INDIGENOUS AUSTRALIANS AND THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT

Document Type:Research Paper

Subject Area:Cultural Studies

Document 1

Their entire life was taken away and forced to live in European world were there culture was very different as compared to theirs and lifestyle change could not have brought any difference. Today most of the indigenous people of Australia are struggling to regain their past in which they lost touch with their culture and now are aiming to possess back their cultural identity. But with the ruling government it seems to be hard nut to crack as they are considered minority and have no say in the ongoing government. According to research, it is believed that the indigenous people of Australia are known to be among the oldest societies on earth as they have lived on the continent for almost 40000 years (Altman and Hinkson, 2007, p.

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The laboring culture which was adopted by the indigenous Australian due to the European contact survived the longest as compared to other ancient societies such as the Indians in the American or the indigenous people of Africa. At this particular time, the white Europeans did not have any respect for the aboriginal people of Australia's rights to the land and the resources in general. Consequently, they ended up taking control of the land and claimed it as their own with a lot of brutal force. With time Australians developed their policies on ways in which they could deal with the native people of Australia which coincidentally fevered their way of life. As a result, this widened the actual gap between the indigenous people of Australia and the government since they were being treated as minor in the country.

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The policies had three phases which include the disposition, segregation, and assimilation. Uluru Statement from the Heart is structure convection which brought about more than 250 indigenous and Torres Islander leaders at the foot of Uluru in central Australia with the aim of establishing indigenous Australian voices in the parliament. The statement stated that all the indigenous Australian people need to have access to education, employment, and safe living environments. Since they happen to be the most disadvantageous the statement ruled out that they need to access same opportunities as the rest of the people living in Australia (Rigney, 1999, pp. Many of the indigenous people of Australia live in locations whereby opportunities both education and employment are insufficient. This exposes them to a cycle of poverty throughout their respective.

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It is through this gap that Australia has been held back regarding development as compared to other nations. According to research the most recent closing, the gap report states that only 35. 1 percent of all indigenous people of workforce living in remote areas have access to employment as compared to 57. 5 percent of people living in the major cities (Anderson et al, 2006, p. Creating more employment opportunities for indigenous people will not only raise the standards of living but also minimize crime cases. There have been many small victories of the past which most of the people view as only symbolic like Mabo, Wik, and not forgetting the recent apology from minister Kelvin Rudd. Indigenous people of Australia are reclaiming their pride in heritage and culture.

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The government has started to show respect not only to their religion but also their land. Most governments when speaking publicly in parliament, schools, in the ribbon-cutting ceremonies and fetes start doing so by thanking the owners of the land. It's something which all over sudden has become standard as compared to fifteen years ago. The government thus tends to believe that this makes it more complicated for them to be treated like the rest of the people living in Australia. With the introduction of Uluru Statement from the Heart there is a glitter of hope for indigenous people of Australia though it might take ages to be fully implemented. The statement will play a vital role in closing the gap existing between the two parties.

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