Essay: Impact Of Stolen Generations On Indigenous Australians." (59 Characters)

Question:

Discuss about the Anthropology and property law in Australia. 

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) are the indigenous people of Torres Strait Islands, and they are the first inhabitants of Australia. Previously, the skin colour and percentage of “aboriginal blood” were considered to define a person as the indigenous but modern definition has changed. Today, the aboriginal person is define based on the criteria given by the Federal Government which provide that a person who is of aboriginal descent, identify as indigenous, and accepted as an Aboriginal person by his/her community is considered as indigenous person in Australia. The aboriginal people have their own traditions and language; historically they lived in Tasmania, mainland Australia, and other offshore islands. Several historical events have negatively affected the lives of aboriginal Australian and their educational opportunities. This essay will focus on the ‘Stolen Generations’ event which took place from 1910 to 1970, and evaluate its impact on lives of indigenous people both at the time and present day. Further, the essay will understand the importance of learning and teaching of indigenous Australian culture in primary education and impact of the ‘Stolen Generations’ event on learning of indigenous culture. 

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017), the population of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI) origin people in Australia is 649,200 in 2016; they represent around 2.8 percent of the total Australian population. The ATSI people are the first inhabitants of Australia, and they are also the oldest surviving culture in the world. The ATSI people populated Australia at least 40 thousand years ago; they were semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers with strong traditions and cultures that are connected with water, land, and animals. British colonisation of Australia started from 1788 from Sydney; the population of aboriginal Australia before British arrival was approximately 318,000-750,000. From 1788 to 1930, the population of indigenous Australian shrunk from 1,250,000 to 50,000 respectively (Revolvy, 2017). During the British colonisation between 1910 and1970, many indigenous children were forcibly removed and separated from their families due to various government regulation. This period is known as ‘Stolen Generations’ because a generation of ATSI children was separated from their families (Korff, 2017a).

The Stolen Generations are referred as the children who were separated from their families based on their colour and caste. The Federal and State government implemented various laws and regulations along with local churches to forcefully remove aboriginal children from their families. The Assimilation Policy was a regulation that focuses on absorbing aboriginal Australian by removing children from families. The Bringing Them Home is a landmark report which spots the light on Stolen Generations event by analysing its impact on aboriginal Australians who were affected by the regulations (Australian Psychological Society, 2014). The Bringing Them Home report provided that between one in three and one in ten children affected by the Stolen Generations regulations and they were forcefully removed from their families. The reason for removing aboriginal children from families was to develop ‘European’ values in them because they were half-caste. Many children were taken only a few days after their birth (Haebich, 2011). The language, traditions, dance, and knowledge of aboriginal culture cannot survive if it cannot be passed on to children; therefore, in a way, white people stole future of indigenous people.

History of Indigenous Australians

The impact of Stolen Generations event on indigenous children and their families, both individually and collectively, has been immeasurable; many of the children were physically, sexually and psychologically abused during Stolen Generations period, and they faced various mental and physical problems. The Stolen Generation has left a devastating impact on indigenous Australians, and its negative influence is still affecting their lives. The indigenous children suffered from various personal and social issues which include violence, mental illness, welfare dependence, and alcoholism. The children who were stolen are 50 percent more likely to be charged by polices and 15 percent more likely to abuse alcohol from a young age (Korff, 2017b). Most of the children face loneliness because they find it difficult to settle in with other white children because of their colour. The government initiated the Assimilation Policy after the failure of Protectorate experiment which focused on removing indigenous people from their traditional lands. The children were stolen and placed under the supervision of Chief Protector who becomes their legal guardian. Many children were abused and exploited under Chief Protector that negatively affected their future development and pushed them towards substance abuse and life of crimes (Australians Together, 2017).

While living in non-indigenous homes, the aboriginal children were forbidden to associate with their traditions, and they were discouraged from using their language. The cultural isolation caused by ‘Assimilation Policy’ negatively affects the aboriginal children and it made them lost; the separation from family created a feeling of worthlessness and low self-esteem in indigenous children which hinders their personal development (Feather, Woodyatt & McKee, 2012). The Stolen Generation was a result of colonisation in Australia which increased the rate of racist issues faces by indigenous Australian. During the colonisation, the British government did not recognise the traditions and cultures of indigenous people and implemented terra nullius regulations which mean ‘no one’s land’. The British government did not recognise the rights of aboriginal people because of the policies of terra nullius that allow them to formulate policies such as Assimilation Policy and Protectorate experiment (Banner, 2005). The children from Stolen Generations find it difficult to perform any legal action because they are not able to find their exact birth date; they also face difficulty while applying for legal documents.

