Review on the Background of the Aborigine

In 1901, there was a policy made which stated that the Commonwealth could legislate for any race but Aborigines. Chief Protector is made the legal guardian for every Aboriginal and half-descent child under 16 years old in the Western Australia Aborigines Act policy in 1905. As in Northern territory, the Aborigines Protection Board Act is passed in 1910 giving the authority to the Board to have a ‗legal‘ control over Aboriginal people on stations and reserves http:www.creativespirits.info. The policies were continued to be developed that in 1911 there is the South Australian Aborigines Act in which every Aboriginal child and any child of ‗half-caste‘ who is under 21 years old would be under the control of a Chief Protector as the legal guardian. Later in 1939 the Aborigines Protection Board replaced the Chief Protector and only then in 1962 the guardianship power is made invalid. Whereas in the Northern territory, the Northern Territory Aboriginals Ordinance is passed which put every child below 18 years old belong to the Aboriginal race and ‗half-caste‘ under the control of Chief Protector as the legal guardian. Anyone under the control of this kind of authority could be forced to go for missions and children were also taken from family by force http:www.creativespirits.info. During the beginning of World War I, in 1914 there were about 400 to 500 Aboriginal children were removed from their families. As in 1915, the Aborigines Protection Board in New South Wales was permitted to remove any Aboriginal children even without court hearing. However, in 1940 this power is invalid after the rename of the Board into Aborigines Welfare Board http:www.creativespirits.info. In 1918, according to the Northern Territory Aboriginal Ordinance Act, no Aborigines were allowed to drink, possess, or supply any of the alcoholic drink. They were also prohibited to equip themselves with firearms, get married to non- Aboriginal people or any other race aside from their own race. In the 1920 is the year when the Aboriginal is to be at its lowest population which is about 60,000 - 70,000 http:www.creativespirits.info. In 1927, the payments of the Aborigines were not given to them personally but to the Aborigines Protection Board. Also at this time the Aborigines were not given their allowance for maternity or even old age pension http:www.creativespirits.info. The history goes on that in 1936 the Aborigines could even apply to stop being and an Aborigine under the Aborigines Act. These policies were made and put the whites into advantages whereas the Aborigines were at disadvantages http:www.creativespirits.info. In 1938 the White Australia Policy even succeeds that the 99 of the inhabitants in Australia were the whites. For any Aborigines who wanted to have the same opportunity as the white people could apply for the exemption certificate with the condition they should not get along with those whoever that do not have this kind of certificate http:www.creativespirits.info. The hardship of the Aborigines went on as the Aborigines continued to suffer from social marginalization even when the anti- discrimination laws existed in the 19 th century. During all this time, the laws were no help to the Aborigines since their position in politic was also at disadvantage adding to their endless seem suffering Cashmore, 2004: 2. Moreover, the Aborigines, as in contrast to the other Australians, many of them were unemployed which was five times higher than those of the other Australians. The rate of Aborigine‘s imprisonment was also high that it reached fifteen times higher than non-Aborigines Cashmore, 2004: 2. Only in the year 1975 is when Racial Discrimination Act is passed and is this year as well the white Australian immigration policy came to an end http:www.creativespirits.info.

2. Review on the Racial Discrimination towards the Aborigines

The racial discrimination towards the Aborigines was practiced in many ways. Since the Aborigines are considered as part of the inferior race by the white people, the white people thought it was right just to oppress the Aborigines. This is supported by how racial discrimination itself is described in The New Encyclopedia Britannica as The term racial discrimination denotes all forms of differential behavior based on race. The most notable form of racial discrimination is, of course, physical segregation by race, but there are many others, such as rules of etiquette defining forms of address between racial ―superiors‖ and ―inferiors‖, or choice of friends or spouses 1983: 360. As it is said that any behavior that tends to make a difference between any races to make a race is superior than the other is said to be racial discrimination, then it can be said that the act of being more superior than other particular group of people itself can be said as part of racial discrimination. Since the Aborigines were thought to be part of the inferior race by the white people, they are then being exploited, enslaved, excommunicated from the community, or simply looked down by the white people who thought their race as part of ―superiors‖. The practices of racial discrimination were practices in certain ways like the Aborigines were being excommunicated from the community or they were not given same facilities as the white people had. The Aborigines had experienced where they were being exploited, enslaved, and excommunicated from the community by the white people. The racial discrimination experienced by the Aborigines by the whites include the denial of housing, education, justice and political participation as it is supported by what is written in http:www.skwirk.com that the Aboriginal people are thought to be inferior than the whites that they have no right to own land, house, nor to participate to vote in elections. What is stated above about the experience of the Aborigines as they were not able to have the same access to facilities as the white people is supported by what is noted in the Encyclopedia of Race and Ethnic Studies that The racial discrimination may range from the use of derogatory labels, such as ―kike‖ or ―nigger, to the denial of access to such institutional spheres as housing, education, justice, political participation, and so on. The actions may be intentional, or unintentional Cashmore, 2004: 345. Other than that, racial discrimination is also defined in this same book as to what Also known as racialism, this is the active or behavioral expression of racism and is aimed at denying members of certain groups equal access to scarce and valued resources Cashmore, 2004: 345. As the racial discrimination act is to deny the existence of any members of certain groups like what is stated above, the Aborigines had gone through this kind of treatment. They were denied to be part of the society by the white people that should also have the same rights as other any human race. This is proven as many of the Aborigines remained unemployed or even if they were employed, they were paid with low wages or were not paid at all. It was done intentionally by the whites so that the Aboriginal people would remain impoverished and under-developed. It is also revealed that when the Aborigines got jobs away from the reserve, they still had to pay some fixed sum of money to the bank accounts held by the protector https:www.greenleft.org.aunode17311. This kind of act is definitely to deny the existence of the Aborigine society by the white people.

3. Review on the Resistance of the Aborigines

Resistance theory by Selwyn Cudjoe and Barbara Harlow is summarized by Stephen Slemon in Unsettling the Empire Resistance Theory for the Second World in the book The Post-colonial Studies Readers by Bill Ashcroft and friends ―as an act to rid people of its oppressors, and it is so thoroughly infuses the experience of living under oppression that it becomes an almost aesthetic principle 1995: 107.‖ People who show any reactions that help them getting rid of their oppressors are said to show their resistance towards their oppressors. By getting rid of their oppressors could mean that the people who are oppressed are struggling to get their freedom.