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Outline policy of assimilation in australia affects people from diverse backgrounds
Aboriginal history culture
Aboriginal history and culture
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In 1911, The Chief Protector, Neville, introduced a policy to remove all children who were partially Aboriginal (those who were assumed to have a European parent or grandparent) from their families. The reason for this policy was that he was worried about the creation of a so-called "third race" - people with mixed Aboriginal and European descent. Neville thought that his plan would make the half-caste children become white and he pointed out the following that through three generations, traces of native origin would not be apparent. Under his policies, mixed descended Aboriginal children were forcibly separated from their homes and sent to government or church organized institutions such as missions, orphanages and reserves. Neville wanted to give half-caste children the “benefits” of white community because he felt responsible to save them. Some of the children were adopted or placed temporarily with foster families, while other children were trained to work as house servants and farm workers. They were forcibly taught to forget their culture and their ethnic background in order to be assimilated into the white population. Nevertheless, there were also many children who were subjected to sexual abuse and violence. Many of the children never saw their biological parents again. …show more content…
Neville believed he did a great thing for society - he always felt that way regardless of what he thought, whether it was a good idea or a bad thing he was involved in, people needed help to have a better life. Neville wanted to help Aboriginal people but he did it in the wrong way that led to breeding out the
In the 1950s and 1960s, the government began abolishing the compulsory residential school education among Aboriginal people. The government believed that Aboriginal children could receive a better education if they were integrated into the public school system (Hanson). However, residential schools were later deemed inappropriate because not only were the children taken away from their culture, their families and their people, but the majority of students were abus...
The over-representation of Aboriginal children in the Canadian Child Welfare system is a growing and multifaceted issue rooted in a pervasive history of racism and colonization in Canada. Residential schools were established with the intent to force assimilation of Aboriginal people in Canada into European-Canadian society (Reimer, 2010, p. 22). Many Aboriginal children’s lives have been changed adversely by the development of residential schools, even for those who did not attend them. It is estimated that Aboriginal children “are 6-8 times more likely to be placed in foster care than non-Aboriginal children (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, 2010, p. 2).” Reports have also indicated that First Nations registered Indian children make up the largest proportion of Aboriginal children entering child welfare care across Canada (Saskatchewan Child Welfare Review Panel, p. 2). Consequently, this has negatively impacted Aboriginal communities experience of and relationship with child welfare services across the country. It is visible that the over-representation of Aboriginal children in the child welfare system in Canada lies in the impact of the Canadian policy for Indian residential schools, which will be described throughout this paper.
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).
Kids were scattered across the country and family ties were obliterated forcing families to grieve their lost relatives This was devastating because in the First Nations culture, children are valued very highly, and those without children are viewed as being disadvantaged. The removal of children introduced problems of alcoholism, emotional stress and low self-esteem in Aboriginal communities. The events that played out “weakened the traditional family structure, and in doing so, weakened Aboriginal society as a whole”. An entire generation was not taught about their Aboriginal culture , traditions, customs or values, and this played a major role in the shaping of their
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...
When residential schools were still around, the priests and nuns took away the kids from their families without their approval by using force. Many of the kids were physically and sexually abused, forced to learn English and adopt Christianity. The first nation children were not allowed to follow their culture, they were owned by the Europeans, and this is what happened to the third estate where they were forced to obey the laws of the corrupt people. Some kids were injured and even killed in the process. These acts show how the priests and nuns “killed the Indian in the child.” Residential schools were eventually shut down in 1996. Taking away the child by force without the families’ permission, killing their culture, and abusing them shows how they took away the rights of the First
“To kill the Indian in the child,” was the prime objective of residential schools (“About the Commission”). With the establishment of residential schools in the 1880s, attending these educational facilities used to be an option (Miller, “Residential Schools”). However, it was not until the government’s time consuming attempts of annihilating the Aboriginal Canadians that, in 1920, residential schools became the new solution to the “Indian problem.” (PMC) From 1920 to 1996, around one hundred fifty thousand Aboriginal Canadians were forcibly removed from their homes to attend residential schools (CBC News). Aboriginal children were isolated from their parents and their communities to rid them of any cultural influence (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Parents who refrained from sending their children to these educational facilities faced the consequence of being arrested (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Upon the Aboriginal children’s arrival into the residential schools, they were stripped of their culture in the government’s attempt to assimilate these children into the predominately white religion, Christianity, and to transition them into the moderating society (Miller, “Residential Schools”). With the closing of residential schools in 1996, these educational facilities left Aboriginal Canadians with lasting negative intergenerational impacts (Miller, “Residential Schools”). The Aboriginals lost their identity, are affected economically, and suffer socially from their experiences.
