All of these points of discussion reaffirmed to me that our government’s lack of willingness to work with Indigenous Peoples and hear their voices greatly denies them of their rights. This course helped me to see the way our society interacts with Indigenous Australians and the importance of working collectively to overcome the issues still present.
I think in terms of who I am this course further illuminated how my ethnicity, as a British Australian with a predominately Caucasian background, grants me a certain level of privilege. This is not a new idea to me, in the last few years it is something I have given a lot of thought to, especially in terms of how it has shaped my experiences within Australian society.
I grew up in a predominantly
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So this course made me think a lot about the way society paints a picture of how we are suppose to see Indigenous Australians and how as a Social Worker I have a responsibility to dismantle this and work with Indigenous Peoples to reassert their rights and roles within this country. Australia likes to stereotype Indigenous Peoples through the media and make them into a “problem” that our government needs to “solve” without even involving them in that process. The alternative is depicting Indigenous Australians as victims, while I would never deny that they have been treated to more than enough atrocities to be victims of oppression and discrimination and so on, I’ve also seen how much more they are than merely victims. I think the importance of recognising that people are so much more than a label placed on them has become increasingly apparent in this course. People have strength in them and determination, which is something that inspires me to be a Social Worker. I want to help people, should they want it, to harness that part of them so they can overcome being a victim and so they can exercise their right to self-determination. I think there’s an issue with viewing Indigenous Australians as either their own catalyst that rely on the government to “solve” their issues or as the victims the government needs to “save” in order to redeem Australia’s past. The problem with either is assuming that we know more about Indigenous Peoples and their issues than they do themselves. When we assume they are victims that only we can help I think that takes away their already limited autonomy, if we execute our power in an attempt to help them without hearing their perspective, we are making the situation about us and our countries need for absolution. That to me is not effective social work, asserting
Recently deceased former South African president, philanthropist, politician and human rights activist, Nelson Mandela states that “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” A significant lack of education, awareness and understanding has resulted in continued naïve and ignorant attitudes, stereotypes, generalizations, and classifications towards Aboriginal people through forms of media, popular culture, family beliefs and educational teachings in schools.
The idea that indigenous Australian communities are underprivileged and do not receive the same justice that the white community accrues is represented through Jay Swan and his interactions with the corrupt white police officers and the indigenous locals of the town. My empathetic response to the text as a whole was influenced directly by way the text constructs these ideas as well as my knowledge of the way indigenous Australians are represented in the mainstream media and the behaviour of the police force as an institution. These contextual factors and the way Sen has constructed ideas influenced me to empathise with the indigenous
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...
The reason for this report was to explain the steps that were taken to create and implement this action plan and the outcomes. My three actions were established to help carry out my vision of bringing together the two sides by creating equality and harmony. First I wanted to create a better understanding of Aboriginal history, culture and their people within my family and friendship groups. I tackled this by talking not only in-person but also over social media about the past struggles of Aboriginal people and reduce the stigma and misconceptions that surround Aboriginal people. The second action was to restore trust between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians by involving friends and family in public and activities and events that are related to learning more about what gaps need closing and coming together. My third action plan was to eradicate racism and as a way to contribute to this cause long term, I signed up to be a Constitutional Recognition Campaigner through ANTAR. As this campaign is about changing the Australian constitution to include Aboriginal people and also to remove sections that have to power to stop Aboriginal people from voting and sections that give the Australian governmen...
This essay will discuss the Aboriginal Education policies in Victoria and Federally and how these policies impacted upon the children of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. This essay will further analyse the impact these past policies had on the Aboriginal and Torres strait Islanders’ families and children’s education and how current policies were put in place to assist indigenous students’ access to education. Further to this an analysis of how teachers can implement these changes in the curriculum and classroom.
The power structure between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people always plays some role to impede a kind of equal dialogue between them. Non-aboriginal people on average are more affluent than aboriginals. Also, the social infrastructures in some off-reserve major metropolitan cities are much more mature than on-reserve areas. The inequality between aboriginals and non-aboriginals makes non-aboriginal policy makers be inclined to bring their own sense of superiority to the analysis of aboriginal issues, which could likely lead to policies with biases and prejudices. Perhaps an effective conversation between aboriginal and government can lead to a better outcome because aboriginals’ own voice would be heard. In this essay, I will demonstrate why, when compared with Flanagan’s assimilationist proposal, Cairns’ concept of “citizen plus” is more persuasive as an effective approach to aboriginal policy. Firstly, I would outline the debate between Thomas Flanagan and Alan Cairns on aboriginal policy. A brief compare and contrast between their opinions will be made. Secondly, with some other academic sources in my mind, I would state the reasons why I stand aside with Cairns more than with Flanagan. Some advisable
Though the film mentioned the impact that residential schools had and still has on the aboriginal people, I felt that this issue needed to be stressed further because the legacy of the schools is still extremely prominent in aboriginal communities today. The film refers to the fact that residential schools harmed the aboriginal people because they were not able to learn their culture, which has resulted in the formation of internalized oppression within in the group. “The...
