History of Aboriginal People - Essay Example

Psychology: History of Aboriginal People Name Institution Text: McGee-Sippel, L. (2009). Hey Mum, What’s a Half-Caste?. Broome, Australia: Magabla Books Summary The text is about Lorraine McGee-Sippel, who was a small girl the time she asked her parents about the differences between her skin colour and theirs. She asked them what was meant by the term ‘half-caste’. All these took place in the 1950s when she started looking for her biological family. The beginning of her unanswered questions had taken the duration of decades. It was during the ancient climate of the Rudd Government’s confession when McGee-Sippel supports the Stolen Generation by exposing a government policy that made her adoptive parents being informed that her ancestry was from Afro-America. The book is an honest story with the capacity to explore the vulnerability of reconnection, cultural identity, and the accomplishments of acceptance. Since colonization, the Aboriginal people started experiencing problems of oppression, resistance, and loss of cultural identity. The half-caste or the children resulting from the stolen generations went and still go through difficulties as they try to look for their cultural identity (Kennedy, 2011). The stolen generations were encouraged to incorporate into the white communities despite them being from black communities. The European society led to the implementation of the assimilation policy because of seeing its culture being more valued and superior to the Indigenous cultures. The Aboriginal people were left to die out as it was one of the regulations in the assimilation policy or else they were to be adopted by the white community to offer them the needed services (Tatz, 2011). The stolen generations were made to adopt the nature of being partly aboriginal because of being taken to the European society, which resulted in confusion about their ‘full-blood’ and identity. This was the case with Lorraine; whereby she realized that her colour was different from that of her parents, jut to realise that they were not her biological parents when she grew up. Konishi (2011) postulates that the identity confusion of the stolen generations was because of being forced to change their names, neglect their traditional language, decline their Indigenous birthright, and adopt the white cultural practices. The worst thing in the assimilation process was that majority the stolen children were taken to various institutions where they were neglected, and abused. The white families adopted some of them where they were forced to transform their culture (Horton, 2012). Lorraine was also confused because she did not know her real identity despite trying to ask her adopted parents who seemed not concerned in answering her questions. A grandfather who was not her biological grandfather, thus the continued confusion because she failed to understand what happened signed her adoption until decades later when she did her investigations. Not being whole or not being complete, as it is the issue raised by ‘Half-caste’ emotionally disturbed the stolen generations who could not find their real families. According to the argument put forth by Walters (2011), the family is very important in one’s life, and that is why the problems majorly suffered by the Indigenous people threaten their social welfare. Considering that, those children were not living with their real families, but living in mission; this hardened their survival in the institutions. Additionally, the memories of what the stolen children witnessed in the institutions continue haunting them until old age and even to death. Attwood (2011) acknowledges that the stolen generations ‘half-caste’ went through traumatic life that saw the continued rise of mental problems within the Indigenous population today. Lorraine also suffered emotional trauma the moment she realized that her being there was something that led to the suffering of her parents who never recovered her until death. Social justice is essential to the Aboriginal people since the stolen children still suffer from emotional trauma resulting from lack of social justice. Kune (2011) states that the Aboriginal children used to be abused by the foster families, mission personnel, and children from the white community, which gave them the traumatic memories. Some were sexually abused, beaten, and engaged in all kinds of child abuse that led to marks remaining in their body in their entire lives; hence, having clear memories even in their adult lives. The children who were above the age of 15, they were subjected into households and farms. The boys were made to cultivate crops and take care of the cattle while girls were used as the domestic servants. These children were not given time to rest. Power and Somerville (2015) state that the abuse that many Stolen Children went through is passed on to their children in different ways. According to Lorraine, social justice should be offered to all without racial discrimination. Even if she did not face the abuse that was faced by the majority of her fellow stolen children she felt the pain of losing her parents and cultural identity confusion. The adoptive families failed to offer the needed care to the children, but saw them people who did not have a future. As identified by Quayle, Sonn, and Kasat (2015), many Stolen Children lived in assimilation knowing that their parents were dead or were abandoned by their parents. Lorraine is one of the stolen children who did not get a chance to identify her parents or know where they lived. These children also lived without knowing their place of origin or homes of their biological families. Those who lived in the institutions were offered very minimal education if any because most of the times they were expected to be working. A few of the children who was adopted by the white families went through a good level of education, and this allowed them a chance to start looking for their