Throughout its history, varying philanthropic, socioeconomic, and imperial and societal factors and contexts have influenced the motives behind child migration from Britain to Australia during the twentieth century (Coldrey, The Scheme p124-8, Sherington and Jeffrey, Fairbridge pxi-xii and Lost Innocents Report 2.26). Though founded on a humanitarian desire to provide underprivileged British children with new opportunities in the Empire’s colonies and dominions, there is an underlying imperial current that ran throughout the schemes, as both Britain and the receiving countries believed that the presence of ‘British stock’ would consolidate the empire. In relation to Australia’s ‘White Australia’ Immigration policy, British children were regarded
brown paper carrier bag it was in!) It was all made out to be rather
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 ...
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...
The rights of Indigenous Australians were restricted by the Government policy of protection and assimilation. The Aboriginal Protection Act was passed in 1869, which gave power over the lives of Aboriginal people to the government, such as where they could live or work. They removed mixed decent Aboriginal children from their families in an attempt to assimilate them into white society. The Child Welfare Act 1939 abandoned this policy and gave Indigenous parents the right to take their children back. But the children were moved far away, and even if they were found and returned, many of them were mistreated and didn’t return the same to their families. This had devastating effects on Indigenous parents, and many white Australians didn’t understand this impact at the time.
The way these kids grew up, with incest, sexual and physical abuse and brutal punishments led to poor parenting skills which damaged future generations. We all know drinking during pregnancy greatly affects babies but these people did not only drink as pregnant adults, most started drinking at the age of 11. The Aboriginal adults that became parents were not capable of raising their children properly because they did not know how to show affection or relate to their kids on any level (Fournier, 83). When the parents were younger and in the residential schools they could not bond with anyone which also led them to become incapable of bonding with their children (Fournier, 83). An even more sad fact is that some Aboriginal kids literally had no concept of what family was (Tunstall 112). These kids did not know what a dad is, what he should say, what he should do or what his ole was. This was a result of being taken away from their family and put in a residential school. Some kids did have family however it was not technically their family. Social workers thought it was a good idea to place these children in middle-class white families. However this isolated the kids more and made them more vulnerable than they were in the residential schools. They were still abused in these home (sexually and physically and were treated as not even
The Canadian government thought it was up to them to provide the Native children with schooling systems that would integrate them into Canadian society because it was thought their Native culture and heritage was inferior. Residential schools were set up across the country and it was made mandatory for the Aboriginal children to attend by law under the Indian Act. Roughly 150,000 Native children attended. The purpose of these schools was to teach these kids Canadian customs, Christian religion and the English language. The hope was they would pass them on to their children in the future and the aboriginal culture would completely disappear over the years. Children were torn away from their homes and taken to schools were they were forced to learn things that were foreign to them. They were not allowed to speak their own languages or practice their traditions. If they were caught doing so they were punished severely. They were often ab...
An Australian council speaker tells us " it was standard practice ... children were taken from their homes ... Whole communities were shifted form their home to another part of the country. Aboriginal life has been regulated and supervised at almost every turn. There was no choice." But did the Aboriginal people pose any threat? In almost all cases of racism the people being treated unfairly are the people under threat.