Indigenous Australian And Torres Strait Islands

The Australian Indigenous community hold extremely significant corrections to the land of Australia, of which they refer to as ‘Country.’ Indigenous people acquire deep meaning from the land, sea and the countless resources derived from them. This special relationship has formed for many centuries. To them ‘Country’ is paramount for overall wellbeing; the strong, significant, spiritual bonds embody their entire existence. Knowledge is continually passed down to create an unbroken connection of past,

Only in recent years have we seen the recognition that the stolen generation deserves and the essential part it has play in the struggle of Aboriginal rights. Since the end of the stolen generation, numerous organisations and government agency has come out and said sorry for what happened for seventy years and as a result Aboriginal rights are becoming more apparent. The famous “I’m sorry” speech said by Kevin Rudd was the first Parliament apology to the Stolen Generation and was seen as a huge leap forward in the recognition of the Stolen Generation. The Bringing Them Home Report in 1997 was a strong campaign for The

Terra Nullius was once apparent in Australian society, but has now been nullified with the turn of the century. With the political changes in our society, and the apology to Indigenous Australians, society is now witnessing an increase in aboriginals gaining a voice in today’s society. Described by Pat Dodson (2006) as a seminal moment in Australia’s history, Rudd’s apology was expressed in the true spirit of reconciliation opening a new chapter in the history of Australia. Considerable debate has arisen within society as to whether aboriginals have a right to land that is of cultural significance and whether current land owners will be able to keep their land.

On February 13th, 2008, indigenous and aboriginal people across all of Australia were deeply moved and in tears; The Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, had finally apologised the Stolen Generations in his ‘sorry’ speech. The Apology was an important step towards rebuilding respectful and new relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, and to honour and apologize to stolen generations. Many Australians believe that respectful relationships are essential if we are to solve persistent problems. But poll results can sometimes show otherwise. We will see how the media saw the ‘sorry’ apology, how aboriginal and non- indigenous people felt and how they received the apology and also check out poll results. We will

Reconciliation is the process of building respectful relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and the wider Australian community. It is about understanding and respecting their culture and heritage and signifies ‘coming together’ to become one nation without racism and with equality for all. There are still vast differences in health, education, employment, and standards of living of the Indigenous peoples as compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. Even today Indigenous peoples have a significantly lower life expectancy, up to 11.5 years for men and 9.7 years for women . The infant mortality rate for the Indigenous peoples is double the rate for non-Aboriginal Australians. Understanding these inequalities is the first step to reconciling the differences. Policies such as the stolen generation and assimilation policy destroyed Indigenous identity and culture and justified the dispossession of Indigenous people and the removal of Indigenous children from their parents. We can’t change the past but we can make a better future by understanding and learning from the mistakes of the past, reconciliation is about that. Many practical and symbolic strategies have been implemented over the last 50 years to achieve reconciliation such as ATSIC, Northern Territory Intervention and the Mabo decision. However, the most significant ones are the 1967 Referendum, Closing the Gap framework in 2008 and the ‘Sorry speech’. The aim is to improve the five dimensions of reconciliation: race relations, equality and equity, institutional integrity, unity, and historical acceptance.

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.

In reflection, the Redfern Address speech by former Prime Minister Paul Keating was given at a time when recent Indigenous rights victories were still fresh in the minds of the Australian public. I believe it was a pivotal moment for both the illumination and the forward movement of the state of Indigenous affairs in Australia. It assisted in paving the way to forming a national body for Reconciliation and the Closing the Gap initiative being two of the most notable initiatives for the development and enhancement of Indigenous affairs. So the question begs, how far have we come as a nation since the Redfern address?

Apologies are for the person or group that is making amends, not for the person or group that was negatively affected. The apology lifts the weight of burden off of the redressing parties’ shoulders, allowing them to suddenly state, “Not my problem.” The attempt to make amends can are just words- nothing more. Actions speak louder than words and healing is not an easy process, as First Nations journalist James Sinclair describes in his article, To Own Ourselves, “Money, resources, and time may help, but none of these will ultimately do the job.” Referring to the healing process, he continues by voicing that “No apology, no words, and certainly no time in parliament will give healing.” Likewise, apologies cannot re-write the past, let alone “cleanse” the past. It is crucial to not part with history, and to positively re-build trust and relationships, therefor making both ends meet. Reconciliation must take place by educating other generations. In other words, the government must not just say sorry, they must be sorry. When discriminatory and prejudiced behaviours take place, it is obvious that apologies are more of a formality than a genuine expression of regret. Full closure may never be reached, nor will an apology alleviate pain experienced by those who are negatively

From the beginning of the white settlement on the 18th January 1788, Indigenous Australians had many difficulties in which the Europeans had caused; 90% of the Aboriginal population got wiped out e.g. common diseases (they didn’t know how to treat it) and direct attacks. Non-Indigenous Australians today now strive for reconciliation with Indigenous people. Reconciliation aims to build better relation ships between Aboriginals and non-Aboriginal people. Some of the major themes of reconciliation for Indigenous Australians include the preconisation of them being the first people of Australia, the elimination of racism and discrimination and closing the gap in the health, social and economic outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

Instead of making the apology about the Aboriginal peoples, it focuses on the graciousness of the government. The consequences of residential schools have been

Australia’s aboriginal people have faced extreme historical persecution. In 1998, Australia implemented on annual “National Sorry Day” This holiday serves as a form of recompense and it raises awareness of indigenous populations.

It’s important to understand that having to experience being incarcerated and forced to do hard labour at a very young age will often times have a negative influence on an individual’s future. The divide created by the justice system to weaken the spirits of Aboriginal youths has left a scar in Australian society. Now we can see why Australia is a country where they attempt to act as peacekeepers with an objective to resolve world issues. We as individuals can see that there is still a lot Australia has to do in order to correct their past mistakes in dealing with the Aboriginal

The evidence of existence of the civilization in Australian main land and nearby islands has been traced of some 44000 years ago. It is generally believed that the aboriginal people are the descendants of a single migration into the continent, a people that split from the first modern human population to leave Africa 64,000 to 75,000 years ago. Today’s indigenous Australian are mainly the migrants of Africa, southern Asian countries, genetically some indigenous Australian are closely related to central and south Asian population.

The indigenous Australians have occupied in Australia for about 50,000 years and become the oldest traditional groups in the world. These indigenous people are distinguished as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people. According to Australian Indigenous (2015), the population of indigenous people was more than 600,000 in 2011 or approximately three percent of the total Australian population. Based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data, the highest population occurred in New South Wales and Queensland had the second largest population, which was estimated at more than quarter of the total indigenous population in 2014 (see Table 1).

Calma, T. (2008). Response to government to the national apology to the Stolen Generations. Australian Human Rights Commision.