...INAC, the term for Aboriginal peoples is defined as: “a collective name for the original peoples of North America and their descendants. The Canadian constitution recognizes three groups of Aboriginal people: Indians (commonly referred to as First Nations), Métis and Inuit. These are three distinct peoples with unique histories, languages, cultural practices and spiritual beliefs. More than one million people in Canada identify themselves as an Aboriginal person, according to the 2006 Census.” (Indigenous Nationhood) Although many Aboriginal peoples in Canada identify as being Aboriginal, many Aboriginal peoples struggle to maintain or gain a sense of cultural identity due to the Canadian Governments assimilation policies. Throughout this paper I will discuss how the Indian Act, the Canadian Residential School System, and the Sixties Scoop assimilated Aboriginal peoples into a European way of life, by attempting to integrate them into society by abolishing their Aboriginal identities. This assimilation process impacted Aboriginal peoples in negative ways throughout the generations socially, culturally, and economically. The negative impacts within child welfare system, educational institutions, and the socio-economic status of Aboriginal peoples today, prove assimilation and the total integration of Aboriginal peoples within mainstream society is unacceptable. Decolonization techniques should be applied within those areas in order combat the long lasting effects of assimilation by...
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...The continuing effect of dispossession on Aboriginal Spiritualties Impact of dispossession is enormous and overwhelmingly detrimental The impact of dispossession for Aboriginal people has been enormous and overwhelmingly detrimental. Broadly speaking, the history of dispossession can be divided into three key stages. Firstly, the colonial period of non-recognition, which were marked by the introduction of terminal European diseases, shootings, massacres and poisonings. This was then secondly followed by the Paternalistic policy of protection, which began in the mid 1880s. This was followed by the equally detrimental Policy of assimilation, which began in the mid-twentieth century. As a part of and spanning across the official Government policies of Protection and Assimilation, are the dark episodes of the Stolen Generation. The term Stolen Generation refers to the mass removal of Australian Aboriginal children from their families by Government agencies and church missions between 1900 and 1972. Impact of dispossession on Aboriginal spirituality Two centuries of dispossession have had a devastatingly destructive effect upon Aboriginal Spirituality. Most significantly, the separation from land as a result of dispossession is tantamount to a loss of identity, since the Dreaming, which is central to Aboriginal spirituality, is inextricably connected to the land. The loss of land as a result of dispossession leads to the ever-present burden of not being able to fulfil ritual responsibilities...
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...culture, tradition and languages. * Balance rites – Aboriginal rituals that aim to make a supernatural connection with ancestral beings from the dreaming * Crown land – Public land owned by the commonwealth of Australia and managed by Australian government * Dispossession – The forced removal of aboriginal people from their native land. * Dreaming – Aboriginal spiritual beliefs about creation and existence. The dreaming establishes the rules governing relationships between people, land and all things for Aboriginal people. It links together the past, present and future. * Freehold title – Absolute and permanent ownership of the land. * Half-castes – An offensive term referring to a person of mixed decent or ethnicity. * Land rites – Property rights pertaining to land. * Meta-temporal – the trinity of the past, present and future. * Native title – Form of land title, which recognises aboriginal people as rightful owners of their traditional land. * Protection policy – official government policy stating in the late 19th century. Removed aboriginal people from unsuitable environments and placed them under the protection of the state. * Sacred sites – Places of spiritual significance to Aboriginal people as they are connected with ancestor beings from the dreaming, they are places where rituals such as initiation and balance rites are performed. * Stolen generations – Aboriginal children who were removed from their homes between 1900...
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...responsibility and its duty of care towards the Indigenous Australian people. Background Aboriginals Australians are technically the first people who lived in Australia. Australian Aboriginals were basically the hunters who used to eat the animals they caught and were also considered as gatherers of plants which could be eaten. Some of these groups then settled on the islands and are now called as Torres Strait Islander People. 1. Foundational Aspects of Indigenous Australian Cultures (the dreaming and economic organisation) The term dreaming is a spiritual or a regional perception which not only goes back to the creation of the events but it also grasps the present...
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...removing Aboriginal children from their families.’ To what extent do you agree with this statement The Stolen Generation has had a traumatic effect on Aboriginal people, their identities and links with their Aboriginal culture. These tremendous effects are still continuing towards the Aboriginal society through the policies and practices that were in place at the time. The Stolen Generation destroyed numerous Aboriginals lives. The damage done to them has not been redeemed, even after many years. Beginning in the 1830's and ending in the early 1970's, many children were taken from their families in an attempt to eradicate the Aboriginal race and culture, ordered by the Australian Government at the time. The Government’s policies and practices regarding the removal of children, their treatment and the continuing effects cannot be resolved, despite the occurrence of the National Inquiry. The Australian Government's policy and practice of removing aboriginal children from their families was in place throughout the country during the 1830's until the 1970's. There was a massive impact on Aboriginals with one particular policy the Australian Government introduced, the policy of ˜Assimilation'. This policy encouraged many Aboriginal people to give up their traditional lifestyle, move in white Australian towns and cities, were made it forget their culture and language and basically were expected to become white Australians. Unfortunately this policy did not give Aboriginals the same...
