It's a red-letter day for the indigenous Aborigines of Australia. The government just issued an official apology to the Aboriginal culture for the egregious wrong-doings of the government over more than 2 centuries. Among the many admissions was an apology for forcefully removing Aborigine children from their homes, forever separating them from their families while dominant culture 'reformed' the uncultured, primitive youngsters.They forced them into foster homes, schools, and churches, thinking it would slowly put an end to that 'uncivilized' sector of their continent.
Such ideology was far beyond sad. It was disgusting.
And nobody did similar things any better than the United States.
The difference is the U.S. government has never made a concerted effort to right the wrongs committed against our indigenous peoples over the centuries (and even today). As recently as the first few decades in the 1900s our government was forcefully removing indian children from their homes, sending them to boarding schools where they were punished for speaking their native language or practicing tribal customs.
One elder I heard interviewed said after he had spoken Lakota in class, he was made to kneel on marbles in the corner for an hour. And I won't even begin to broach the forcing of Christianity upon them.
Our government has and continues to perpetuate a great injustice by remaining 'silent' on these and many other Native issues.
So thanks, Australia, for doing the right thing, showing us all how it's done - and for taking the extra steps to set up economic programs that will help rebuild the Aborigine culture.
4 comments:
AMEN!!! I would like to say more than that...but it's probably best that i don't :-)
DITTO, Kiddo!!!
And I’ll add a tertiary (or whatever the “count” is up to!) “AMEN!” to this morning’s comments!
Our government remains “silent” on a lot of racial and ethnic injustices. “Washington” subsequently spewed rhetoric (pledging to “help”) in response to the “Trail of Broken Treaties” in late 1972 ..... and of course a few months later in early 1973, the U.S. government “greatly over-reacted” (to put it mildly) at Wounded Knee.
Nor let us forget other incalculable wrongs and injustices committed by Americans against Americans, including: racial segregation (not “forced” today, but you still see involuntary segregation to some extent in large American cities), “subtle” (or not-so-subtle if it was “personal”) discrimination against American Jews during WW2, the Catholic church’s blind-eye so-called “neutrality” during the Holocaust, and the forced internment of Japanese-Americans in concentration camps (so inappropriately named “War Relocation Centers”) during WW2.
Regarding the latter, in 1988, I think Pres. Reagan did sign legislation apologizing for the Japanese-American internment on behalf of the U.S. gov’t ---- but in my opinion the “damage was already done”, shouldn’t have happened in the first place. By 1988, MUCH damage was done to all races of Americans, and now 20 years later we’re no better off.
My “WASP” parents were teenagers during WW2, but old enough and intuitive enough to know that while the actual fighting was elsewhere in the world, there were things very real, and very horribly wrong going-on right within the borders of this country, things that reporters and the “patriotic” movie newsreels never dared portray. I grew up and continue to live, respecting ALL peoples of ALL races and ALL faiths.
I too could say so much more on this subject, but this is neither the time nor the venue to do so.
Suzy :)
Thanks, Suzy. The answer to all of this is not just changing our actions, but more importantly changing our consciousness. Without the latter, nothing will ever change.
Bob
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