Indigenous Education and Perspectives

Running head: INDIGENOUS EDUCATION AND PERSPECTIVES
Indigenous Education and Perspectives
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1INDIGENOUS EDUCATION AND PERSPECTIVES
David Oldfield startled everyone when he said on SBS that the concept of Aborigines
should be wiped out from Australia. He was of the opinion that it is basically bad for the
aborigines to remain the same and they must follow the dominant culture of the country.
However, this has always been a topic of debate for a period of time. Therefore, in the
following essay, I aim to argue and counter the standpoint of Oldfield stating that it is
essential to protect the aboriginality of the native Australians and further substantiate my
point of views.
First, I wish to counter the opinion of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, as he said, “The
arrival of the First Fleet was the defining moment in the history of this continent”. This had
made a hiatus among the country. Especially, the Indigenous Advisory Council of the country
had deeply criticised him. I can realise the viewpoint of the prime minister and acknowledge
that the moment was a historical one in all true sense, but it was the most disastrous one from
the perspective of the indigenous people. According to Mr Mundine, the Chairman of the
Advisory Panel of the Prime Minister, the English had definitely brought prosperity to the
country, but the progress did not include the aboriginals. The English people had settled
down in the country and to give their people a better living condition, they brought
development throughout the country. Further, it was because of the ‘First Fleet', the ‘Stolen
Generation' came into being where families were torn apart. This contributed negatively to
the indigenous people also for the history of the country. Moreover, what shocked me more,
was his statement that, Australia was “unsettled” before the First Fleet came in. As noted by
the Deputy Prime Minister, the unsettlement in the territory was created by the English as
they embarked upon the land. The PM was further criticised by the Stolen Generation
Council for NSW, saying that if the settlement of the English is a defining moment for the
country, then it must be a poor one since it had robbed off of the country it’s past sixty
thousand years. However, another important point is this significant notation of the prime