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...These six Aboriginal Rns would have two major issues to begin their new career. One initial problem would be there being ex-students and new to the professional field of nursing. Being ex-students’ becomes quite an issue for new RNs. Acceptance by more experienced staff in the field, still treated as students and not fully accepted as RNs. These newly qualified RNs have to prove themselves to other staff. A difficult burden to carry when attempting to learn the new system, get to know different staff as well as give an efficient and effective nursing service to patients. This occurs when they are acknowledged, their demonstrated skills, education, training and form professional relationships. Raises another issue in our study as the new RNs are of local Aboriginal network and culture, working in a Western based medical system. We are informed that the Indigenous groups were pleased with the concept of nursing being given by same culture nurses, in fact they were asked for rather than the non Indigenous patients. This of course would give some positive feedback and acceptance for the new RNs. It is likely that some non Indigenous staff would not appreciate this, it causing some envy and further thoughts and treatment of the Aboriginal groups as ‘other’ holding consequences for them. Whilst others may appreciate knowledge of the local indigenous population. Such non acceptance demonstrates that although they have joined the system they are officially ‘in’ they have not been accepted...
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...winning, people leaving when there singing. Taxi. Maybe the tappware party * Vietnam- the aboriginals and the black solider in the helicoopperter. Sapphires essay Rights were a massive issue in the 1968. There were major event all around the world to do with rights but many people over look Australia. In Australia people were still furious over the stolen generation and the effects, and even though the 1967 referendum allowed aboriginals to be counted in the national census, there was still great disprove of aboriginals. The sapphires does accurately reflect the social and political issues of the time. Through the stolen generation, 1967 referendum and the war in Vietnam you see that laws are one thing but acceptance is another. The sapphires shows that there was many social and political issues at that time. One major political and social issue is the treatment of the aboriginals by the white people. Even with the 1967 referendum which allowed aboriginals be counted in the national census, you would think that aboriginals would be treated better. But they didn’t and you see this when the three girls go to the talent show. When they first enter everyone stares at them, looking at them like there from another planet. Then again when they start singing and the people get up and leave. But it goes on because at the end of the show some girl who can’t sing gets first place even though the girls are better. This is a prime example of the treatment of aboriginals at that...
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...Knowing who you are is an essential part of understanding how you fit into society. For most, understanding who you are is based on an understanding of where you come from (Wagamese, 1993). Many Aboriginal people identity themselves by their band, family, or nation which allows them to show historical roots and connection to their ancestral land. Others use their matrilineal or patrilineal genealogy to connect them to a nation or traditional territory. Regardless of the connection, this ability to identify with a community has deeper significance than merely labelling oneself, it serves as a reminder of one's spiritual connection to land, culture, and traditions, and helps to solidify one's self-concept (First Nations Studies Program [FNSP],...
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...has been growing concern and controversy about the over-representation of Aboriginals within the Criminal Justice System, a considerable problem that has been found to be more even extreme with Aboriginals female offenders. For Aboriginal women the rates of incarceration are particularly disturbing. Aboriginal women are over-represented in the federal prison system. They represent only 4% of the women in Canada yet account for 32% of the women in federal prisons. The number of Aboriginal women federally incarcerated has increased by 151% between 1997 and 2006 (Elizabeth Fry Society, 4). Aboriginal women are not only disproportionately over-represented but also the fastest growing population sentenced to federal prisons. The over-representation is even more pronounced in terms of Aboriginal women incarceration rates: As of April 2010, Aboriginal women accounted for 32.6% of the total female offender population (SOURCE 5). This means that one out of every three women federally incarcerated is of Aboriginal descent (Correctional Service Canada, 2009/2010, at 18). Furthermore they are over-represented in the maximum security prison population, making up 45% of the maximum security federally sentenced women, 44% of the medium security population and 18% of minimum security women in 2006 (Elizabeth Fry Society, 4). The justice system has played a major role in the creation of poor social conditions in Aboriginal communities today. It has failed to provide them with protection against...
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...Aboriginal Rights What are Aboriginal rights? Aboriginal rights are collective rights which flow from Aboriginal peoples’ continued use and occupation of certain areas. They are inherent rights which Aboriginal peoples have practiced and enjoyed since before European contact. Because each First Nation has historically functioned as a distinct society, there is no one official overarching Indigenous definition of what these rights are. Although these specific rights may vary between Aboriginal groups, in general they include rights to the land, rights to subsistence resources and activities, the right to self-determination and self-government, and the right to practice one’s own culture and customs including language and religion. Aboriginal rights have not been granted from external sources but are a result of Aboriginal peoples’ own occupation of their home territories as well as their ongoing social structures and political and legal systems. As such, Aboriginal rights are separate from rights afforded to non-Aboriginal Canadian citizens under Canadian common law. European Settlement and Aboriginal struggles Aboriginal people have a long and proud history that includes rich cultural and spiritual traditions. Many of these traditions, however, were altered or even taken away upon the arrival of European settlers. The forced introduction of European culture and values to Aboriginal societies, the dispossession of Aboriginal lands, and the imposition of alien modes of governance...
