Australia’s Stolen Generation was a traumatizing event that took place starting in the early 1700’s and continues on to this very day. This situation is one where children were unjustifiably taken from their families and culture. This tragedy is perceived differently by two factions. The Australian government, viewing it as the protection of innocent souls from unfit living conditions. The Aboriginal population, on the other hand, views it as the government attempting to control their every move, to sooner or later get rid of them. In the meantime forcing them into homes that will educate them and their children to live the “white man’s” way. This is a recipe for disaster because the government is assuming that people will easily adapt to
…show more content…
As Tom Dystra, an aborigine, states ‘we cultivated our land, but in a way different from the white man. We endeavored to live with the land; they seemed to live off it. I was taught to preserve, never to destroy.’ Land, to the aboriginal people, is not just dirt and rock, it is the fundamental key to the wellbeing of everyone and everything. Aboriginal people are excellent trackers, moving from one place to the next, finding resources, that’s how they’ve always lived (Korff, 2015).
An aboriginal life was a fulfilling life, something that they had always known, something they prayed would never change. That was until it did. In the early 1700’s European settlers ventured into Australia. Much like the history of the British and Indians in the U.S. Indigenous people were forced from place to place. They began taking land that was claimed by Aborigines. Dated as far back as the 1790’s, children began to be taken and put to labor (Film, …show more content…
“Providing” housing, stores, and schools. This idea comforted the people knowing something was being done about their land, but staying in one place was unappealing. Their land had been taken away from them, and they had been homeless for selfish reasons on behalf of the European settlers. Now they were getting land, but land that would make them stay stationary, creating even more complications with resources. History and culture fought to push the idea from the people’s minds. But how could they toss this “offer” aside? Finally something is done, but it would never be like before. Refusing the offer would only escalate to not getting any justice for Aboriginal heritage (Holz,
As Tom Dystra, an aborigine, states ‘we cultivated our land, but in a way different from the white man. We endeavored to live with the land; they seemed to live off it. I was taught to preserve, never to destroy.’ Land, to the aboriginal people, is not just dirt and rock, it is the fundamental key to the wellbeing of everyone and everything. Aboriginal people are excellent trackers, moving from one place to the next, finding resources, that’s how they’ve always lived (Korff, 2015).
An aboriginal life was a fulfilling life, something that they had always known, something they prayed would never change. That was until it did. In the early 1700’s European settlers ventured into Australia. Much like the history of the British and Indians in the U.S. Indigenous people were forced from place to place. They began taking land that was claimed by Aborigines. Dated as far back as the 1790’s, children began to be taken and put to labor (Film, …show more content…
“Providing” housing, stores, and schools. This idea comforted the people knowing something was being done about their land, but staying in one place was unappealing. Their land had been taken away from them, and they had been homeless for selfish reasons on behalf of the European settlers. Now they were getting land, but land that would make them stay stationary, creating even more complications with resources. History and culture fought to push the idea from the people’s minds. But how could they toss this “offer” aside? Finally something is done, but it would never be like before. Refusing the offer would only escalate to not getting any justice for Aboriginal heritage (Holz,