The Apology to the Stolen Generation
We, Australians forcefully took Aboriginals’ and Torres Strait Islanders’ children away from their home and family, some never to see parents, siblings or relatives again; this was referred to ‘The Stolen Generation’. 1890s to 1970s is a shameful time for Australians that’s why we come together each year on the 26th of May to recognise a day of sorrow called Sorry Day. Sorry Day 2008 was a day when Aboriginals gathered at parliament together to listen to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd give a speech but most importantly to hear him say one word that they have waited for over 100 years to hear from the government and the rest of Australia, that word is ‘Sorry’.
Since the 1880’s the Aboriginal Protection Board had been trying to protect Aboriginal rights but was over powered by the assimilation policy a few decades later. The policy had two main reasons behind it, one of the reasons behind taking the children away was so they could grow up to be more
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The government forced a removal of the practice. Each state and territory was given government support and funds to assist reuniting loved one with their long lost family. The process was slow because of the lack of records the policy contained, only 1,000 individuals where reunited with their families in the space of 14 years (1980 to 1994). Part of this funding was to establish “Sorry Day”, it offered the opportunity for white Australians to acknowledge the impact of the policy. The first Nation Sorry Day was held on 1998 across Australia. Books where given to the Indigenous communities which had white Australians expressing their personal feelings and sorrow. Over 24 thousand people signatures where received. Over the years Sorry Day has become a bigger day each year, in 2000 they had a range of activities including the Sydney Harbour Bridge walk that had more than 250,000 people participate
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 National Apology of 2008 is the latest addition to the key aspects of Australia’s reconciliation towards the Indigenous owners of our land. A part of this movement towards reconciliation is the recognition of Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders rights to their land. Upon arrival in Australia, Australia was deemed by the British as terra nullius, land belonging to no one. This subsequently meant that Indigenous Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were never recognised as the traditional owners. Eddie Mabo has made a highly significant contribution to the rights and freedoms of Indigenous Australians as he was the forefather of a long-lasting court case in 1982 fighting for the land rights of the Torres Strait Islanders. Eddie Mabo’s introduction of the Native Title Act has provided Indigenous Australians with the opportunity to state claim to their land, legally recognising the Indigenous and the Torres Strait Islanders as the traditional owners.
Both Keating’s and Rudd’s speeches are firmly based on the ideas of recognition and reconciliation for the wrongs that European settlers, and their decedents, have inflicted on Indigenous Australians. To explore this idea I believe that it is necessary to take a closer look at both the plight of Eddie Mabo and the stories of the Stolen Generation.
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).
In the nineteenth century, the “History wars” became the fight between the most prominent historians revolving around the deception of frontier conflict between the labor and coalition. The debate aroused from the different interpretations of the violence that took place during the European colonization and to what degree. It became a crisis in history, emerging from the dispossession of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI) that resulted in exclusion of their traditions and culture. The ATSI were the first people of Australia that brought along a different culture, language, kinship structures and a different way of life (Face the Facts, 2012). Post European colonization was a time where the ATSI people experienced disadvantage in the land they called home. With the paramount role as future educators, it demands proficient knowledge on the Australian history and one of the most influential moments in our history started from the first European settlers.
The goals and visions behind my reconciliation action plan was to bring the two sides of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians together in equality and harmony. Since the colonisation of Australia there has been a vast divide between the two sides that has caused many serious outcomes for Aboriginal people. My way of contributing to this is to create a better understanding, restore trust and eradicate racism as a positive way to help close the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australia’s.
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.
Assimilating the aboriginal population into Canadian society was seen as the best solution to eliminating the costs associated with this segment of society receiving funds for being wards of the state. Once the process of shaping students into ideal citizens has been completed, they would be granted full citizenship and automatically enfranchises them. The removal treaty rights and tribe affiliation would mean that the federal government is no longer faced with the financial burden associated with caring for these peoples (Akhtar, 2010, p. 113). Since children have the potential to easily adapt to situations, they are perfect candidates for socialization programs which ease them into society.
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 ...
Since the time of federation the Aboriginal people have been fighting for their rights through protests, strikes and the notorious ‘day of mourning’. However, over the last century the Australian federal government has generated policies which manage and restrained that of the Aboriginal people’s rights, citizenships and general protection. The Australian government policy that has had the most significant impact on indigenous Australians is the assimilation policy. The reasons behind this include the influences that the stolen generation has had on the indigenous Australians, their relegated rights and their entitlement to vote and the impact that the policy has had on the indigenous people of Australia.
Since European invasion in 1788, Indigenous Australians have struggled to maintain their rights and freedoms and to have governments recognise them. Over time, state and Commonwealth governments have implemented policies that have discriminated against Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, denying them equality, opportunity and control of their own lives and those of their children (Jacaranda, 2012). Indigenous Australians have been politically active in demanding their rights. Charles Perkins was an Aboriginal Activist who fought in the struggle for recognition, justice and legal acknowledgments for Indigenous people. To a large extent Charles Perkins has impacted the civil rights of Indigenous Australians; significantly advancing human rights and paving the way for reconciliation.
Summary of Text: ‘The Redfern Address’ is a speech that was given to a crowd made up of mainly indigenous Australians at the official opening of the United Nations International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples in Redfern Park, New South Wales. This text deals with many of the challenges that have been faced by Indigenous Australians over time, while prompting the audience to ask themselves, ‘How would I feel?’ Throughout the text, Keating challenges the views of history over time, outlines some of the outrageous crimes committed against the Indigenous community, and praises the indigenous people on their contribution to our nation, despite the way they have been treated.
It is impossible to celebrate when it brings to mind the deep hurt born by our ancestors and how that suffering continues to impact today.” According to Richard Weston, of the Healing Foundation. Today, we focus on the partying when instead it should be a day of mourning by all. The strong views of the Indigenous community should be taken into consideration, their views should be made a priority, to reach a resolution that will stop the hurt and anger fuelled protests. Michael Mansell’s suggest “Australia Day is a celebration of an invasion which resulted in the ethnic cleansing of Aborigines. To participate would be to abandon the continuing struggle of my people.” In the hope that we understand that from the landing in Sydney Cove on the 26th of January 1788, only brought misery to the Indigenous communities as trauma was caused by government policies, and conflicts between settlers. In recognition of the events that followed the landing on our beautiful Australian shores, we should be able to acknowledge that all views are as equally important. According to a recent poll, 56%, just over half the nation do not mind when the holiday is held, while only 23% choose the 26th as the best available date. Furthermore, while some say, 'it’s tradition’ and the day should be kept, in reality the public holiday has only been held on the 26th of January, nationwide since
In 1965, an Integration policy was introduced, meaning cultures embracing each other. Although many attempts have been made, including ‘Sorry Day’ and a ‘National Apology’ by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the scars run deep and it is sad to know that there are generations whose roots will never be identified. As well today, self-determination is practised, which means that in any matter pertaining to Aboriginals, then, they have a