Impacts Of Lack Of Trust By ATSI Towards Government Services And System

Indigenous Australians have faced many changes to their original life style, with numerous policies being brought in. These policies had an incredible affect on how the indigenous Australians lived. The policies inflicted on the indigenous Australians varied widely and had numerous impacts. The policies of assimilation, protection and integration had mainly negative impacts on the community, causing loss of identity, language and religion. The policies of self-determination and reconciliation, had mostly positive effects to the indigenous Australian community, creating a stronger bond between black and white Australians, encouraging the concept of closing the gap between indigenous Australians and non-indigenous Australians. These

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.

This is where assimilation comes into play I believe. Aboriginal people were expected to give up their own culture and traditions and adopt the Western way of living, with the expectation that they would all assimilate (Stanley et al. 2002). This was further developed as a formal government policy in 1951 (Gerrer 2013). I believe what really triggered my outrage was what happened to the children when they were taken away. It was shown to us in class that most children were not put into better households, with a better support system. In fact they were made to be white peoples slaves, with some cases of sexual abuse and other terrible acts of sinfulness (Lousy Little Sixpence 1983). These Aboriginal families were told a lie that their children would be sent off to gain an education but instead were not aware in actually their innocent children where soon to become the slaves of a rich Caucasian families, with no where to escape (Lousy Little Sixpence 1983). I feel as if I’ve been fed false information about the history of the country I live in.

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 each instance the individual has been separated from family, it also means a fracturing of their identity. The Identity of Aboriginal people links family and land. The land connection is like a bond to family in a parental capacity; the land is our mother and deserves our respect. Separation from family is also separation from cultural belonging. The family is there to reiterate identity and culture.

Firstly, the aboriginal people do not have enough jobs and educational buildings to support the large population of young people. Almost half the aboriginal people in

This essay will discuss the issues for Indigenous Australians only, this however, can be related to any culture, but for the purpose of this essay I will be referring to Indigenous Australians only.

The Indigenous culture was viewed as inferior and unable to adequately provide for the needs of their children, which was fully fuelled by disproportionate poverty rates as well as the repercussion of residential schools (Russell, 2015). Due to not being able to maintain the standards of European child-rearing practices and common values, social services workers attempted to rescue these children from the conditions they were living in (O’Connor, 2010). These issues have detrimental effects on the families of survivors of the residential schools for generations, also known as multigenerational trauma. Instead of addressing this social policy concern the government was contributing and controlling it, where Indigenous people had little power to address

Throughout the early 20th century, the Australian public was led to believe that Aboriginal children were disadvantaged in their communities, and that there was a high risk of physical and sexual abuse. Aboriginal children were being removed in order to be exposed to ‘Anglo values’ and ‘work habits’ with a view to them being employed by colonial settlers, and to stop their parents, families and communities from passing on their culture, language and identity

The mistreatment of Aboriginal children at residential schools caused detrimental impacts on their identity and even led to death. Furthermore, this has led to many repercussions that negatively affect their communities and made them more prone to criminal acts. There have also been rising tensions between the Aboriginal population and the Canadian government due to the protests for compensation. The imposition of residential schools has negatively impacted the lives of the Aboriginal population and the government must take action for the betterment of their

Education is fundamental to growth, the growth of the individual, and the growth of a nation. Anthropologically this can be seen from the earliest of developments of human societies where practices emerge to ensure the passing of accumulated knowledge from one generation to the next. In the centuries since the invasion and colonisation of Australia in 1788, colonist authorities and governments have dominated the making of policies regarding most major aspects of Australian life, including the lives of Indigenous Australians. The enactment of these policies and legislation, whether targeted at society as a whole or directly at education, has had significant and most often negative causal impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, resulting in not only poor educational outcomes, but the loss of cultural identity, the development of serious issues in health and wellbeing, and the restriction of growth of Aboriginal communities. Moreover, there has been an ongoing pattern of the adoption of ill-informed policies in Australia, resulting in these poor outcomes and cultural decimation. Aboriginal people have developed a wariness, a mistrust, and even an attitude of avoidance to engage with non-Indigenous officials and those who they associate as their representatives, i.e. personnel working within

History has unveiled the early contacts of colonization from the Europeans that set motion to cultural oppression and exclusion of the Aboriginal communities (Kirmayer, Tait, Simpson & Simpson, 2009). The introduction of the residential school system was meant to eliminate the indigenous people’s cultural heritage and way of life, creating a historical trauma. As a result, survivors of the residential school system left the majority of the Aboriginal population without a sense of cultural heritage, lack of self-esteem, and depression (Gone, 2010). Aboriginal culture was suppressed, breaking the connection of traditional knowledge from parent to child (Kirmayer, Tait, Simpson & Simpson, 2009). Trans-generational trauma of the Aboriginal people has left psychologically and physically damage towards their own heritage (Gray & Nye, 2001).

Firstly, domestic abuse and violence is more frequent within families because several generations of children have grown up without a nurturing family life. As a result, when they become adults, many of them lack adequate parenting skills, and since they had only experienced abuse as a child, they start abusing their own children and family members. Hence, the high rate of violence and abuse among Aboriginal families often causes this vicious cycle to continue over generations. According to the Manitoba Justice Institute, residential schools are the main

The plight of the stolen generation affected the whole indigenous culture. Based on evidence, the Stolen Generation was traumatising for the children, due to them being taken from family and forced to live a completely different way. Also, due to the government forcing them to live differently, their old tradition ways would be forgotten. A policy called assimilation was introduced by the government, which resulted in children being traumatized from being separated from family.

The land and resources Aborigines depended on for survival were no longer available and they had to adapt to new ways of life. European diseases were introduced that the Aborigines had no resistance to, decimating the population and impacting the traditional close family structure. Most far-reaching, though, were the ethnocentric and racist attitudes of the European settlers regarding the Aboriginal culture and people. The repercussions of European colonization are still being felt today, especially on traditional family life. "All aspects of Aboriginal society have been directly affected by the arrival of British colonists…but it is arguable that traditional Aboriginal family life and the supporting kinship structures have taken the maximum disruptive effect…" (Bourke 104).