Exemption and Nyungar Letters in the West Australian Archives

IF 0.6 4区 社会学 Q1 HISTORY Australian Journal of Politics and History Pub Date : 2023-05-04 DOI:10.1111/ajph.12883
Anna Haebich, Darryl Kickett, Margaret Colbung
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Abstract

Rather than rewarding applicants seeking relief from the draconian 1905 Aborigines Act, Exemption Certificates in Western Australia became a bureaucratic weapon to enforce their rigid control through enforced prohibitions on alcohol for Nyungar people. Applications were routinely rejected, regardless of the applicant's way of life, which quickly deteriorated under the “care” of the Aborigines Department. At the same time, new laws further enforcing prohibitions through increased fines and imprisonment, meant few had any hope of release. This combination derailed the exemption process. The injustices were recently revealed by the Ancestors' Words: Nyungar Letter Writing in the Archives Project, which located activist application letters written by Ancestors of today's Nyungar families, letters which were held for many decades in archive files of the Aborigines Department. The files also contained devastating letters of rejection written by the Minister, his officers and local police. The Ancestors' letters of courage and their distressing rejections in reply are examined here in a powerful case study developed in conversations between two Nyungar Elders, the writer's granddaughter, and the project researcher. The study also reveals how the project's respectful return of letters to the Elders can restore these important stories from the past to the flow of living family memories, down the generations.

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西澳大利亚档案中的豁免和Nyungar信件
西澳大利亚州的豁免证书并没有奖励从1905年严厉的《原住民法案》中寻求救济的申请人,而是成为了一种官僚武器,通过强制禁止Nyungar人饮酒来加强他们的严格控制。无论申请人的生活方式如何,申请都经常被拒绝,在原住民部门的“照顾”下,情况很快恶化。与此同时,新法律通过增加罚款和监禁来进一步执行禁令,这意味着很少有人有获释的希望。这种组合破坏了豁免程序。最近,“祖先的话:在档案项目中写Nyungar信”揭露了这些不公正现象,该项目找到了今天Nyungar家族祖先写的活动家申请信,这些信在原住民部的档案文件中保存了几十年。档案中还包括部长、他的官员和当地警察写的极具破坏性的拒绝信。在作家的孙女、两位Nyungar长老和项目研究员之间的对话中,一项强有力的案例研究对祖先们的勇气信及其令人痛苦的拒绝进行了研究。这项研究还揭示了该项目尊重长辈们的信件是如何将这些重要的故事从过去恢复到代代相传的家庭记忆中的。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
0.60
自引率
12.50%
发文量
59
期刊介绍: The Australian Journal of Politics and History presents papers addressing significant problems of general interest to those working in the fields of history, political studies and international affairs. Articles explore the politics and history of Australia and modern Europe, intellectual history, political history, and the history of political thought. The journal also publishes articles in the fields of international politics, Australian foreign policy, and Australia relations with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region.
期刊最新文献
Issue Information Issue Information Western Australia July to December 2023 Commonwealth of Australia July to December 2023 Issues in Australian Foreign Policy July to December 2023
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