ancestry. This was the case for Lorraine, who after being mature, she started fighting for social justice, which she felt to have lacked as she lived with the adopted parents. Probyn-Rapsey (2013) recognizes that there are high incidences of suicide, anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and depression among the Stolen Generations. This is because of the abuse they went through and the witnesses from the missions and institutions. The Australian Government failed to fight for the rights of its people when it allowed the implementation of the assimilation policy, which saw its people being abused and mistreated. The policies of the child removal from his/her family are the cause of the loss and trauma that continuously affect the lives of the Indigenous individuals, families, and communities. Hollinsworth (2013) articulates that the conduct of the Australian Government during colonization still affects politics in Australia today; whereby the Indigenous people continue being identified as inferior. Despite the effort of the Aboriginal families of appealing to the Australian authority, their claims were not listened to but were just ignored. Lorraine felt angry towards the Rudd Government because the apology given to the indigenous people was not enough to heal their pain of losing their children. The government officials were involved in taking away the children from their parents and handed them over to strangers. Buchanan (2012) wondered how the Australian government allowed the police to turn up to Aboriginal people’s homes and take their children away from them basically because of their skin colour. The issue of skin colour has continued to traumatize the Indigenous population since even in the current generation, Australians discriminate the Indigenous people. Lorraine’s colour was what made her learn that she was different from the adoptive parents, and she tried to ask them the reason behind it a question that was never answered. These children were subjected to changes associated with how they dressed, spoke, ate, and lived (Read, 2012). These issues were agitating to Lorraine who understood how the families of the stolen children struggled to have them back, but the government could not align itself with them. The social and political history of the stolen generations influences the current life among the Indigenous people. Lorraine’s traumatic life had been because of being separated from her family and she remained with questions without getting answers for decades. It is apparent that the Aboriginal people whose children were stolen suffered traumatically until death. Furthermore, the children raised by the Stolen Generations continued suffering because of confusion resulting from lack of their original identity (McGregor, 2011). Living among the white people and being from African Americans or black has been continuous confusion among the Indigenous Australians. Moreover, not being treated as equals when living among the white people and trying to adopt their culture elevates the trauma. Due to the implementation of the forced child removal policy in 1995, the Aboriginal people did not manage to continue enjoying their essential human rights. The indigenous populations especially the families that lost their children never recovered from their anguish because the loss of their children was devastating (Quayle, et al. 2015). Lorraine was able to realise that her mother might have struggled to get her back, but she never managed to have her until she died. Her mother’s death could have been caused by problems that resulted from their separation. Out of grief, some parents committed suicide and others engaged into alcoholic behaviour. The oral culture of the Indigenous people was disrupted because of the loss of several generations, thus the current problems within the Indigenous cultural knowledge. Palmiste (2011) states that because the stole children were not allowed to live in healthy life situations, the majority never learned the parenting skills, thus the issue of children brought up in circumstances based care. Whiteness of the European society was the major source of the experiences of the Aboriginal people since colonization. Probyn (2013) articulates that the Australians face resistance and oppression because of power inequalities that were generated from historical times. Many communities, families, and individuals continue living with the trauma that was caused the issue of the Stolen Generations and other colonization issues. The current issues experienced in the Indigenous cultures are connected to the political and social history of the Aboriginal populations. It is widely realized that the oppression of the Indigenous Australians renders them to be victims of Australian history (Tatz, 2011). Conclusion Half-caste refers to the children of the Stolen Generations who are identified as not complete or not whole by the European Society. The Stolen Generations were subjected to the Assimilation policy that was implemented in Australia because of consideration of the European society being superior to the Aboriginal populations. Lorraine tried to understand why her skin colour was different from that of the adoptive parents just to realise that she was a stolen child. Lorraine had many questions because of her skin colour, but she did not get answers until decades later when she learned that she was among the children who were separated from their families in Australia because of their skin colour. It is evident that the Stolen Generations continue suffering because of the assimilation; whereby they were forced to change their way of living, dressing, speaking, and eating and adopt that of the white society. Out of the assimilation, the majority of the stolen generations have suffered traumatically suffered even to date. Social justice should be subjected to the Indigenous populations to recover their stolen children. 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