The settlement of British colonialists in Australia had massive impact to the local indigenous people mainly the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders. Prior to the arrival of the colonialists, the indigenous people had distinct cultural beliefs and practice especially the value of family ties. The main source of food was hunting and gathering for the Aboriginals and fishing for the Torres Strait Islanders where clans hunted and gathered as a team for their families. The indigenous people also owned land and property. This was however altered after the arrival and settlement of the British colonialists. During the process of the British settlement, many Aboriginals lost their lives and displaced to places far away from their ancestral lands.
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Loss of belonging is another characteristic of the protection period as the aboriginals were forced to abandon their traditions and adopt the new culture of the colonialists which the government described as the suitable way of ensuring that all the Australians believed in one culture. Taking the children away from their parents with an excuse of protecting them is another factor that characterize this era as a period marked with anxiety and fear both for the children and the parents. Girls were mostly sent to Cootamundra girls home while the boys were sent to Kinchella boys home where they received basic training in domestic work and farm laboring and later sent to work for the wealthy homes in Sydney. As Jenifer narrates in ‘Bringing them Home’ parent were snatched their right to be with their children and yet they had no right to protest against such decisions. For instance, the Aboriginals Act 1905 and the Aborigines Protection amending Act (1915) give the police officers and the protection officers the right to take away children from their aboriginal parents without necessarily producing evidence that they were being neglected. This rendered the native defenseless in protecting the guardianship of their children as the government had full authority over …show more content…
Colonialists regarded the culture and traditions of the indigenous people as barbaric and unacceptable, thus there was a need to enact policies aimed at eradicating the natives’ culture and way of life. One of the strategies that the colonialists used was to prohibit the full blood aborigines to practice their traditional way of life while at the mission or government settlements. They were instead required to learn the new culture taught by the protectors. In addition, the indigenous people of different communities characterized with different cultural beliefs and traditions were forced to live together in the reserves and as a result, indigenous people turned against each other. This was of benefit to the colonialists as the conflicts between local communities was an opportunity for them to enact strict laws as a way of punishing violent culprits as well as forcing the local people to adopt to a unified European culture which was civilized. Secondly, separation of the children from their parents at a young age was a strategy that the colonialists’ used to prevent the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people from passing their beliefs to the upcoming generations, thus ensuring that the children grow up with the new European
Loss of belonging is another characteristic of the protection period as the aboriginals were forced to abandon their traditions and adopt the new culture of the colonialists which the government described as the suitable way of ensuring that all the Australians believed in one culture. Taking the children away from their parents with an excuse of protecting them is another factor that characterize this era as a period marked with anxiety and fear both for the children and the parents. Girls were mostly sent to Cootamundra girls home while the boys were sent to Kinchella boys home where they received basic training in domestic work and farm laboring and later sent to work for the wealthy homes in Sydney. As Jenifer narrates in ‘Bringing them Home’ parent were snatched their right to be with their children and yet they had no right to protest against such decisions. For instance, the Aboriginals Act 1905 and the Aborigines Protection amending Act (1915) give the police officers and the protection officers the right to take away children from their aboriginal parents without necessarily producing evidence that they were being neglected. This rendered the native defenseless in protecting the guardianship of their children as the government had full authority over …show more content…
Colonialists regarded the culture and traditions of the indigenous people as barbaric and unacceptable, thus there was a need to enact policies aimed at eradicating the natives’ culture and way of life. One of the strategies that the colonialists used was to prohibit the full blood aborigines to practice their traditional way of life while at the mission or government settlements. They were instead required to learn the new culture taught by the protectors. In addition, the indigenous people of different communities characterized with different cultural beliefs and traditions were forced to live together in the reserves and as a result, indigenous people turned against each other. This was of benefit to the colonialists as the conflicts between local communities was an opportunity for them to enact strict laws as a way of punishing violent culprits as well as forcing the local people to adopt to a unified European culture which was civilized. Secondly, separation of the children from their parents at a young age was a strategy that the colonialists’ used to prevent the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people from passing their beliefs to the upcoming generations, thus ensuring that the children grow up with the new European