What Is The Policy Of Cultural Assimilation

The policy of assimilation enforced in 1951, was a policy which sabotaged the lives of thousands of ATSI people across Australia, their experiences of extreme trauma, remodelling their futures as well as that of their descendants. The policy of Assimilation brought on several major experiences including feeling alienated, disconnected to their cultural heritage and detachment from family members. Consequently, these prompted severe long term effects such as mental illnesses. Thus, the policy of Assimilation was a policy which destructively effected the lives and experiences of thousands of ATSI people nationally.
Cultural assimilation is defined as the process by which a person or a group's language and/or culture come to resemble those of
The stolen children’s loss to “[their] Culture, Music, Dance and Art,” generated a loss of identity. The previous quotation found in source 2 highlights the cultural aspects of their former lives in which the “stolen, separated” children were taken from. The poem then goes on to describe the feelings of being “Lost to Ourselves – our Families - our Hearts.” Due to the fact that the children were denied knowledge of their traditions and cultures, most members of the Stolen Generations found that it was difficult to regain a role in the spiritual and cultural life of their former Aboriginal communities. “There was just this feeling that I did not belong there,” a statement found in source 3. “I don’t know nothing about my culture. I don’t know nothing about the land and the language,” Cynthia Sariago, member of the Stolen Generations. This was mainly due to the heightened disconnect to their culture enforced by white people. The lack of knowledge of traditional culture, was also due to the way that people were forced to not speak their traditional languages. Preceding the removal of ATSI people, 250 Aboriginal languages were spoken as well as 600 dialects. Now, there are only 60 Aboriginal languages considered as ‘alive.’ Lee Nangala, daughter of a stolen child recollects, ‘I remember saying over and over again to Mum, “...How
However, unfortunately, the Australian government never formally apologised until Prime Minister Keven Rudd’s apology on the Sorry Day of 2008, found in Source 1. Preceding this enormously significant movement, there had been several formal addresses, acknowledging the experiences of ATSI people. This originated on the 10th December 1992 when Prime Minister Paul Keating made the Redfern Speech. Due to this, Prime Minister Keating became the first Australian political leader to admit the reality of the policy of Assimilation and the destruction of Aboriginal society in ‘the land of the fair go.’ Afterward, in 1995, there was an enquiry entitled ‘The National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families' initiated by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC). Less than two years later, the official ‘Bringing Them Home Report was released and tabled in federal parliament. The report included the testimonies of 535 ATSI people and evidence from over 600 from every state and territory of Australia. However, there was no apology to the ATSI people for the destruction of their culture and society. Finally, on the 28th May 2000, Sydney residents formed a mass protest and marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge demanding reconciliation and that the outrageous