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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have faced disadvantages in various areas, particularly housing. The disadvantages these people face now are the result of policies introduced by the European settlers, then the government. The policies introduced were protection, assimilation, integration and self-determination. It is hard to understand the housing disadvantages faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people if their history is not known. In 1788 when the European settlers “colonised” Australia, the Australian land was known as “terra nullius” which means “land belonging to no-one”. This decision set the stage for the problems and disadvantages faced by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people for 216 years. The protection policy was meant to disperse tribes and force Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people off their traditional land so the “white Australian’s” could have more control. The protection policy enforced by the British colonies drove the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander onto reserves. These reserves were run by religious missionaries and supervised by the Aboriginal Protection Board from 1883. The protection policy was reinforced by the Aborigines Protection Act (NSW) 1909. This Act was in force until 1969. The Act allowed police to withhold rations to pressure the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to move and expelled whole clans from specific districts. Conditions were extremely poor on the reserves. There was little to no hygiene facilities. Often the “houses” were actually tin shacks with dirt floors. The police issued ... ... middle of paper ... ... housing for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people under the “Housing for Aborigines Program”. The actions of the State and Federal Government(s) have being questionable over the centuries since the ‘colonization’ of Australia, but as Australia becomes more of a multicultural and multi-racial society Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people acceptance is rising. The disadvantages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face is decreasing slowly by the government as introduce legislation and form commissions. There will always be problems for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in relation to housing, but the Australia is heading in the right direction to correct this problem and provide a much better future for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the whole of Australia.
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.
“Indigenous Australian peoples are people of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander descent, who are accepted as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person in the community in which they live, or have lived” (Queensland Government, Australia, n.d). Indigenous Australians have made considerable contributions in the field of arts, media, sport, education, politics/government, and history. One of the famous Indigenous person is Evonne Fay Goolagong-Cawley, who has gained name and fame for Australia in the field of tennis on world level. Evonne Goolagong-Cowley’s life, opportunities, achievements and contributions and the ability to rise out of the cultural barriers gave her a unique place in Australian society.
According to the Métis Elder, Tom McCallum, “The more we listen to other people’s views, the more our vision will open up and we will start to…be able to see from all perspectives and respect those perspectives. That is what creates our wholeness, to walk in balance and harmony, to respect other people’s way, their journey of life, their way of interpreting, to treat each other with much more kindness and respect.” This quote explains the idea that, because all people have different experiences, we all see the world differently. People of similar communities or groups, however, may have similar views because they have similar experiences. Although it can be easy to dismiss someone else’s thoughts if we do not understand them, we must listen to the opinions and views of people of other communities so that we can gain insight a
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...
History continues to impact Aboriginal / Torres Strait islander people today. There has been some improvements over the years but not enough when compared to other Australians. They have the highest growth rate, birth rate, death rate, the worst health and housing and the lowest educational, occupational, economic, social & legal status of any identifiable section of the Australian
The documentary Finding Dawn by Christine Welsh portrayed the violence and discrimination experienced by Aboriginal women and girls in Canada as a national tragedy. The national tragedy is illustrated as the overlooked murders and disappearances of an estimated 500 Aboriginal women in Canada over the past 30 years (Finding Dawn, 2006). It was apparent while viewing this documentary that embedded historical, social and economic factors have negatively contributed to this national tragedy receiving meager attention in Canada. Thus, the issues presented in Finding Dawn is in fact a representation of wider social problems correlating to issues of oppression, ethnocentrism, racism and assimilation in our society.
