DOCUMENT RESUME ED 403 094 RC 020 875 AUTHOR Armitage, Andrew TITLE Comparing the Policy of Aboriginal Assimilation: Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. REPORT NO ISBN-0-7748-0459-9 PUB DATE 95 NOTE 301p. AVAILABLE FROMUBC Press, University of British Columbia, 6344 Memorial Rd., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6T 1Z2 (cloth: ISBN-0-7748-0458-0, $49.95; paper: ISBN-0-7748-0459-9, $24.95). PUB TYPE Books (010) Historical Materials (060) Reports Research/Technical (143) EDRS PRICE MFO1 /PC13 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Acculturation; American Indian Education; Boarding Schools; Canada Natives; *Child Welfare; Colonialism; Comparative Analysis; Elementary Secondary Education; Federal Indian Relationship; Foreign Countries; Foster Care; History; *Indigenous Populations; Maori (People); *Public Policy; Racial Discrimination; Racial Relations IDENTIFIERS *Australia; *Canada; New Zealand ABSTRACT The aboriginal peoples of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand became minorities in their own countries in the 19th century. The expanding British Empire had its own vision for the future of these peoples: they were to become civilized, Christian, and citizens--in a word, assimilated. This book provides the first systematic and comparative treatment of the social policy of assimilation followed in the three countries. Australia began by denying the aboriginal presence, Canada by registering all "status" Indians, and New Zealand by giving all Maori British citizenship. Major policy periods are characterized as early institutionalized contact, paternalistic protection, paternalistic assimilation, integration, and pluralism. Children received particular attention under the policy of assimilation, and much of this book focuses on policies and practices related to family and child welfare and education, including cultural differences in assumptions about child rearing and family roles, education as a tool of assimilation, extensive removal of aboriginal children from their families with placement in foster care or residential schools, and current efforts of aboriginal communities to recover from the devastating effects of social policies and to take control of child welfare practices. Thirty-eight tables include historical data on aboriginal population, foster care and adoption, residential and day school enrollments, juvenile offenders, and expenditures and staffing for child welfare agencies. Includes an extensive bibliography, chapter notes, maps, and an index.(SV) *******************************************kA*********************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** ...1111 a. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCETHIS MATERIAL HAS BEENGRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONALRESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)" U S DEPARTMENT OF EOUCATION Office of Educational Research and improvement EDU AT1ONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality Poo nts of vsew or °gluons state., on this docu- ment do not necessarily representofficial OERI position or policy 1 va_t 2 BEST COPY AVAILABLE Comparing the Policy of Aboriginal Assimilation The aboriginal people of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand became minori- ties in their own countries in the nineteenth century. The expanding British Empire had its own vision for the future of these peoples. They were to become civilized, Christian, and citizensin a word, assimilated. Comparing the Policy of Aboriginal Assimilation provides the first systematic and comparative treatment of the social policy of assimilation followed in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Australia began by denying the aborigi- nal presence, Canada by registering all 'status' Indians, and New Zealand by giving all Maori British citizenship. Children received particular attention under the policy of assimilation, as there has always been a special interest in shaping the next generation. The missionaries, teachers, and social workers who carried out this work were motivated by the desire to save the unfortunate, but in the process children were required to leave their families, communities, language, and culture behind. Comparing the Policy of Aboriginal Assimilation not only provides comprehen- sive and comparative data on the conduct of assimilative policy but also examines its origins and rationale. In the end, the policy is shown to be pri- marily an expression of the racist and colonial nature of the immigrant soci- eties. Today, as aboriginal societies reassert themselves, there are grounds for hope that a plural