Assimilation was never about belonging …

Warning: This article contains historical truths, and we acknowledge it may hold deep pain for many First Nations people. We invite readers to engage with this conversation with empathy, respect and a willingness to listen and learn. 

In the first half of the 20th century, right up until the 1960s, the Australian government sought to create a single, uniform white Australian culture.

Assimilated but never accepted

After colonisation, many non-Indigenous Australians held the belief that First Nations Peoples would eventually die out. This was rooted in racist and controlling ideologies that saw European civilisation as ‘superior’, and Indigenous cultures as incompatible with colonial society. However, the increasing number of people of mixed heritage highlighted the failure of racist colonial beliefs that First Nations Peoples would somehow vanish. Instead, First Nations resistance has protected Peoples and cultures who have persisted and thrived despite assimilationist policies.