Preview

Indigenous Relationships In Australia Research Paper

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1068 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Indigenous Relationships In Australia Research Paper
How do ongoing Government/Indigenous relationships illustrate history’s relevance to contemporary Australian politics?

The current political scene in Australia has the following Indigenous aspects that have been issues for Australians for many years. These are: land rights, education, employment, health and breakdown of culture. These are the main matters of concern politically.

‘So it is like people say, “Trust me. I’m from the government.”
Well, it doesn’t carry any water with our mob’. ( Koori elder, cited in Kaplan-Myrth, Nili, 2005)
Recognising that Aborigines and Torres Strait islanders were the First Peoples of Australia and entitled to land rights because of their own culture and laws is a significant part of history and …show more content…
The 1901 Australian Constitution stated that Australian Aboriginals and Torres Straight Islanders were not counted in the census thus affirming lack of recognition. 1905, the White Australia policy restricted immigration and still failed to recognise Australia’s original inhabitants (Macintyre, 2009). Different Aboriginal Community and Protection acts were enforced which removed children from their parents (stolen generations) and made the Indigenous people wards of the state. The instigation of the Assimilation policy, 1937, where it was presumed that all Australians in time would be living like white Australians, exasperated the loss of identity. Even the history of conflict between Indigenous and the military is under debate as Keith Windschuttle argued the numbers of Indigenous killed in battles were considerably fewer than some historians estimate (Harris, J. …show more content…
(1998). Government and the Colonial Economies. In Australian Economic History Review, 38 (1), 74-101.
Harris, J. (2003). Hiding the bodies: the myth of the humane colonisation of Aboriginal Australia. Aboriginal history, 27, 79-101.
Kaplan-Myrth, Nili.(2005). Sorry Mates: Reconciliation and Self-Determination in Australian Aboriginal Health. Human Rights Review, Jul-Sep, 6(4),69-83. Macintyre, S. (2009) A Concise history of Australia (3rd ed.), Melbourne: Cambridge University
Perkins, R. (2009). SBS Television. ‘A fair deal for a dark race’, Episode 6, the First Australians; retrieved from http://www.sbs.com.au/firstaustralians/index/index/epid/6
Perkins, R. (2009). SBS Television. 'We are no longer Shadows ', Episode 7, the First Australians; retrieved fromhttp://www.sbs.com.au/firstaustralians/index/index/epid/7r deal for a dark race | Sunday 16 May at 8:30pm
Singleton, Aitkin, Jinks, Warhurst. (2013). Australian Political Institutions. (10th Ed.). Pearson
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    David Mercer's On-Going Debate Surrounding Indigenous Australians?
    • 273 Words
    • 2 Pages

    David Mercer's On-Going Debate Surrounding Indigenous Australians?

    In this journal article Mercer, discusses the on-going debate surrounding Indigenous Australians land rights claims from the mid-1980s onwards. He then goes on to discuss that the law surrounding land always adhered to the principles of Governor Bourke’s’ Proclamation, until the landmark decision handed down in the Mabo case. However, he concludes that in regard to political climate little else has been done in the advancement of land rights’ legislation in regard to the Indigenous Australian population. He also provides a comparison between how Australia and Canada have responded to Indigenous claims of land, saying that Canada has acted far…

    • 273 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Margaret Atwood and Noel Pearson
    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Margaret Atwood and Noel Pearson

    Noel Pearson’s “An Australian History for us all” in late 1996, emphasises the significance of context, audience and purpose in determining a speech. Pearson’s speech challenges PM Howard’s reluctance to apologise for the past colonial mistreatment of Australia’s indigenous- at a University Club dinner. “I fear that I am in danger of indulging in agonising navel- gazing about who we are.” Pearson’s piercing sarcasm and antagonising tone satirises that those who seek reconciliation and who do not share the same “black armband view” of Aboriginal history as Howard, are publicly seen as culturally over- indulging and self-absorbed. The speaker further contrasts popular perceptions in Australian culture- where he describes those who believe “the victims should get over it,” and those who are “willing to alleviate your present condition.” Pearson effectively contrasts both groups in society to reflect the moral infidelities of the former group in the modern context. Pearson’s aggressive tone and wide vocabulary lulls his well-informed, educated…

