settler coloniasm N (2)

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What is settler colonialism? Using specific examples discuss how settler colonialism operates in so-called Australia Settler Colonialism in Australia Settler colonialism refers to the process where settlers seek new and permanent residence on foreign soil at the expense of indigenous communities that are residing on the land. The invasion of the European introduced the Aboriginal people of Australia to a way of life different to the one they had continued for ages. Although an estimated population of 750,000 indigenous individuals occupied the land, the British colonizers were sold the false belief that the land was inhabited. Before their colonization, the Aboriginal people made a livelihood from fishing along the shore and hunting in the bushes enjoying the abundant resources that their land had to offer. Within months of their arrival the colonialists had disrupted the Aboriginals way of life through armed conflict and over exploitation of the land by excessive fishing and unsustainable hunting to displace the Aboriginals (Short, 2003). By examining historical and present day examples, this essays examines settler colonialism to shed light on its impact in shaping present day Australian society. The essay holds that reviewing settler colonialism is crucial in navigating the intricacies of Australian society. Historically, the Aboriginals lived in perfect harmony with the environment and with one another in total kinship. Even when hunting for food the Aboriginals maintained perfect balance limiting their killings to their needs. This ensured that they had enough supply of food to go around all year long. Their harmonious lifestyle was however disrupted by arrival of the European who employed terra nullius in taking over the land of the Aboriginals (Mercer, 1993). This doctrine resulted in dispossession of land from the indigenous communities through forced relocation and violent confrontations that denied the existence of these indigenous communities. Apart from taking over their land, the European also introduced foreign diseases like smallpox to the indigenous communities that resulted in a swift decline in their numbers making them powerless against the foreign force (Blyton, 2009). The deaths of elderly population among the indigenous communities resulted in the loss of cultural knowledge and practices which enabled the British to implement new policies for the sole purpose of controlling the indigenous people. Moreover, these policies confined the indigenous communities in mission centers and reserves,

restricting their movement and destroying the kinship ties between members of the indigenous communities. Additionally, from the late 19th Century the British authorities developed policies that resulted in the forceful separation of children from their parents commonly referred to as the Stolen Generations. The purpose of this practice was to assimilate these children into the European way of life by teaching them to adopt foreign teachings and practices. The trauma that resulted from this practice has been felt through generations even in the present. Settler colonialism in Australia has several characteristics and features that have been impactful in shaping the cultural, social and political practices in present day Australia. The first characteristic of settler colonialism is land dispossession through the doctrine of terra nullius that falsely declared that the land taken over by Europeans was uninhabited. The case of the Gurindji people is an unmistakable example of forceful land dispossession by the British. In the year 1966 the Gurindji people resisted the dispossession of their land by walking off the Wave Hill cattle station being led by Vincent Lingiari (Meakins, 2011). During this protest the Gurindji people demanded the return of their indigenous land as well as the revision of the unfair working conditions that they were being subjected to. This protest not only garnered national attention but also led to the Northern Territory Act of 1976 which resulted in a legal recognition of the rights that indigenous communities had over their land allowing the Gurindji to have access to a portion of their traditional land (McKenna, 2018). The second characteristic of settler colonialism is social displacement which was characterized by the confinement of indigenous communities to disrupt social structures and break kinship ties. An example of social displacement is the forceful relocation of indigenous individuals to Palm Island. During the ‘protection era ‘several policies were formulated highlighting the specific areas where the Aboriginals were required to occupy as an attempt to control aspects of their life. These policies saw the establishment of Palm Island as a reserve for indigenous communities in 1914. Different tribes from the indigenous communities were sent to reside on this Island resulting in a state of unrest. While on the Island, the indigenous communities worked for rations, building settlement structures for the white occupants. These structures were out of bound to the Aboriginals and those who failed to comply with set policies were subjected to hostile punishment. (Richards & Watson, 2010).

Additionally, settler colonialism is characterized by suppressing the cultural practices of colonies. In Australia this suppression was achieved through the Carrolup River Native Settlement. This mission center which was founded by the European settlers served as a relocation station for Aboriginal children. Neville who was a protector of the Aboriginals reinforced policies that aimed at re-educating children with both Caucasian and Aboriginal origin. This re-education limited the access of these children to their Aboriginal families, cultural practices and language. The underfunding of the Carrolup mission center resulted in poor living conditions of the Aboriginal children that were sent there turning the place into an internment camp. In order to retain the children at the center, the whites perpetuated the lie that their parents had either died or abandoned them. Most of these children never had a chance to reunite with their families marking history as the Stolen Generations. In present day Australia, disparities in matters such as employment are greatly felt by indigenous communities. Most companies that have set mining operations in Aboriginal regions have not fulfilled their corporate social responsibility towards these communities. In the Pilbara region for instance where mining and demand for labor is greatly dominant, the unemployment rate stands at 13.8% against the normal rate of 2.5%. Such a high rate shows that the indigenous individuals of the Pilbara region are not employed in these mining operations. Mining companies in these regions hold that indigenous communities lack the skillset to work in the mining sector since the number of indigenous children that progress to tertiary education is 25%. This is evidence that the indigenous people of Australia do not fully enjoy the benefits that accrue from exploitation of their traditional land. Another effect of settler colonialism in present day Australia is healthy disparities with individuals from indigenous communities experiencing a lower life expectancy as compared to those from non-indigenous communities. Such disparity stems from a number of factors which include limited access to quality healthcare as well as a cultural insensitive healthcare system that does not effectively address the needs of individual communities. Despite the efforts of “Closing the Gap” initiative to address these health disparities, the gaps still exist emphasizing the need to establish more profound measures to address the issue. In addition to this the indigenous community also experiences educational disparities with students from these communities reporting lower academic performance which

