The Process of Assimilation in Australia - Essay Example

Policy of assimilation in Australia Name University Your course name Instructor Date of submission Abstract The paper talks about how the process of assimilation was conducted in Australia. Also, how the indigenous and non indigenous people perceived assimilation in Australia. More so, the paper explains in details on how the assimilation policies impacted negatively on the Aboriginal people. On the other hand, the paper touches on the achievement of this group; the feeling of regaining their freedom and retaining their rights, both cultural and economical is also elaborated in this paper. It then concludes with the best solutions that should be implemented to solve the problems completely and ensure that the groups affected get justice from the law, and also it recommends churches to come in and intervene by helping to get a permanent solution to the matter. Introduction The term assimilation refers to another part of adaptation process that was initially proposed by Jean Piaget. Through this process of adaptation, we always take a new experience or information and incorporate them with our existing beliefs (Attwood, 2003). This process is somewhat subjective, this is seen when we try to modify information or experience so that it fits in with the pre-existing ideas. The indigenous Australians include: the Aboriginal Australians occupying the mainland Australia and the Tasmania with the Torres Strait Islanders occupying the Torres Strait close to New Guinea. These people are historically termed as the subject to racists to government policy and attitudes to community. Despite the massive shifts in the attitudes of the community, legal reforms and the many dollars in financial support, many of the indigenous people in Australia continue to suffer from consequences of British colonial period and the early decades of 20th century. The first European contact is estimated as absolute minimum pre 1788, the population of indigenous people was 315,000 as the recent archaeological findings suggested that the population of about 750,000 and over could be sustained. Policy of assimilation in Australia ` Today, Australia is a mixed society due to more than two centuries immigration product. According to the countries Laws, it forbids racial discrimination and other forms and instead protects freedom of religion. According to demographic data confirmation, an advanced pluralism level and Australians tolerance on race questions exists. For almost 50,000 years, prior the arrival of the British settlers. In 1788, the Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginal people exclusively occupied Australia. Thereafter, the British Empire introduced the European Legal law of Terra Nullius to the continent; it ignored the Australian indigenous people’s rights in their ancestral land. Furthermore, the British Empire imposed economic and political control of it in lead up to 1901 independent Australian commonwealth foundation (Haebich, 2000). Despite the theoretical notions on equality obtained within the British law, public opinion and government policy in the colonial times and the early decades of federation which treated Aboriginal people as inferior always. Initially, the indigenous Australians, in most states were deprived of full citizenship rights of new nations on grounds of race and the restrictive immigration laws that were introduced to favorite white immigrants from Europe to Australia. During the early decades of post war period, the laws discriminating against multiethnic and indigenous people immigration was dismantled. Moreover, in 1967 Referendum regarding the Aboriginal rights to land was established under the Australian Law and its early 21st century. The indigenous Australians also accounted for almost 2.5 percent of the population and own about 20 percent of the land. Also, the intense focus on historical policies impact like the doing away with mixed ethnicity Aboriginal Children from Aboriginal parent ended up in a bipartisan apology from the parliament to the Aborigines in 2008. The policies of multiculturalism are pursued in post war period and the first southern and eastern European, then the African and Asian immigration doubled dramatically and the Australia became one of most ethnically nations in earth that are diverse. Legislation included racial discrimination Act in 1975, and the common wealth Racial Hatred Act in 1995 and lastly the equal opportunity and human right commission Act in 1986 which outlawed the racial discrimination in public sphere in Australia (Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission, 1997). In the past decades, the political parties for anti-immigration e.g. the One Nation Party received extensive media coverage, however, the only marginal electoral support and the successive governments maintained multiethnic, large immigration programs. Since the invasion of Europe until to date, the policies of the government related to the Aboriginal people has been made and implemented by non-Aboriginal people. Very common justification for most of the policies for the Aborigines was that, they did it for their own good. Protection policies, self-determination, assimilation and reconciliation have been there. Up to now, none of the policies named made an Australia’s indigenous people’s condition any better than it used to be prior the invasion (Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission, 1997). When the Australians colonies was declared a federation in 1901, the white Australians believed that, Aborigines race was dying and the constitution only referred to them twice. In Australia’s constitution, section 127, Aborigines were excluded from census and part 26 of section 51 gave power over the Aborigines to states rather than to the governments federal. This went on until the Australians voted for inclusion of Aborigines in census of Australia in 1967. In 1940s, segregation and protection policies when enforced, they replaced the integration and assimilation policies. Administration of board features also included the assimilation policy implementation, and in 1950, 1951, the Aboriginal people movement to the stations that will absorb them in the community (Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission, 1997). The policies of assimilation also meant that the individual families were asked