Stolen Generation Essay

The Stolen Generation has left a devastating impact on Aboriginal people, Aboriginal culture and Australian history. The word “Stolen Generation refers to the Aboriginal and some Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families as children by past Australian Federal government agencies, and church missions, from the late 1800s to the 1970s. The children removed were sent to institutions or adopted by non-Indigenous families. The forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres

The impact of the Stolen Generations on Australian Indigenous peoples is seen in the sense of isolation and separation that overwhelms the children that were forcibly removed under the policies of the assimilation legislation. The children experienced not only separation from their family but also had their identity taken away, this includes not being able to speak their own language or practice their culture and religion practices. Originally, Australian Indigenous peoples were left to die out

History Assignment “One of the great holocausts ever committed against a race of people on this planet” was the Stolen Generations of children from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander decent. The Bringing Them Home Report, also known as the National Inquiry into the into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families however was an extremely pivotal event in the fight for civil rights for Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders as it initiated recognition

The Stolen Generation occurred when the government of Australia decided that the Aboriginal community and culture was not worth coexisting with the European descended members of society. In the Bringing them Home Report, Wilkes (1997) describes the policy as a way to maintain control over the reproduction of Indigenous groups; with the main aim being to ‘merge’ or ‘absorb’ them into the non-Indigenous population. This was achieved by the forced removal of Aboriginal children, mainly of mixed descent

Introduction The Stolen Generations are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who, when they were children, were taken away from their families and communities as the result of past government policies. Children were removed by governments, churches and welfare bodies to be brought-up in institutions, fostered out or adopted by white families. The removal of Aboriginal children took place from the early days of British colonisation in Australia. It broke important cultural, spiritual and family

children affected by the government issued child removal policies were known as the Stolen Generation. These children were raised rejecting their own heritage and forbidden to speak their traditional language while under the care of their adoptive white family or institutions. The forcible removal of these children impacted not only the indigenous people but also the culture itself. Many of the Stolen Generations suffered physical, mental and sexual abuse and received very low level of education;

loved ones. The bringing back of the stolen generation to their friends and family was an imperative event for the citizens of the Aboriginal people. It signified that they were once again treated as a human beings rather than being treated as moveable property. Many Aboriginals who could not forget the gruelling torture faced by them would live with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder for the rest of their lives. This

Australian’s have a lower state of health and wellbeing than non-Indigenous people (Paradies, Harries, and Anderson, 2008). Aboriginal people have a diverse culture with a rich and compelling history and the impact of colonisation, legislation and the stolen generation has created significant hardships for Indigenous Australians, putting them as the most disadvantaged group (Paradies, Harries, and Anderson, 2008). It is known that their life expectancy is seventeen years less than other Australians. The aim

their Human Rights. The Bringing Them Home Report significantly advanced the rights of Indigenous Australians as it began the reconciliation process which recognised the injustices which had been done to Indigenous Australians involved in the Stolen Generations, and set out a list of recommendations to create equality in Australia. Whilst an apology was given to the Indigenous Australians the concept of reparations still remains a major topic in the Bringing Them Home Report

In contrast, the riveting Rabbit Proof Fence film released in 2002 and directed by Philip Noyce, eschews bigotry by illuminating a dense history of racist and distorted Aboriginal representations. Furthermore, it chronicles the ordeal of the Stolen Generation which included abducting "half-cast" Aboriginal