Since the onset of the colonisation from 1778 of the Australian mainland by the Crown of Great Britain, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been subject to numerous practices and policies by the governments of the time. This essay examines government policies primarily in Queensland of segregation and integration of Queensland’s Indigenous peoples and how this led to the removal of Indigenous children from their families (Stolen Generations). Crucial to the understanding of the colonisers’ actions are the ideologies that underpinned their policies known as scientific racism.
In Queensland the Aboriginals Protection and Prohibition of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 (Qld) was the main form in which the protectionist policy of segregation was implemented. It was used as a device for social engineering and control, essentially becoming the instrument with which Indigenous peoples could be stripped of their most basic human rights. The Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families 1997 will highlight the impacts of the Stolen Generations as a form of selective and forced assimilation. These violations were an act of genocide, aimed at wiping out Indigenous families, communities and cultures. …show more content…
It will also be argued that colonisation has not stopped and the process of assimilation continues to this very day. The implications for future professionals having an understanding of the above perspectives will be assessed. As a result, it will be argued that education about the history and effects of government policies and practices toward Indigenous peoples is crucial for future professionals (if not all Australians), as an aid toward their progression to cultural
In Queensland the Aboriginals Protection and Prohibition of the Sale of Opium Act 1897 (Qld) was the main form in which the protectionist policy of segregation was implemented. It was used as a device for social engineering and control, essentially becoming the instrument with which Indigenous peoples could be stripped of their most basic human rights. The Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families 1997 will highlight the impacts of the Stolen Generations as a form of selective and forced assimilation. These violations were an act of genocide, aimed at wiping out Indigenous families, communities and cultures. …show more content…
It will also be argued that colonisation has not stopped and the process of assimilation continues to this very day. The implications for future professionals having an understanding of the above perspectives will be assessed. As a result, it will be argued that education about the history and effects of government policies and practices toward Indigenous peoples is crucial for future professionals (if not all Australians), as an aid toward their progression to cultural