AUSTRALIAN ASSIMILATION AND THE IMPACT ON ABORIGINAL HEALTH: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS
AUSTRALIAN ASSIMILATION AND THE IMPACT ON ABORIGINAL HEALTH: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Australia and its Indigenous Society:
Australia is one of the world’s most culturally diverse societies and it is commonly assumed that the country offers free and fair opportunities to all its inhabitants. However, on close observation it is clearly evident that the country’s indigenous population is at a social and economic disadvantage when compared to their non-indigenous counterparts and as a consequence the present aboriginal health is in a grave situation.
The purpose of this report is to critically analyze the effect of the Australian assimilation policy on the current health status of the aboriginals through various factors such as education, unemployment and housing.
The Intent of the Australian Assimilation:
Australia was originally inhabited by aboriginal people. However, Europeans migrated into the country from the year 1788 and federated themselves into colonies and a nation called as Commonwealth of Australia was formed in the year 1901 which formulated the policy of Assimilation to integrate all Australians including the aboriginals into the English Speaking culture under which all new immigrants were expected to learn English (Australian Government 2008 pp.23-24). Under this policy the aboriginals were housed in reserves where grave restrictions were imposed on every aspect of their lives. They were either involved in menial jobs or provided by the government (Encarta 2008 p.4).
Though assimilation was officially agreed upon by the heads of State and Territory Aboriginal affairs authorities in 1937 it was only by the year 1951 that all Australian governments adopted the policy (Australasian Legal Information Institute 2008). According to the Native Welfare Conference of Commonwealth in the year 1961 the policy of assimilation “means that all Aborigines and part-Aborigines are expected eventually to attain the same manner of living as other Australians and to live as
Australia and its Indigenous Society:
Australia is one of the world’s most culturally diverse societies and it is commonly assumed that the country offers free and fair opportunities to all its inhabitants. However, on close observation it is clearly evident that the country’s indigenous population is at a social and economic disadvantage when compared to their non-indigenous counterparts and as a consequence the present aboriginal health is in a grave situation.
The purpose of this report is to critically analyze the effect of the Australian assimilation policy on the current health status of the aboriginals through various factors such as education, unemployment and housing.
The Intent of the Australian Assimilation:
Australia was originally inhabited by aboriginal people. However, Europeans migrated into the country from the year 1788 and federated themselves into colonies and a nation called as Commonwealth of Australia was formed in the year 1901 which formulated the policy of Assimilation to integrate all Australians including the aboriginals into the English Speaking culture under which all new immigrants were expected to learn English (Australian Government 2008 pp.23-24). Under this policy the aboriginals were housed in reserves where grave restrictions were imposed on every aspect of their lives. They were either involved in menial jobs or provided by the government (Encarta 2008 p.4).
Though assimilation was officially agreed upon by the heads of State and Territory Aboriginal affairs authorities in 1937 it was only by the year 1951 that all Australian governments adopted the policy (Australasian Legal Information Institute 2008). According to the Native Welfare Conference of Commonwealth in the year 1961 the policy of assimilation “means that all Aborigines and part-Aborigines are expected eventually to attain the same manner of living as other Australians and to live as
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