social policy can be developed to accommodate the differ- ences between aboriginal and immigrant societies. Andrew Armitage is an associate professor and the director of the School of Social Work at the University of Victoria. He is the author of Social Welfare in Canada (1987) and a contributing author to Rethinking Child Welfare in Canada (1993). Andrew Armitage Comparing the Policy of Aboriginal Assimilation: Australia, Canada, and New Zealand UBCPress /Vancouver © UBC Press 1995 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in Canada on acid-free paper e ISBN 0-7748-0458-0 (hardcover) ISBN 0-7748-0459-9 (paperback) Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Armitage, Andrew Comparing the policy of aboriginal assimilation Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7748-0458-0 (bound).ISBN 0-7748-0459-9 (pbk.) 1. Native peoplesCanadaGovernment relations.* 2. Australian aborigines Government relations. 3. Maori (New Zealand people)Government relations. 4. Assimilation (Sociology). I. Title. GN367.A75 1994 303.48'2 C94-910877-4 This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Social Science Federation of Canada, using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. UBC Press also gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support to its publishing pro- gram from the Canada Council, the Province of British Columbia Cultural Services Branch, and the Department of Communications of the Government of Canada. UBC Press University of British Columbia 6344 Memorial Road Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2 (604) 822-3259 Fax: (604) 822-6083 Contents Maps and Tables / vii Preface / ix Acknowledgments / xiv 1 Introduction / 3 2 Australia: The General Structure of Aboriginal Policy / 14 3 Australia: Aboriginal Peoples and Child Welfare Policy / 41 4 Canada: The General Structure of Canadian Indian Policy / 70 5 Canada: First Nations Family and Child Welfare Policy / 100 6 New Zealand: The General Structure of Maori Policy / 136 T New Zealand: Maori People and Child Welfare Policy / 160 8 Similarities and Differences among Australia, Canada, and New Zealand / 185 9 Understanding the Policy of Aboriginal Assimilation / 220 Notes / 243 Bibliography / 261 Index / 277 Maps and Tables Maps 1 Australian Research Sites and Relevant Place Names / 15 2 Western Canadian Research Sites and Relevant Place Names / 71 3 New Zealand Research Sites and Relevant Place Names / 137 Tables 2.1Australian and Aboriginal population and proportion of children, 1881-1986 / 28 2.2Aboriginalpopulationasaproportionofstatepopulations, Australia, by census year / 30 2.3Aboriginal population by urbanization, Australia, 1961-81 / 32 3.1New South Wales Aboriginal children and the welfare board, 1940 / 45 3.2 New South Wales Aboriginal children in departmental care, 1966, 1969, 1976, and 1980 / 48 3.3AboriginalandTorresStraitIslanderchildren,underorders, Queensland, by type of order, 1987 / 55 3.4Northern Territory welfare administration, 1952-72 / 61 4.1Indian people by province, Canada, 1871-1986 / 90 4.2Children, aged 0-16, in the Canadian and status Indian popula- tions / 92 4.3Indian and Inuit in urban centres, Canada, 1951-81 / 93 5.1Status Indian children in school, Canada, 1901-61 / 107 5.2Residential and day school enrolment by province, Canada, 1936 / 109 5.3Status Indian children in care, Canada, 1966-7 to 1988-9 / 116 5.4Adoption of status Indian children, Canada, 1964-5 to 1985-6 / 116 5.5Indian children in care by province, Canada / 118 5.6Status Indian and non-Indian children in care, Canada, 1978-9 / 119 viiiMaps and Tables 5.7Agencies (bands) administering child welfare programs, Canada, 1981-91 / 124 5.8Staff employed by Indian child welfare agencies, Canada, 1981-8 / 125 5.9Federal expenditures on Indian child welfare, Canada, 1981-8 / 125 5.10 Status Indian children in care, Manitoba, agreements, 1981-9 / 125 6.1Maori and non-Maori population and children aged 0-14, 1891- 1986 / 127 6.2Maori and Maori descent populations, 1961-86 / 153 6.3Rural, urban, and metropolitan distribution of Maori, 1926-61 / 154 6.4Percentage of Maori and Non-Maori population in centres under and over 1,000, 1961-81 / 154 7.1Children in care and under supervision, New Zealand, 1921-86 / 163 7.2Adoption orders, New Zealand, 1956-86 / 165 7.3Juvenile offences, total and Maori cases, 1956-86 / 170 7.4Estimate of Maori and non-Maori children in care,per 1,000, 1981 / 171 7.5Numbers of Te Kohanga Reo by Maori Affairs district, 1982-8 / 175 7.6Child welfare protection complaints, total and Maori, 1981-6 / 183 8.1Aboriginalpopulations,Australia,Canada,and New Zealand, pre-contact to 1986 / 191 8.2Definitions