Perspectives
Historical perspective
For thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers in Australia in the 18th century, the continent was inhabited by different Aboriginal tribes with a rich social and cultural life. However, the diseases brought by European settlers and the clashes between them and the Aboriginals led to many Aboriginals dying and being pushed away from their lands and tribes being broken and scattered across Australia.
Between 1910 and 1970, in an effort to assimilate Australian natives into white society, many Aboriginal children were forcibly taken from their families and put into non-Aboriginal institutions, where they were taught Christian values and European customs. These children became known as the Stolen Generations.
As shown by a 1997 g...