domination began, the way in which the European’s chose to deal with the Aborigines was through the policy of segregation. This policy included the establishment of a reserve system. The government reserves were set up to take aboriginals out of their known habitat and culture, while in turn, encouraging them to adapt the European way of life. The Aboriginal Protection Act of 1909 established strict controls for aborigines living on the reserves . In exchange for food, shelter and a little education, aborigines were subjected to the discipline of police and reserve managers. They had to follow the rules of the reserve and tolerate searchers of their homes and themselves. Their children could be taken away at any time and ‘apprenticed” out as cheap labour for Europeans. “The old ways of the Aborigines were attacked by regimented efforts to make them European” . Their identities were threatened by giving them European names and clothes, and by removing them from their tra...
Residential schools undoubtedly created detrimental inter-generational consequences. The dark legacy of residential schools has had enduring impact, reaching into each new generation, and has led to countless problems within Aboriginal families including: chemical dependence, a cycle of abuse in families, dysfunctional families, crime and incarceration, depression, grief, suicide, and cultural identity issues (McFarlan, 2000, p. 13). Therefore, the inter-generational consequence...
“Today we honour the Indigenous peoples of this land, the oldest continuing cultures in human History. We reflect on their past mistreatment. We reflect in particular on the mistreatment of those who were Stolen Generations—this blemished chapter in our nation’s history. The time has now come for the nation to turn a new page in Australia’s history by righting the wrongs of the past and so moving forward with confidence to the future. We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians” (apology by Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, 16th November 2009, Parliament House, Canberra.)
The Stolen Generation has had a profound impact on every aspect of the lives of Indigenous communities. It has jeopardised their very survival. It has impoverished their capacity to control and direct their future development. The Stolen Generation has corrupted, devastated and destroyed the souls, hopes and beliefs of many Australian lives through damaging assimilation policies established in an attempt to make a ‘White Australia’ possible. Discrimination, racism and prejudice are some of the many permanent scars upon Indigenous life that will never be repaired. However, recently Rudd and the Australian public have sincerely apologised for the detrimental effects the Stolen Generation had caused. The Stolen Generation has dramatically shaped Australian history and culture.
Culture is an essential part of every human being. People can fall under the category of one culture or they can fall under many. Values derived from culture tend to reflect in an individual’s or a society’s understanding of what is wrong and right. In culture, there are many significant features. Some are material, such as food and clothing, and non-material, such as beliefs and ideas. These material and non-material objects help to push people into powerful roles and they maintain the power. With the power these people then have a strong influence on the beliefs and ideas of the lower people. They have the ability to alter and change their beliefs at any time and most times, they follow along with it. These ideas and thoughts have been in place for many decades, since cultural theorists, such as Marx and Habermas, began explaining them. They have been a thought for decades
Genocide, assimilation, and segregation-- these are all forms of cultural and ethnic cleansing that we as Canadians do not necessarily associate with what it means to be a Canadian, rather they are terms that we associate with occurrences in distant, dangerous and abysmal places (Fleras, 2012; p. 10). However, these terms are evidently applicable to the treatment of Aboriginals during the time of European colonization of Canada. Genocide is considered to “be the most serious of punishable crimes under international law…” (Fleras, 2010; p. 11); unfortunately, genocide has been inflicted upon Aboriginals in numerous forms as they suffered a loss of cultural identity through European-colonization. Assimilation has also affected Aboriginals as through the use of residential schools, Aboriginal children were taken from their families and forced to learn the dominant white way of life and abandon their culture (Fleras, 2010; p.13). Segregation of Aboriginals has also occurred, as reserves are restricted purely for individuals with Indian citizenship, hence keeping Aboriginals separate from the dominant culture (Fleras, 2010; p. 15). There is a lack of awareness on the horrendous and disgusting treatment of the original Canadian settlers, Aboriginals, which can be partially attributed to a narrative that has helped create the image of what it means to be a Canadian, a narrative that has provided the belief that white Europeans were the first to settle on Canadian land and has painted a picture of white settlers struggling to survive on their discovered Canadian land. This narrative has been termed the ‘frontier narrative’, and it truly has shaped Aboriginals lives in Canada. This paper will provide first and foremost a clear definition o...
Parbury (1999:64) states that Aboriginal education “cannot be separated” from the non-Aboriginal attitudes (racially based ethnocentricity that were especially British ie. white and Christian) towards Aborigines, their culture and their very existence. The Mission Schools are an early example of the connection between official education policies and key events in Aboriginal history. Aboriginal children were separated from their parents and placed into these schools which according to McGrath (as cited by Parbury, 1999:66) it was recommended that these establishments be located ‘as far as possible’ from non Aboriginal residents so as to minimize any heathen influence that Aboriginal children might be subject to from their parents. Mission Schools not only prepared Aboriginal youth for the manual labour market but also, adds Parbury (1999:67) their aim was‘to destroy Aboriginal culture and replace it with an Anglo-European work and faith ethic.’ Despite the NSW Public Instruction Act (1880) which made education free, secular and compulsory for all children Aboriginal children could be excluded from public schools based on prevailing dominant group attitudes. Consequently, the NSW Aborigines Protection Act (1909) was introduced as a result of a perceived public education crisis and Laws had already been passed, similar to protectionist type policies. This Act gave the State the power to remove Aboriginal children from their families whereby this period of time has become known as ‘Stolen Generations.’ It was during this time that Aboriginal children were segregated from mainstream schools. (Parbury, 1999; Lippman, 1994).
Culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a group or society. Through culture, people and groups define themselves, conform to society 's shared values, and contribute to society. Thus, culture includes many elements of language, customs, values, norms, mores, rules, tools, technologies, products, organizations, and institutions. As elements, values and beliefs determine what is true and just in the society. Example, the American dream is to have a family, be wealthy and work hard. Then come the written rules called the norms. These define how to behave in accordance with the society. Example: The road stops signs, swimming pool “no running” signs and the no smoking area boards which are to be followed. Symbols and language are another indication that help people understand the world. Example: Sports uniforms,
a.) What is the definition of each one according to the book? Define each concept.
Culture – Culture is defined as the common language that is shared and is what makes diverse individuals able to communicate with each other. Due to the different origins that America has grown upon, the study of culture is highly important. Just as the lecture notes for week 1b says, culture is what hold people together, and what allows them to figure and fight out how the world should be. Without all the different cultures, America would not be diversely rich as it is today. Gary Columbo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle the authors of “Thinking Critically, Challenging Cultural Myths” on page three, do an amazing job at explaining culture as holding people together by sharing customs, ideas, beliefs and values. American culture was shown
The Role of Culture in Shaping us as Individuals Culture has a big impact on how we all fit in as individuals in today’s society, and since this assignment is about that I decided to include some of my own experiences to illustrate my point of view and compare it with those of my classmates and some of the readings. My family and I moved to United States in 1998 from Albania. My parents believed that I and my sister would get a better education here and also it would be useful and interesting to learn another language and its culture.
Without delving into deep sociological theories of the nature of society, we can consider human societies as any community of individuals who are united together by a common bond of nearness or intercourse and are those who recognize each other as associates, friends and acquaintances. Individuals who play certain roles and the relationships between each role form the society itself. The complexity of society makes it difficult for us to identify our relationships. Generally, societies form different norms and cultures and these norms and cultures will change. Despite the changes in ones society and culture, members of any society like happiness in their own ways. In complex societies, it is valid to question about our contributions to happiness of its members. While material contributions to societies meet the physical needs, mental problems and needs are more difficult to satisfy. This is the point where society and culture become intertwined.