The inequality in Australian education can be attributed to a history of low expectations and discrimination placed on Indigenous people by the government and society. Aboriginal children were denied the right to education until the 1970s due to the discrimitory views of the government and society. The Indigenous population were the sub-standard race of humanity with little to no chance of succeeding in life and these attitudes affected the educational choices offered to them (Ray & Poonwassie, 1992). As the superior race, the Anglo-Celtic Australians, considered themselves both intellectually and socio-culturally more advanced than their inferior Aboriginal neighbours (Foley, 2013). As a consequence of these racially and culturally motivated preconceptions, children of Aboriginal descent were considered unskilled outside of their own and were deemed incapable of excelling in ‘civilised’ white society (Foley, 2013). As a result, the Australian Government, in an effort to civilise and nurture politeness within the Aboriginal people, constructed “structured” (p 139) education training institutions in 1814. However, these problems only provided sufficient schooling for menial work: Aboriginal male children were prepared for agricultural employment, while girls were trained for domesticated services (Foley, 2013). Thus, as a direct consequence of low expectation for life success, Aboriginal children were offered minimal schooling ‘consistent with the perception about the limitations inherent in their race and their expected station in life at the lowest rung of white society’ (Beresford & Partington, 2003, p43). According to Foley (2013) this combination of low expectations and poor academic grounding meant that Indigenous children we...
Indigenous Australian land rights have sparked controversy between Non Indigenous and Indigenous Australians throughout history. The struggle to determine who the rightful owners of the land are is still largely controversial throughout Australia today. Indigenous Australian land rights however, go deeper than simply owning the land as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have established an innate spiritual connection making them one with the land. The emphasis of this essay is to determine how Indigenous Australian land rights have impacted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, highlighting land rights regarding the Mabo v. the State of Queensland case and the importance behind today’s teachers understanding and including Indigenous
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 inequality in Australian education can be attributed to a history of low expectations and discrimination placed on Indigenous people by the government and society. Aboriginal children were denied the right to education until the 1970s due to the discrimitory views of the government and society that the Indigenous populations were the sub-standard race of society with possibility of achieving in life in comparison to the white Australian population ( ). The Anglo-Celtic Australians, the white people, judged themselves to be the superior race and considered themselves more intellectually and socio-culturally developed than the Aboriginal members of society (Foley, 2013). As the Indigenous Australians were considered the lowest rung of society, children of Aboriginal descent were considered not skilled outside of their own and were deemed incapable of excelling in ‘civilised’ white society (Foley, 2013). As a result, the Australian Government, in an effort to civilise and nurture politeness within the Aboriginal people, constructed “structured” education training institutions in 1814. However, males were only provided the skills to prepare them for agricultural employment, while the girls were trained for household services (Foley, 2013). This denial to education to formal education was largely ‘consistent with the perception about the limitations inherent in their race and their expected station in life at the lowest rung of white society’ (Beresford & Partington, 2003, p43). According to Foley (2013) this co...
Thesis Statement: Given the struggles aboriginals have had to face in Canada, the Canadian government should take action to solve the hundreds of cases of missing and murdered aboriginal women, as it will strengthen the relations between aboriginals and Canadians.
The positioning of Aboriginal community as equal partners negotiating on programs is often absent or poorly achieved in many community engagements. Lack of respect for Aboriginal communities, their knowledges and capacity is a primary causation of engagement which fails to position Aboriginal communities as valued negotiators (Hurley; 2003). Effective engagement will only be achieved when the shackles of colonial power structures are discarded, and non-Indigenous Australians demonstrate respect for Aboriginal communities by making way for us to exercise our agency. As the custodians of knowledges, Aboriginal communities are best placed to ascertain what they need and how to best achieve their aspirations. In the context of this Aboriginal engagement
Personally, I think the holistic nature of Aboriginal approaches should be adopted into all social work. Specifically, wholeness and balance in contrast to the problem-solving approach. While Aboriginal social workers still must help their clients solve problems, the problem-solving approach is rooted in a western individualism. It aims to ‘diagnose’ clients with a problem, solve it, and then disregard them. Wholeness and balance are more slow-paced and long term. They focus on individual and family needs but also examine the impact of social work decisions on the community and on the earth. Furthermore, this is beneficial because it reflects Aboriginal collectivism and the vitality of community health for the wellbeing of
In Australia, Indigenous people are more likely to experience marginalization and are persistently marginalized over a 10-year period. In a UN report it was stated that “In many parts of the world Indigenous peoples suffer from a history of discrimination and exclusion that has left them on the margins of the larger societies in which they exist.” This marginalization can span from the use of derogatory language, to denying a professional opportunity based on race or colour, to overlooking, or criticizing other spiritual or religious beliefs. Australian indigenous people who are treated with this kind of disrespect can experience anxiety, depression, self-doubt, stress and paranoia from their marginalization. There are not normally benefits