The Stolen Generations were brought up by labours or servants; therefore, they often receive a poorer education than compared to non-indigenous children. The government did not provide appropriate education facilities to aboriginal children that make it difficult for them to get a good education. The indigenous children also face racism in school, and most of them avoid giving answers about their past or their family (Attwood, 2008). The aboriginal children faced daily issues such as bullying, humiliation, and racism in school which negatively affected their academic education. The teachers were also racist against aboriginal children, and they avoid provided them an appropriate education. The lack of education increased the rate of unemployment for indigenous children. The humiliation, racist comments, negative behaviour, poverty, unemployment, and mental health are some of the issues faced by Stolen Generations which affected their personal development (Barta, 2008). Currently, the Stolen Generations children are 10 percent less likely to be employed and 30 percent less likely to be in good health.

Stolen Generations event

The Stolen Generations event has a negative impact on indigenous people, and it is still affecting their lives adversely. Currently, the rate of indigenous children in out-of-home care is higher than compared to Stolen Generations; the rate of aboriginal incarceration is high, and they are 14 percent more likely to be in custody (Wahlquist, 2017). The indigenous people are still suffering from poor education and healthcare problems that hinder their personal development; they are also suffering from unemployment, racist behaviour, poverty, and psychological issues. Therefore, it is the role of modern educators to teach others about the negative condition of aboriginal people and how Stolen Generations are suffering from social and economic issues (Hook, 2012). The initiatives of educators can increase the awareness about issues faced by indigenous Australian that can assist in improving their situation.

In Australia, indigenous people are suffering from serious disadvantages which affect social, economic and financial status; the educators or teachers can assist in increasing the awareness about their condition which can assist in improving their lives. The educators or teachers learn about the history of aboriginal people, and they also learn about various disadvantages and risks faced by indigenous people because of their skin colour. During early childhood or primary education stage, the students did not learn about the true history of indigenous people of Australia (Harrison, 2011). Especially during primary education, the students should learn about true history of aboriginal people and various issues faced by them because of colonisation. The awareness about indigenous culture should provide to children from primary education because it can assist in reducing racism against aboriginal people. The lack of knowledge about indigenous culture and their suffering increases the rate of racism faced by them because lack of knowledge creates stereotypes against them. A large number of inmates and criminals are aboriginal people because they face various disadvantages such as poverty, unemployment, lack of proper education and healthcare. The teachers should provide proper knowledge about disadvantages faced by indigenous Australians, so people become more aware of their issues and implement policies to tackle those problems (Price, 2012).

Due to Stolen Generations, the indigenous culture has lost because the older generation was not able to transfer their traditions to their children. The aboriginal customs, language, and culture should be celebrated as Australian history; most of the people did not learn about indigenous traditions because schools and educators did not provide appropriate knowledge to students. Due to Stolen Generations, the indigenous culture is facing the risk of extinction which can be avoided by teaching and learning about their tradition during primary education (Mclntyre & McKeich, 2009). Many scholars believe that the language of aboriginal Australians should be preserved because it reflects their unique culture and it is also the source of their cultures’ independence. Many universities provide the courses for aboriginal language in order to preserve them, but the educators should teach about them during primary education to increase the awareness in children about indigenous culture (Westaway, 2014). The Stolen Generations face difficulty at a global stage because they did not have any original identification or history; the indigenous Australians who travel outside Australia find it difficult to settle in with the others. The educators and teachers should teach about indigenous culture and the suffering faced by them because of ‘Stolen Generation’ and its negative impact on them at a global stage. On February 13^th, 2008, Kevin Rudd, prime minister of Australia, finally apologised for Stolen Generations which shows that aboriginal people’s lives can be improved by teaching and learning about their culture (Channel Ten, 2008).