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...submissions that ‘…sentencing courts should take into account the “unique circumstances of all Aboriginal offenders” as relevant to the moral culpability of an individual Aboriginal offender,’ and that ‘…courts should take into account the high rate of incarceration of Aboriginal Australians when sentencing an Aboriginal offender.’ The grant of special leave in, Bugmy v The Queen had provided occasion for the High Court to rule on the significance of Indigenous background in sentencing in relation to other sentencing considerations. The analysis will consider the elements of...
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...imposed policies that would change the way of life for Aboriginal people forever. When settlers first arrived on the shores of what is now called Botany Bay, they failed to see a people of rich culture, with an intricate kinship system and highly developed system of customary law. Instead they set out to degrade Aboriginal cultures and deny the existence of custodial ownership of the land (Newbury, 1999, p. 25). Over the next two hundred years, the government would introduce a number of policies that would continue this destructive ideal and aim to control Indigenous people, including their culture, beliefs and movements across the country. Although these policies had a major effect on Indigenous people there are many stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people resisting the European invasion. Captain James Cook landed on the east coast of Australia, specifically in Botany Bay, home of the Eora people and claimed possession under the doctrine of ‘terra nullius’. British law at the time stated that Britain could only take possession of another country if it was not inhabited or through negotiation or war. The British ignored these laws, invading and settling on Aboriginal land (NSW Education and Communities, 2013, para. 1). British settlers went about removing trees, reducing availability of food and other resources, brought in livestock which contaminated the waterways and forced the Indigenous peoples off their spiritual land. Many settlers also used violent...
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...colonisation of Australia, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are wary of white institutions and social welfare’ (Chenoweth & McAuliffe 2012, p.274). Identify and discuss one or two of the historical events that have impacted on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and how the effects can be seen today. This paper aims to discuss how the assimilation policy and forced separation of Indigenous children from their families and culture has affected the mental health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. A significant undertone of the assimilation policy is racial discrimination (Haebich 2001), which is an additional theme explored in this discussion. Racial discrimination is built on a belief of superiority that one race is better than the other (Khalafzai 2009, p.10), which is relevant to the actions of the assimilation policy; the Aboriginal culture was devalued and considered barbaric and inappropriate to the modern colonist nation (Haebich 2001). Victims of the forced separation suffered severe psychological consequences (Petchkovsky et al. 2004), which to this day, haunt and affect the lives of many Indigenous Australians (Koolmatrie & Williams 2000). Furthermore, remnants of the past are still seen present time, through the discriminating treatment of Indigenous Australians, adversely impacting on their health, mentally and physically (Khalafzai 2009, pp.10-11). The forced removal of Aboriginal children from their families...
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...This paper will explore the roles that gender and feminism plays alongside other determinants to affect the health status of Aboriginal Canadian women. Determinants of health refer to the circumstances in which people are born, live, grow, work, and age, that are responsible for most of the health inequalities that exist. Common determinants contributing to sub-par health status include: early child development, education, income, employment, social and physical environment, personal health practices and coping skills, access to health services, racism, and gender. These determinants work alongside Aboriginal-specific determinants like cultural identity, self-determination, and colonialism to create significant health discrepancies compared to non-Aboriginal Canadians. Aboriginal women are at an even greater disadvantage because of the role gender plays on top of the other determinants. The term gender refers to the socially constructed perceptions of feminine and masculine and is not to be confused with sex, which refers to the biological differences between men and women (Steckley and Letts 2010). While the two are different concepts, they are closely related and do influence each other because while biology may condition behaviour, it is in turn conditioned by the social environment (Halseth 2013). Health is also a social construct and issue, rather than simply a medical and technical problem associated with body parts and their functions. Because it is defined by and shaped...
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...The years 1788-1850 saw the much debated Aboriginal resistance to white settlement most commonly known as the ‘Australian Frontier Warfare’. It is important not to imply the traditional definitions of warfare in the western world to that of the Aboriginal warfare. Aborigines were not resisting white settlement for economic or political reasons and their non-hierarchical society meant it impossible to unite against the British invasion. It has been documented that initial encounters between these two groups were relatively peaceful. The Aborigines viewed the British as enemies with whom accommodation was possible. It is clearly apparent now to understand the inevitability of these two vastly different cultures trying to live together as one ending in violence. With such different beliefs as to the use of land, water, animals and women and the declaration of terra nullis we can start to explore the events that led up to and continuing through the Aboriginal resistance. The more significant events that occurred were that of The Hawkesbury-Nepean River 1795-1816, The Cape Grim Massacre, Van Diemen’s Land and the Hornet Creek Massacre in 1857. The declaration of Terra Nullis being ordered in Australia caused a rippling affect although not felt straight away. ” A land that until its settlement in 1788 lacked human habitation, law, government or history.” The British saw the land as theirs for the taking as it had not been subject to houses, villages, crops, domesticated animals...
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