Indigenous Rights and Freedoms After Federation

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to Indigenous rights and freedoms in Australia.

Protectionism Policy

A policy aimed to manage and protect Aboriginal Australians; in reality, it was more about segregation where Aboriginal culture was replaced by white culture under the control of the authorities.

Assimilation Policy

In the 1950s, this government policy shifted from protectionism. Aboriginal people were encouraged to ‘think white, act white, be white’ with the intent that they would eventually live like white Australians if they wanted some degree of freedom from government control.

Integration Policy

A policy established after a wave of Aboriginal protest in the 1950s and 60s, which influenced the government initiatives that came in the 1970s. It aimed for Aboriginal people to participate in white society, while at the same time maintaining their identity within the wider community.

Self-Determination Policy

Adopted by the Whitlam government in 1972 for Indigenous Australians, it refers to Aboriginal people having the right to control all aspects of their lives at a personal, community, and national level.

Reconciliation Policy

The process of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians coming together to acknowledge the past and work together for a positive future.

The Stolen Generation

Refers to the countless number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly removed from their families under government policy and direction.

Freedom Rides

A series of bus rides which embarked on a tour across regional NSW, to spread a message of mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and challenged the racial discrimination at the time.

Native Title 1992 (The Mabo Case)

A landmark case in the Australian civil rights movement, which propelled indigenous freedoms and rights to land entirely. It was a legal case in which Eddie Mabo and other Meriam people challenged the doctrine of terra nullius (land belonging to no one) that was used to deny Aboriginal land rights.

National Sorry Day

A day acknowledges the historical mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, particularly the events of the Stolen Generations. This day acts as a symbol of reconciliation, drawing on the cruelty and mistreatment Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were subjected to and their continued generational guilt that must be accounted for.

Section 127 in the Australian Constitution

Excluded Aboriginal people from being counted in the census for the purpose of determining electoral boundaries. This prevented Queensland and Western Australia, with large Aboriginal populations, from securing more parliamentary seats and tax revenue.

Australian National Referendum 1967

Sought to change two sections of the Constitution in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This referendum ultimately sought inclusion in the power and autonomy Indigenous people had at the time. The changes enacted allowed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be recognized as full citizens.

Terra Nullius

The legal doctrine that Australia was considered unoccupied and belonged to no one before British colonisation.

Charles Perkins

Perkins led the 1965 Freedom Ride through rural New South Wales, exposing racism and segregation in Australian towns. He also worked in the Department of Aboriginal Affairs.

closing the gap

A government policy aimed at addressing disparities and inequalities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians.

primary source

A source created during the time period being studied, providing firsthand evidence from an event or era

curtin government

Focused on defense and strengthening ties with the U.S. during World War II.

population growth (1945-1975)

Australia's population increased significantly from 7 million to 13 million.

cultural identity

The connection to heritage, language, and traditions that defines Indigenous peoples

racial discrimination

Unjust treatment and prejudice based on race, significantly affecting Indigenous rights and opportunities.

civil rights violation

Infringements on the rights of Aboriginal peoples in Australia.

intergenerational disadvantages

Ongoing impacts of historical injustices on Indigenous communities.

reserves and missions

reas designated for Aboriginal peoples, often restricting their freedom.