to be sharing life in towns with the whites. The earlier government relocated Aborigines community from towns to reserves. The assimilation policy was aiming at breaking the reserves by encouraging people in giving up both casual and seasonal work, and then the works were replaced with regular ones for wages that remained unequal. These stations were considered to be leeway to civilization. While Aboriginal people were espousing assimilation benefits, there was denial of basic rights by the policy even in 1960’s. it restricted them from raising their own children and stopped freedom of movement, accessing education, getting award in wages, eating in any restraint, marrying with no permission, accessing a public property or even voting (Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission, 1997). The policy of assimilation aimed to make Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian citizens "equal". Why did Indigenous Australia people view the policy of assimilation as a form of cultural genocide? Assimilation created more problems terms of justice. Relations among the police were also fuelled with the conflict between the traditional Aboriginal versus the white Australian interpretations of the law (Manne, 2001). They appeared to be direct clash with the ways used by Aboriginal to deal with disputes that result to the imprisonment for Aboriginal people who were also carrying out a traditional revenge and in some occasions, it also lead to the double punishment for the Aboriginal offenders by white and Aboriginal Law. This interference in law was received with anger, violation and hostility towards the police with the other law enforcers e.g. courts being affected also. On their part, the police also perceived the anger defensively that help in laying foundation for the future relations that are negative between the aboriginal people (Manne, 2001). The policies for education also created difficulties for many children. The desire by the government to assimilate the half-caste children by trying to give them a western based education, nevertheless, this meant very little to these children who are trying to rise to grips through their own culture and maintain their identity but never saw its purpose because of their daily practices. Many of the indigenous elders did not see any gain in sending their children in schools and at the end of it all, many of them come home unable to write or read (McGregor, 1997). They also claimed that, reading, spelling, and writing had no significance or sense when it comes to tradition for it barred children from learning about the cultural heritage which is denied since colonization. Children on the other hand experienced problems to feel comfortable in rule and routine that dominated the environment which predominantly populated with the white children (McGregor, 1997). As it used to be on the part of Aboriginal children, they were not traditionally prepared or socialized for schooling, and this worsened when others teased them of being different and racial attitudes of some parents who reinforced the views and prejudices. An important contradiction did occur during the era for protection and segregation: While Aborigines had to be protected in domains and be given shelter from the genocidal depredations, and many others being dispersed into the mainstream society (Moses, 2000). In Victoria, a different facet of genocide was going on. They half-caste were interfered and prevented from growing up among them with the habits of savage for they possess instincts, mind power and different power of mind altogether with white mans constitution (Moses, 2000). Forced assimilation meant that the forcible removal of the children from family and parents relocation to white foster parents, the white adoptive parents or special half-caste or the assimilation homes. Conclusion In conclusion , the process whereby people assimilate and intermingle between races becoming more closely identify with each other will go on in Australia with the Aborigines, migrants and the Australians born Europeans, it does not matter the adoption of the policy by the Australian governments. There was no opportunity given to the Aborigine to voice concerned opinions as to the policy it wants to be implemented. The indigenous people have in other hand denied possession of land, right to maintain its identity and culture, and participation on the future relationships with others in the country. Additionally, the new approach to assimilation policy should be implemented for respect on Aborigines community with rights to the minority (Reynolds, 2001). The group has shown the ability to be economically assimilated and share many other facets of our life trends. Some of these people have desired and also found complete identification. However, the other majority probably wish to maintain their own relationships and values. Some of these values differ according to a particular stage of Europeanization which people experience (Reynolds, 2001). They are unavoidably incompatible with our current way of life, indeed most of them can be inspiring influence. In my opinion, the responsibility of re-assessing the present government’s policies and giving the lead to the new order whereby the indigenous and Aborigine share or partners in discovery of the solution to these problems should be handed over to the Christian church. References Attwood, B. (2003). Frontier Conflict: The Australian Experience. Canberra, Australia: National Museum of Australia. Haebich, A. (2000). Broken Circles: Fragmenting Indigenous Families 1800000. Fremantle,Australia: Fremantle Arts Centre Press. Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (1997). Bringing Them Home: NationalInquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families. Sydney: Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission. Manne, R. (2001). In Denial: The Stolen Generation and the Right. Melbourne: Australian Quarterly Essay McGregor, R. (1997). Imagined Destinies: Aboriginal Australians and the Doomed Race Theory, 1880939. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press. Moses, A. (2000). An Antipodean Genocide? The Origins of the Genocidal Moment in the Colonization of Australia." Journal of Genocide Research 2:89-106. Reynolds, Henry (2001). An Indelible Stain? The Question of Genocide in Australia's History. Melbourne: Penguin. Read More