Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander task - Research Paper Example

The colonial rule developed new laws that segregated the minority groups from other Australians. Children were forced to abandon their culture and were subject to both physical and sexual abuse. In brief, the colonial period was a suffering period for the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders and this had long-term impacts for this minority group. The colonial period contributed to the disorientation of the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders. During the pre-colonial period, this group was diverse and comprised of over 1 million people.

A large number of this population died during the colonial rule and there was a significant reduction of the population. In the 2001 census, the population of the aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders was 458, 000 people, contributing to 2.4% of the total population in Australia (Garvey et al., 2011). Besides, their displacement during the colonial period made them lose their original habitats. Currently, they reside in the New South Wales and Queensland with scanty of land to settle in (Rose, 2000).

A close evaluation indicates that the population of the Aboriginal people is growing at a slow rate, a fact related to the nature of the problems that they face today. In the post-colonial period, the discrimination of the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Island people is a common feature. The end of the colonial period was expected to be end of the suffering of the indigenous people. However, it is clear that the Europeans had already created a social difference between the people and the spirit of racism was already high.

The Australian government was slow to enact social justice and hence the Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander remained the weak race (Heffernan, Andersen & Kinner, 2009). They were discriminated by the other Australian races in all social spheres, which resulted to creation of enmity between the two