Why Did Forced Separation from the Land Have Such a Devastating Impact on Australian Aboriginal Culture?

I argue that the ideologies behind The Assimilation Policy were evident since the first white settlers had arrived in 1788. Since first contact, Aboriginal people’s values, customs, beliefs and traditional way of life began to erode. From the 1850s onwards, Aboriginal people were forced onto reserves, and then into towns and cities in the mid 20th century . Many people feared that the ‘Australian’ culture was being affected by immigrants. Since the early 1900s, there had been a ‘White Australia’ policy and assimilation was expected upon arrival. However, Aboriginal people did not immigrate, so their policy, dictated by the Australian States and Commonwealth Government was known as The Policy of Assimilation. Assimilation policies were supported by racist assumptions and represented by settler nationalist imperatives . In the 1950s, assimilation policies for Aboriginal people were supported by the

By the mid 1800's, the violence, disease and dispossession resulting from colonisation had caused a dramatic drop in the Indigenous population. For many Indigenous people, the cost of survival was very high, as they lost their culture, family, land, language and independence in the name of 'protection'.

Describe and explain Australian Indigenous people’s historical and contemporary connections to land and sea and the resources derived from them. How have settler discourses associated with colonization affected these connections to country?

During the Frontier period, Indigenous peoples resisted the non-Indigenous settlement of Australia, throughout 1770-1890. During approximately throughout the 1890’s to 1970’s, the non-Indigenous retaliations occurred, resulting in protection, segregation and the stolen generations. Which initiated an ongoing impact on Indigenous communities.

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.

How was the removal of Aboriginal Children from their families justified by the Australian Government and white society??

There is recurrent tension between the maintenance of Indigenous culture and essentially assimilating to the rules and regulations of the predominantly white society in Australia (Dockrey, 2010). Australia’s Aboriginal culture represented the oldest surviving culture in the world (Aboriginal culture, 2017). The traditions include having at least 270 different language groups and 500 dialects in the indigenous community (Shareourpride.org.au, n.d). The vast amount of languages and dialects were present to represent the intellect of Indigenous Australians. Language is a strong aspect of Indigenous culture as it connects and influences many Indigenous tribes as it is their form of communication. The environment also connects aboriginal people spiritually to their land and provides them with a sense of identity (Jackson 1999). Although there were many different groups and clans in the past, the tribes fighting over the land was a rare occurrence (Treatyrepublic.net 1996). This showcases the connection and respect they exhibited for the land and maintaining structure was their main priority. Additionally common law was a way that Indigenous Australians could preserve the ecosystem and cultural integrity, through their spiritual and emotional connection with the land (Langton 1996, p.10). However due to the colonization, there was less formal acknowledgement for Indigenous

These cultural concepts have all been threatened beyond measure in the last couple of centuries due to the invasion of Australia by European Colonists in 1788. Disposession, massacre and the forcible removal or Indigenous children from their families are just some examples of the atrocities committed against the Indigenous peoples and their culture. Following colonisation, systematic massacre of Indigenous people followed with the conscious introduction of new

This make them to be most disadvantage in our society. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have experienced social, cultural, economic, legal and political discrimination. They had experience dislocation and dispossession from their traditional land and culture. Some of them had loss of traditional languages. They are being separate from children and families. They were forbidden to speak in their own language or to practice their culture. There were laws that limiting their rights. Many had died through the disease that was brought by the European colonial. They have suffer physically, mentally and socially abuse as a result of these historical issues (Wikipedia

Research an aspect of Australian history (e.g. policy, practice) and outline the ways in which this aspect has impacted on Aboriginal people and Aboriginal education.

Dockery (2010), points out that the effects of dispossession on the Aboriginal people have been overwhelmingly detrimental. The loss of land has destroyed cultural significance and the ability to fulfill their spiritual responsibilities has been lost.

Throughout this unit I learned about the cultural loss that Indigenous Australians suffered, which lead to poor health outcomes along with poor social, emotional and mental wellbeing amongst Indigenous Australian population. Culture is part of our identity, which makes us who we are. Therefore culture is an important aspect of each individual. Culture is a unique way to make sense of the world; it is both material and ideological (Eckermann et al., 2010). Culture impacts all part of life including; health, illness and health care. It is important for health professionals to understand and work with the culture of Indigenous Australians to create a good health outcome. Through stolen generation, colonisation and the loss of land, language and community, the culture of Indigenous Australians faded. At the start of this unit, I wasn’t aware of all the damage that was done to Indigenous Australians and their community. I understand more about my culture as well as culture security and Aboriginal culture. I can understand what it feels to be separated from family and it feels as though some part of you is missing but to be separated from everything that is familiar and to be told that no one wants you is terrible. Now at the end of this unit, I still don’t fully understand the extend of the damage that has been made nor do I entirely understand what Indigenous Australians suffered and are still suffering but I do understand that this can be changed and that I can make a

In 1788 the first Fleet arrived in Australia bringing European soldierse, convicts and settlers. This bought aboriginals in contact with white people for the first time. Some aboriginal groups tried to resist this occupation and they used violence and force the archive it. This essay will explain why that resistance was justified by examining the causes, identifying some examples of Indigenous resistance and will assess short and long term effects of this conflict.

The process of colonisation by European powers, as might be expected, has had a radical effect on Aboriginal culture. The settlers viewed the natives as barbarians, seizing tribal land and, in many cases, following a policy of pacification by force. Many others died of disease, starvation, cultural dislocation and neglect. Today, there are fewer than 230,000 Aborigines in Australia, less than 2% of the population.

Aborigines experience a loss of culture and therefore a loss of identity as they no longer have a home to return to. “We are as strangers here now, but the white tribe are the strangers” (9). Clearly they are now strangers on the land in which their ancestors lived. Colonization has destroyed their traditional ways