Impact of Stolen Generations event

The culture is an integral part of countries, but, unfortunately, Australians know nothing about their culture because they do not get necessary education. On the other hand, Canada is a good example because it has introduced courses in Indigenous Studies which have become popular and now offered in every single university. As per professors of indigenous studies, the courses have a substantial influence on Canadians because it helps them get rid of wrong stereotypes that they have about the native Canadians and they learn about their true culture and traditions. Modern schools and universities teach so much about other countries and cultures, but they failed to teach their own country’s culture and tradition. The Australian government should learn from Canadian policies and implement indigenous studies courses in university. But, in order to get a maximum outcome, the government should teach about aboriginal cultures at primary education level since it all children to learn about their country’s history and make them aware about its true culture and history. The stenotypes against indigenous Australians can be removed with the help of educators if they teach about aboriginal culture during primary education.

Conclusion

From the above observations, it can be concluded that indigenous Australians face various disadvantages because of colonisation and they are still suffering from its outcomes. The Stolen Generations are the children who were forcefully taken away from their families because of their colour and race. The government implemented policies such as Assimilation Policy and Protectorate experiment to forcefully remove aboriginal children who were “mixed race” and raise them in non-indigenous families in order to extinct aboriginal culture. The lack of knowledge about indigenous history and their culture created various stereotypes against them which increase the cases of racism and crimes. The educators should teach about true aboriginal culture and history during primary education to remove stereotypes against them and teach children about Australian history. The educators play a substantial role in teaching about indigenous cultures which assists in improving their lives. Proper education and learning about indigenous history and culture can reduce the negative impact of Stolen Generations event and improve their lives. 

References

Attwood, B. (2008). In the age of testimony: The stolen generations narrative,“distance,” and public history. Public Culture, 20(1), 75-95.

Australian Psychological Society. (2014). Dark chapters in Australian history: Adopted children from the Stolen Generations. Retrieved from https://www.psychology.org.au/inpsych/2014/august/dudgeon/

Australians Together. (2017). The Stolen Generations. Retrieved from https://www.australianstogether.org.au/discover/australian-history/stolen-generations

Banner, S. (2005). Why Terra Nullius? Anthropology and property law in early Australia. Law and History Review, 23(1), 95-131.

Barta, T. (2008). Sorry, and not sorry, in Australia: how the apology to the stolen generations buried a history of genocide. Journal of Genocide Research, 10(2), 201-214.

Channel Ten. (2008, 12 February). Sorry, Kevin Rudd's Apology to "The stolen Generation" [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3TZOGpG6cM

Feather, N. T., Woodyatt, L., & McKee, I. R. (2012). Predicting support for social action: How values, justice-related variables, discrete emotions, and outcome expectations influence support for the Stolen Generations. Motivation and Emotion, 36(4), 516-528.

Haebich, A. (2011). Forgetting Indigenous histories: Cases from the history of Australia's stolen generations. Journal of Social History, 44(4), 1033-1046.

Harrison, N. (2011). Teaching and learning in Aboriginal education. South Melbourne, Victoria: Oxford University Press.

Hook, G. (2012). Towards a decolonising pedagogy: Understanding Australian Indigenous studies through critical whiteness theory and film pedagogy. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education, 41(2), 110-119.

Korff, J. (2017a). A guide to Australia’s Stolen Generations. Retrieved from https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/politics/a-guide-to-australias-stolen-generations

Korff, J. (2017b). Stolen Generations—effects and consequences. Retrieved from https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/politics/stolen-generations-effects-and-consequences

McIntyre, J. & McKeich, A. (2009). Between two worlds, Understanding the stolen generations. Preston, Victoria: Stolen Generations Victoria.

Price, K. (2012). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education: An introduction for the teaching profession. (pp. 21-33). Port Melbourne, Victoria: Cambridge University Press.

Revolvy. (2017). History of Indigenous Australians. Retrieved from https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=History%20of%20Indigenous%20Australians&item_type=topic

Walquist, C. (2017). Indigenous incarceration: turning the tide on colonisation's cruel third act. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/feb/20/indigenous-incarceration-turning-the-tide-on-colonisations-cruel-third-act

Westaway, M. (2014). Why our kids should learn Aboriginal history. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/why-our-kids-should-learn-aboriginal-history-24196