    • 937 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    extention history
    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages

    extention history

    Traditional Australian history initially involves accounts of the indigenous peoples and British encounters with them tainted with imperialism and racial superiority from popular racial viewpoints amongst British citizens. Many British official records were written conscious of their role in history and with the aim of maintaining a positive view of the British Empire, no records of the indigenous people exist, accept for those written through a British lense. This traditional history appears to take on a British “monotone” as it does not allow a place for other viewpoints.…

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Maddison Argumentative Analysis
    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Maddison Argumentative Analysis

    This argument analysis examines the article Recognise What? Problems with the campaign for constitutional recognition (Maddison, 2017). Published in the May/June issue of the Indigenous Law Bulletin, Maddison describes the process to recognise Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders as the first people of Australia in the constitution. The article explains this process through several accounts, resistance to the campaign and the role of the ‘Recognise’ campaign. Throughout the article, Maddison argues that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders should be recognised as the first people of Australia while acknowledging the problems with the campaign. The analysis will identify the main claims, evidence used to support these claims and the assumptions made by the author. Maddison uses several forms of evidence to support her 3 main claims and the underlying assumptions.…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Mabo Decision
    • 1155 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Mabo Decision

    Since 1918, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders (ATSI) have achieved a great deal of change in both political and social ways, though it was not without struggle. Many of these achievements are derived from several events, such as the Mabo Decision which was the long battle that lead to the recognition of Aboriginal land rights. Other events also contributed, such as the long process of reconciling the relationships between ATSI peoples and Australians, the Bringing Them Home Report which helped lead to the Apology. All of these events are important in Aboriginal culture as they all inspired change in the Australian community.…

    • 1155 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Myall Creek Massacre
    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Myall Creek Massacre

    In the early days of the European settlement of Australia, especially during the 1800’s, it was common for large numbers of Aboriginal people (men, women and children) to be massacred by the white settlers, including by police and soldiers. Most of these were not reported and were known to only a few people. Therefore, there was no action taken to punish the offenders and indeed, there was approval from most white settlers and government officials for this to continue to happen. The Myall Creek massacre in 1838 proved to be a turning point in such attitudes.…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Myall Creek Massacre
    • 1288 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Myall Creek Massacre

    On the 10th June 1838, twelve armed stockman rode onto Henry Dangar’s property at Myall Creek in Northern NSW, near Bingara, and rounded up, like animals, twenty eight friendly Aboriginal, elderly men, women and children. These were the relatives of the Aboriginal men who were working with the station manager, William…

    • 1288 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Module a Speeches Essay
    • 988 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Module a Speeches Essay

    Noel Pearson’s address rivets the need to recognize discrimination and seize responsibility for the mistreatment of Indigenous Australians in the name of justice and morality. In the promotion of these imperative values, he argues that the pathway to reconciliation requires an acknowledgement of the Aboriginal abuse that has created lasting effects, including the 1996 Wik Decision which inverted the previous success of the Mabo Case. Pearson reiterates the need to acknowledge the past, present and future by alluding to several figures such as then-Prime Minister, John Howard. He promotes justice though the misconception of guilt, repeated throughout the speech, by condemning the Prime Minister through his own words, ‘of course we treated Aboriginals very, very badly in the past –…

    • 988 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    No Sugar
    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages

    No Sugar

    Throughout Australian history a racist attitude towards Aboriginals has been a significant issue. The instant the early settlers arrived on our shores and colonised, the Aboriginals have been fighting for the survival of their culture. The Aboriginals haven been take in and dominated to bring them in line with an idealistic European society. These themes have been put forward by Jack Davis in his stage play, No Sugar, the story of an Aboriginal family's fight for survival during the Great Depression years.…

