The Impacts of Assimilation on Indigenous Australians
The policies surrounding Assimilation are acknowledged as having contributed to the loss of culture, family and identity for Indigenous Australians. The Australian Government policy of Assimilation resulted in many inequalities for Aboriginal people. While it was bad enough that Aboriginal people of full blood were segregated from the rest of society, those not of full blood were forced to leave behind their culture, their identity and adopt a ‘white’ lifestyle. Under the policy, almost every aspect of an Aboriginal person's life was under government control. Terms of the assimilation policy included town curfews, lower wages, no social security, they could not marry without permission, were unable to swim in public swimming pools and did not have the right to vote. Aboriginal children were subject to separate education. Aboriginal people were made to live in segregated places, generally in remote areas. Arguably, the biggest injustice of assimilation was the forced removal of children from their families.
Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their families and placed in foster homes and white institutions. These children were forced to socially integrate into the white community and were made to leave behind their own culture and traditions, they were banned to speak their traditional language, they were told to marry white people upon growing up. Bill Simon, a member of the Stolen Generations who was taken away at the age of 10, describes his experience by saying, “ We were each handed a pair of pyjamas with a number Mr Borland, the manager, had given us earlier printed on the pocket, and a shirt and pair of shorts also. I was number 33. Not Bill. Not even Simon. Just number 33." His account highlights the fact that they were not even treated as people, they were just simply a number, all traces of identity suppressed. Infact, they were made to adopt white culture, which left may of them feeling lonely and out of place. Rhonda Collard, a member of the Stolen Generations, confirms this. She says, "I grew up feeling alone, a black girl in a white world, and I resented them for trying to make me white but they couldn't wash away thousands of years of dreaming." Conditions in state care were often bad and every aspect of the children's lives were controlled, with severe punishment as consequences for breaking rules. Many of these children suffered emotional and physical damage; depression, anxiety and suicide were common among Aboriginal people who were part of the Stolen Generations. These children grew up in unhealthy environments and have never known any better, which ended up deeply affecting their lives as adults. "We never heard the words 'I love you', so we never learned to say them to our family… or feel them. We became empty vessels, out of touch with our feelings," says Sharyn Egans, a member of the Stolen Generations. When these psychologically damaged people have children, it resulted in a 'tragic cycle of generations raised in state care' that still continues today. Infact, more children are being taken away today than they were in the Stolen Generations. In 2014, 14, 991 Aboriginal children were under state care. This highlights the devastating cycle created by the Stolen Generations under the Australian Government Policy of Assimilation, which caused a loss of family, culture and identity and contributed to the Indigenous struggle for justice which stopped them from gaining equality in 'White Australia'. |
"i met my mother for the first time when I was in my 30s, and it was sad because too much time had passed, and it was hard to make a connection"
“I grew up feeling alone, a black girl in a white world, and I resented them for trying to make me white but they couldn't wash away thousands of years of dreaming” |
“It was a presumption for many years that we girls would grow up and marry nice white boys. We would have nice fairer children who, if they were girls, would marry white boys again and eventually the colour would die out. That was the original plan - the whole removal policy was based on the women because the women could breed”
- Barbera cummings, member of the stolen generations
References
ALRC. (n.d.). Impact of Settlement on Aboriginal People. Available at: http://www.alcr.gov.au/publications/3%20aboriginal1%20societies%3a%20the%20experience%20ofcontact/impact-settlement-aboriginal-people.html [accessed 17 Aug. 2016]
Heiss, A. (2013). Government Policy in Relation to Aboriginal People. Barani. Available at: http://www.sydneybarany.com.au/sites/goverment-policy-in-relation-to-aboriginal-people [Accessed 17. Aug 2016]
Korff, J. (2016). A guide to Australia’s Stolen Generations. [online] Creative Spirits. Available at: https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/politics/a-guide-to-australias-stolen-generations [Accessed 25 Aug. 2016].
Windschuttle, K. (n.d.). Breeding out the colour. [online] Stolengenerations.info. Available at: http://www.stolengenerations.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=140&Itemid=109 [Accessed 27 Aug. 2016].
Working With ATSI. (n.d.). Assimilation (1940s to the 1960s). Available at: http://www.workingwithatsi.info/content/history4.htm. [Accessed 3 Aug 2016]