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der=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0 width=100%> Aboriginals fight racism
JUNE 6, 2000

Australian aboriginals have fought racism and racist policies such as the government practice of stealing mixed blood and light-skinned children from their families and given them to white ones.

Aboriginals are trying to overcome the problems of the past but face similar ones today. Prime Minister John Howard refuses to apologize for the policy of stealing children. Many say whites won't hire them.

Others want the government to deal with them in a similar way as Native Americans in the US and sign treaties. Responding to the idea, Philip Ruddock, Howard's multicultural affairs minister said "Treaties are between nation-states. It might have been okay in the days of the red Indians and the colonialists, but would the United States do such a thing today? I don't think so."

He also said "We're dealing with an indigenous population that had little contact with the rest of the world. We're dealing with people who were essentially hunter-gatherers. They didn't have chariots. I don't think they invented the wheel."

Get the Story:
Australia's 'Stolen Generation' Seeks Payback (The Washington Post 6/6)

Relevant Links:
Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation - www.austlii.edu.au/au/orgs/car
The Stolen Generation - apology.west.net.au