    • 755 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Symbolic Reconciliation In Australia
    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Symbolic Reconciliation In Australia

    The referendum was a massive achievement for Indigenous Australians with 90% of the Australian population voting Yes for these two parts of the Australian Constitution to be over ruled and changed. Although this was a major event in the reconciliation process to bringing non indigenous and indigeonous people together it would be naive to think that this eradicated the racism and discrimination all together. These significant and monumental events in the history of reconciliation in Australia were significant cornerstones in the development of justice, rights and equality however the transition period was often challenging for the indigenous Australians as they had to adjust to a culturally different way of life. This was often not recognised within the Australian community causing confusion and further divide in the way in which the Australian public view and thought reconciliation consisted of. The referendum however provided a platform of hope for the future of reconciliation in Australia as it symbolised a political step towards rights and justice for the indigenous…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The End from the Begining
    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The End from the Begining

    The Article the end from the beginning re (de)finding Aboriginality written by Michael Dodson explores the notions on how Aboriginal people have been represented and perceived by the early settlers. Michael Dodson makes a critique on the language from previous historians. They Mention in the beginning that the Aboriginal people were seen as Noble savages from the prehistoric beasts, blood thirsty, cunning ferocious” that they even fell in the classification of blood types which gives an idea of an animal like classification, scientific based and based purely on Age and descent. ( Dodson, 2003: 19-20). Michael Dodson Argues the question as to how can the colonisers understand all the aspects of the indigenous people if they haven’t actually experienced it first hand? He also stresses on the importance of the Aboriginal voice and how it’s actually excluded in the society that they need to speak back.…

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On The Impact Of Protest On Aboriginals Rights
    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Essay On The Impact Of Protest On Aboriginals Rights

    The treatment of Indigenous Australians by the government has been an issue of controversy since White Europeans settled in Australia. Throughout history Aboriginals have developed and hosted many protests, sometimes with the help of the White Europeans that wanted to make a difference to get back rights and freedoms of Aboriginals.…

    • 1104 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Aboriginal Warfare in Australia
    • 1336 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Aboriginal Warfare in Australia

    From the time that Europeans landed in Australia ‘Pastoralists were pushing into Indigenous territory, robbing Aboriginal people of the land they had lived on and nurtured for thousands of years. ‘But Aboriginal communities did not just stand by as the land which they had formed rich bonds with, both spiritually and physically, was taken from their hands. Through a mixture of fear and hatred of the Aboriginals, European settlers engaged in many brutal clashes with them to attempt to seize their land. The Myall Creek massacre and the genocide that occurred in Van Diemens land are two prominent examples of the vicious and inhumane treatment of Aboriginals and the story of Pemulwuy is a reminder of the courage shown that was shown in adversity by many Aboriginal people.…

    • 1336 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Impact Of Assimilation On Aboriginals
    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Impact Of Assimilation On Aboriginals

    Beginning in 1910 and ending in the 1970s, Australians Federal and State government agencies and church missions made a policy to forcibly take many aboriginal and Torres Strait children away from their families in an attempt to destroy the Aboriginal race and culture. There was an impact on the aboriginals with a particular policy the Australian Government had introduced, which was the policy of ‘Assimilation’. This policy was to encourage many Aboriginal people to give up their culture, language, tradition, knowledge and spirituality to basically become white Australians. Unfortunately this policy didn’t give the Aboriginals the same rights as white Australians, as a result of discrimination, aboriginals were moved to live in special housing…

    • 268 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    History of Australia
    • 1433 Words
    • 6 Pages

    History of Australia

    Australia is a country known for its surf beaches, koalas, and kangaroos, the Great Barrier Reef, iconic laid back lifestyles and much more. But how did this unique country and continent down under begin, and become what it is today? Aboriginals themselves have existed in Australia on the land for an estimated 60,000 years. Recently, their diverse and complex history as truly been discovered. Dispersed throughout Australia, there were 600 tribes spread out, all living off the land, and content. Their whole world turned upside down when the European settlers came and began to make their stake on the land.…

    • 1433 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More