Australia is a multicultural society with 2.5% identified as Indigenous (ABS, 2012). When Europeans colonized Australia in 1788 they called it ‘terra nullius’, which means empty land. The Indigenous Australians were denied any legal claims to the land and classified as part of the fauna. They had to deal with disease, violence, forced relocations and their children were taken and adopted out to white families. It took until 1967 to be recognized as citizens and receive the right to vote. Despite this progress, Indigenous Australians are still more disadvantaged than non-indigenous Australians, so much that they are sometimes called ‘fourth world people’. They experience significant disadvantages in a range of social aspects that reflect generations of neglect by the government (Aberdeen, Carter, Grogan & Hollinsworth, 2013).
But not only the government sees the Indigenous Australians as subordinates, casual racism – or everyday racism – is very common. It’s a subtle …show more content…
When scanning through the daily news articles, you can find many examples of Indigenous Australians that have to deal with racial discrimination. In 2008, there was a group of non-Aboriginal youth getting around calling themselves the KAC (Kill All Coons). This incited racial hatred and intensified the violence (Ferguson, Koori Mail, 2008).
Another example is the racial experience from 17 year old Tjimarri. He’s a young Aboriginal sports player and when he first joined a club six years ago with his two cousins, they were too shy to participate immediately. They sat down watching, but then a parent member called the police complaining that they were ‘hanging around the club probably looking to go through people’s bags.” Seeing Aboriginal kids at an Australian football club made her assume that they were there to steal and they wre not members of the club (Sanderson-Milera, Koori Mail,
But not only the government sees the Indigenous Australians as subordinates, casual racism – or everyday racism – is very common. It’s a subtle …show more content…
When scanning through the daily news articles, you can find many examples of Indigenous Australians that have to deal with racial discrimination. In 2008, there was a group of non-Aboriginal youth getting around calling themselves the KAC (Kill All Coons). This incited racial hatred and intensified the violence (Ferguson, Koori Mail, 2008).
Another example is the racial experience from 17 year old Tjimarri. He’s a young Aboriginal sports player and when he first joined a club six years ago with his two cousins, they were too shy to participate immediately. They sat down watching, but then a parent member called the police complaining that they were ‘hanging around the club probably looking to go through people’s bags.” Seeing Aboriginal kids at an Australian football club made her assume that they were there to steal and they wre not members of the club (Sanderson-Milera, Koori Mail,