For the first two weeks of my class, I had no idea where I was headed in terms of my learning experience but I soon found out. During the first week we had to define “indigenous identity” which by the way was a foreign language to me. After I determined the meaning of it (because there were so many choices) I settled on the meaning “that what connects a person or people by their culture, race, beliefs and way of life”. I never considered or included myself a part of that definition because I thought it only pertained to people of other nations or countries. Eventually my thoughts and understanding changed. As I stated before my reading “Thinking Like an Anthropologist” Chapter Five, “What was This Practice or Idea Like in the past - The Temporal Question (2008, Omohundro, J.T. ), will be an excellent and informative guide for my research (in which it was). Also having to use Syncretism as a tool allowed me the opportunity to not only research the past but present rituals, beliefs, etc. of African Americans and how much they have changed over the years. Looking through this research as a critic allowed me to broaden my horizons not only about my culture but other cultures that are included in this identity. We were first introduced to two articles: The “Gebusi” and “Body Ritual of the Nacerima”. And I thought their rituals and beliefs were somewhat extreme, but then I realized if they looked at our society and our practices, they could consider the same thing about us. Having said that I decided that as an African-American woman, I was prepared to take that journey into the unknown, to investigate my culture, our accomplishments, and therefore have the ability to share my findings and observations with others. Week after week we w...
Many factors, such as our personal experiences, can influence how we establish a nurse-person therapeutic relationship. In order to achieve this relationship one must have understanding of the various issues Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people face within the healthcare system. As a second year nursing student my understanding and experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture is limited. My current understanding is that substantial inequalities exist between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous Australians, particularly in relation to access to safe and quality healthcare. But in regards to their culture I have limited knowledge and understanding. Due to my little knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres
My understanding is that- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander refers to people who are accepted as they are by the community in which they live. They have their own cultural beliefs which enables them to have a very strong blood relationship with their own kinship related families. They give significance to land, water and sea. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are different from other cultural groups they have beliefs and values, that are different from non- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The terms Aboriginal, American People, Indian, Indigenous Peoples, First Nations and Native Americans we originally used when the first settlers arrived to North and South America. The term American Indian was used to refer to native people of the Western Hemisphere and in the name Indian was used when Christopher Columbus thought he had reached the Indies when he was in search of South Asia. In 1507 a German cartographer named Martin Waldeemuller had named the Western Hemisphere as America around 1507. So, the name American Indian took affect to differentiate the people from South Asia. In the United States and Canada in the 1960s the name American Indian was under scrutiny because it was sometimes called racist and so the
They say they want to be treated as equals yet they are happy to claim every benefit thrown at them. The Aboriginal people of Australia get so many more benefits than the average white bloke and yet they have the Gaul to complain they don’t get enough.
Poor living conditions are a major health determinant throughout the indigenous population. Most Indigenous Australians are known to live in rural parts of Australia which are commonly not close to major cities and services. People living in these areas generally have poorer health than others living in the cities and other parts of Australia. These individuals do not have as much access to health services and good quality housing. In 2006 roughly 14% of indigenous households in Australia were overcrowded unlike 5% of other households (AIHW, 2009a). Overcrowded and poor quality houses are commonly associated with poor physical and mental health between the people living in them. The indigenous are n...
British colonization of Australia had many long term and immediate effects on Aboriginal people. Disease was prevalent in the colonial period and without modern medicine, or in the case of Aboriginal people having access even to the medicine of the time, many people would often die from disease. In 1789, 50% of all Aboriginals in the Sydney area, died as a result of a small pox epidemic. Disease was even more prevalent in the Aboriginal communities as Aboriginal women were used as a sex resource by the British colonial men. These diseases were new for Aboriginal people and therefore they did not have the same tolerance for it, as the settlers did. Disease wasn’t the only thing that the colonies brought which impacted upon Aboriginal people,
But when it did get cold in the winter they slept and lived in shelters. These shelters were made of a frame work of branches and sticks then they were covered with leaves and branches. Or the aboriginals slept next a camp fire.
Reading into which architecture and sites our society and government decides to conserve and protect for future generations reflects our very own beliefs and values. Recently history shows that indigenous sacred sites have not been protected by the heritage conservation act causing much distress and outcry from the indigenous communities. In 2014, burials and sacred sites were desecrated for Whitehaven’s Maules Creek Mine, in New South Wales. The Gomeroi Traditional Custodians believed that Whitehaven Coal Mine destroyed 4000 acres of “Culturally significant forest, artefacts and cultural values,” and instead of the government addressing and assessing the elders concerns, they were “ignored and silenced by bureaucracy.” To this indigenous