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limits their attainment of tertiary education. The National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) points out that such poor performance among indigenous students can be attributed to socioeconomic advantages which hinders their access to quality education (Ford, 2013). The report by NAPLAN underscores the need for national intervention to address the challenges faced by these students to create meaningful progress in their learning. In an effort to reshape the national identity of Australia and mitigate the effects of settler colonialism, several acts of reconciliation have been performed by national organizations. An example is the national apology that was made in 2008 acknowledging the pain that the European policies caused the indigenous communities such as the Stolen Generations. Also, the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) program has taken upon itself to build a peaceful relationship between non-indigenous and indigenous communities of Australia (Schepis, 2020). The program has driven several institutions to incorporate the four stages of reconciliation: Reflect, Innovate, Stretch, Elevate in their operations to guide them through the reconciliation journey. RAP program partners up with organizations with an aim of developing strategies like increasing indigenous employment and supporting the educational programs that create awareness non- indigenous communities. By adopting these strategies, organizations are able to create cultural awareness as well as foster collaboration with indigenous communities thus hastening the reconciliation process. The RAP program exemplifies efforts by Australian society towards creation of an equitable society. However, these efforts are met by challenges which include the resistance to acknowledge the wrongs that were committed against indigenous communities. In conclusion the invasion of the British settlers in Australia led to the formulation of policies different from those originally held by the Aboriginals which currently impact how present day Australia operates. From the arrival of the Europeans till date, the Aboriginals have experienced injustices ranging from their land being stolen to unfair working conditions with peanuts for income. Since these effects stem from colonization, it important for Australian nationals to join forces to curb these effects and to reconcile with the indigenous communities through programs like RAP. The reconciliation process will ensure that the rights of individuals from indigenous communities are upheld. Procedures like acknowledging the wrongs against

Aboriginals, returning dispossessed land to their original owners and creating equal employment and education opportunities for indigenous communities is the first step towards reconciliation. Apart from upholding the rights of Aboriginals, the reconciliation process will result in cultural diversity in Australia leading to economic prosperity resulting from tourist attraction of its diverse culture. This essay seeks to delve into the concept of settler colonialism and how it manifests in present day Australian society. Settler colonialism refers to the elimination and extinction of original occupants of a region in order to derive power from the destruction of these indigenous communities. This essay therefore explains settler colonialism highlighting it characteristics and taking a stand that settler colonialism indeed shapes Australian society and getting to the root of it is the first step towards understanding contemporary Australian society. It adopts a comprehensive approach that takes into account the historical instances of settler colonialism like Australia’s colonization by the British that was mainly driven by industrial revolution increasing the demand for land and a contemporary examination of the disparity experienced by the Aboriginals to shed light on settler colonialism. Through an in-depth examination of land dispossession, relocation of Aboriginals and suppression of traditional practices of the indigenous communities the essay promotes an understanding of how settler colonialism shapes Australian society. (Homel et al., 1999). Over the years they have been several strategies and procedures in an effort to mitigate the effects that settler colonialism has had on indigenous communities. The RAP program for instance partners up with different organizations in Australia to reduce the disparity that exists between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians (Mamtora et al., 2021). This it seeks to achieve by reconciling the two groups by first acknowledging the biases that are perpetuated against indigenous communities and working towards eliminating them. The program also encourages organizations to establish programs that create awareness on indigenous employees offering them more employment opportunities and fostering respect of their traditional values and cultural practices. Apart from national organizations, the indigenous communities themselves like the Gurindji people took to the streets to fight for the return of their indigenous land and fair working conditions.

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References Blyton, G. (2009). Seeds of Myth: Exotic Disease Theory and Deconstructing the Australian Narrative of Indigenous Depopulation. The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education , 38 (S1), 17–24. https://doi.org/10.1375/s1326011100000788 Ford, M. (2013). Achievement gaps in Australia: what NAPLAN reveals about education inequality in Australia. Race Ethnicity and Education , 16 (1), 80–102. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2011.645570 McKenna, S. L. (2018). Assessing the relative allocative efficiency of the Native Title Act 1993 and the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. Openresearch- Repository.anu.edu.au . https://openresearch-repository.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/145510 Meakins, F. (2011). Spaced Out: Intergenerational Changes in the Expression of Spatial Relations by Gurindji People. Australian Journal of Linguistics , 31 (1), 43–77. https://doi.org/10.1080/07268602.2011.532857 Mercer, D. (1993). Terra nullius, aboriginal sovereignty and land rights in Australia. Political Geography , 12 (4), 299–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/0962-6298(93)90043-7 Richards, J., & Watson, J. (2010). Review of Palm Island: Through a Long Lens. Aboriginal History , 34 , 267–275. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24047039 Schepis, D. (2020). Understanding Indigenous Reconciliation Action Plans from a corporate social responsibility perspective. Resources Policy , 69 , 101870. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2020.101870 Short, D. (2003). Reconciliation, Assimilation, and the Indigenous Peoples of Australia. International Political Science Review , 24 (4), 491–513. https://doi.org/10.1177/01925121030244005

settler coloniasm N (2)

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