Despite being the “traditional custodians of the land”, Aboriginal people greatly suffered from lack of human rights, especially between 1901 and the 1960’s. In 1962, NSW was the only state in Australia that gave Aboriginals the right to have control over their children. This meant that government organisations were given the authority to take children away from Aboriginal families. The Aboriginal Protection Board is an example of a government organisation that used this authority to breed out Aboriginals in Australia. The Protection Board would infiltrate Aboriginal communities and take away half-caste children because they could be taught the “white ways.”…
In 1788, nearly 1000 Europeans arrived to Australia. From this year, conflicts between Aboriginals and Europeans continued until 1860. Before colonization, indigenous people were struck down by diseases introduced by Europeans. Indigenous people had no immunity to new diseases, so the common cold, sexually transmitted disease and smallpox resulted in a rapid decline of their population. In 1856, the British government authorized the appointment of a “Protector of Aborigines” to settle problems such as people’s illness, language and occupation. In 1860, the Victorian government established the Aborigines Protection Board. In 1910, Australia government forcibly took more than 100 000 Aboriginal children from their families and placed in church or state based institutions. (Jupp,J 2001, p.9).…
Throughout reading articles published in your newspaper in the past few years and also in the broader media in Australia, I have become quite irritated that Australian Indigenous communities are still being treated with disrespect and wrongness by our government. All human beings should be treated as equals and have equal rights to the basic necessities such as quality health care. However we still fail to give our Indigenous communities the respect that they deserve, after all the heart ache we the non-indigenous Australians have caused them in the past it is only fair that we treat them with the utmost respect.…
The Indigenous population has been rapidly increasing since the 1967 Referendum to include indigenous people in the Australian census. Since the census, Indigenous Australians have been included as part of Australia. This shows Australia's increasing acceptance and understanding of Indigenous Aborigines, and the growing need to rectify the problems associated with the mistreatment of Indigenous Aborigines in the past. From 1911 to 1971, the population figure of Indigenous people lingered around 80,000 people. However, there was an exponential increase in Indigenous people, where in 2001, there are about 450,000 people.…
Indigenous Australians are a prominently disadvantaged group that are subject to extreme discrimination impacting on their life’s. The Stolen generation had severe negative impacts on the victims of the stolen generation and has continued to negatively affect future generations. Further negative implications have stemmed from this extreme action. And it is the cause of many issues of inequality today among Indigenous Australians. This essay will define the stolen generation, outline and discuss the negative impacts that have stemmed from it and then link the impacts of assimilation to theories such as functionalist theory, structural, etc.…
There are many migrants living in Australia, and millions more dream of a home Down Under. Australians are continuing to accept these newly arrived migrants with open arms, and are willing to share the Australian culture with them. The migrants in return, share their own culture with Australians, and everybody lives cohesively. However, racism is an important issue in Australia. Unlike the treatment migrants receive, the Indigenous Australians are treated unfairly. Aborigines are left behind in the development of society in Australia. Even though the Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd has apologized to the stolen generation, and to the Indigenous Australians for the treatment they have received, a big portion of the society have not. Indigenous Australians have been shunned and ignored by many. This is an issue Australians must work on to…
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are strong rich and diverse. Although in the area of Leongatha, Victoria were I currently work there are not a lot of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures there is still a variety of different cultures and religions. Although extending to broader parts of Victoria, Melbourne and Wonthaggi there are more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The current centre I work ‘Leongatha Children’s Centre’ has a variety of different cultures in relation to families, staff and children. Some of the current cultures that attend the service are: Indigenous Children Various religions and beliefs Different social and economic backgrounds As identified as part of Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal relations history Initial invasion and colonisation by the Europeans to Australia (1788 to 1890).…
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) community constitutes approximately 3% of the Australian population. They experience a wide range of health inequities including higher mortality and infant mortality rates and a lower life expectancy. Individuals, communities and governments each have their own roles in addressing health inequities experienced by the ATSI community but they must work in collaboration in order to achieve the most beneficial result. Individuals are encouraged to reduced risk behaviours and increase protective behaviours by making informed, positive health-related decisions.…
It is the history and values of a person that serve to build the frame of reference through which they view and function in society. Dr. Jardine, in An Invitation to Explore the Roots of Current Aboriginal/Non-Aboriginal Relations in Canada speaks of various pieces of legislation that serve to build the frame of reference for Indigenous Peoples of Canada. The legislations established who was able to own property, who was permitted to live the culture of an “Indian”. The government decided based upon the Indian Act, who would have the rights and privileges arising from the treaties with or concerning nation-to-nation relations. Fundamental rights, such as; “govern themselves as sovereign peoples, to live on their traditional lands, not to have their livelihoods interfered with and to maintain their hunting and fishing…
Indigenous Australians have been statistically shown to suffer from a substantial disadvantage in terms of health status in comparison to that of non Aboriginal Australians. This is typically due to impoverishment and associated with inequality of interconnected health services including limited access to a multitude services, education, employment and environmental factors, all of which contribute to the overall physical and mental health of an individual. Impacts of such are shown to be an increased risk among the indigenous population of maternal and infant mortality, malnutrition, cardiovascular illnesses, HIV, and other infectious diseases. Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner stated that the socio-economic…
The landing of white man in Australia caused havoc for the first Aboriginal inhabitants of the land. For years the white society pushed and shoved the aboriginal culture and traditions out. Many of the universal declaration human rights were breached and ignored against the aboriginal people. One of the worst crimes that has stained Australia’s history would be the “Stolen generation” this disgraceful event caused many social and physical problems for the children who were kidnapped.…
Yes, depending on how the media represent the Aboriginal people has huge impact on the reconciliation. When only the negative images are portrayed of Aboriginals, non-Native people would continue to look down upon Aboriginal people and treat them as “others”. Thus, rather than finding peace and moving forward as one nation, there would be only hatred and negative feelings. The negative portrayal of Aboriginal people would only serve as a barrier to having a reconciliation. Now as the media portrays our government, Trudeau, showing respects toward Aboriginals and planning to build and restore the positive relationship with Aboriginal people, I hope people will start to change their attitudes and thoughts about Aboriginal people.…
Early childhood development is one the most important social determinants of health. Not only does this social determinant maintain a person’s health while they’re young but it also creates a stepping stone for their health as they grow into men and women (Shonkoff, Boyce & McEwan, 2009). Burchill and Higgins (2005) state that a number of problems within the youth of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are still desperately seeking attention. From 1991 to 2010 youth suicide has increased from a low ten percent to eighty percent and has increased in the following years. To add, the juvenile detention rates are twenty-four times higher than non-Indigenous Australians and only twenty-five percent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children complete school compared to a fifty-two percent rate in non-Indigenous Australians. These statistics show evidence that whilst improving in other factors Closing the Gap isn’t meeting the needs of early childhood development and the negative impact it has on the social and emotional wellbeing of young Indigenous Australians. This can lead to the misuse of health services in Indigenous communities (Burchill et al, 2005).…
The Aboriginal Resource Centre, in the Office of Intercultural Affairs, recognizes the fluidity of language and that, in the context of this land and community, certain terms are preferred or contested by different Indigenous people and communities.…
In recent weeks in mainstream media there have been lots of commentary on Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the appalling rate of Aboriginal men and women in incarceration as a direct result of family violence, drug and alcohol issues, Intergenerational trauma and other more serious offences.…