Matt Ottley's Requiem For A Beast

The Stolen Generation has had a great effect on Aboriginal rights and freedoms as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders didn’t even have the rights to raise and look after their children and as a result 100,000 Aboriginal Australian’s were displaced and placed into white families. The lack of understanding and respect for Aboriginal culture also meant that many people who supported the removal of these children really thought they were doing “the right thing”. The impact on Australian life today is still being felt as the Stolen Generation is seen as a recent event has it only ended in the early 1970s. Children that where taken away back then now cannot trace back their roots and therefore have no record of their family history or where

Annotated Bibliography: INDG 1160 Colbung, K., ‘On being Aboriginal: a personal statement’, in Berndt, C. and Berndt, R. (eds.), Aborigines of the West: Their Past and Present, Perth, University of Western Australia Press, 1980, pp. 100-105. In this concise, yet powerful proclamation of self, Ken Colburg a Noongyar man and chair of the Aboriginal Land trust describes growing up in a time of extreme oppression of his people. He depicts the prolific way the Australian government has defined the Aborigines through a series of legislation instead of letting his culture have the freedom to self-identify. This statement was written in 1980 during a controversial time where mining bills superseding the previous land grant legislation.

Central to Bird’s argument for the importance of reconciliation is the structural organization of the book. It is this that allows her to compare and contrast convergent and divergent views on the stolen generation and, convey the diversity of Australian voices from the personal to the official.

In the history of Australia it has been documented that government policies were implemented to remove Indigenous children from their families. The aim to forcibly remove the children was to break connections with their family, culture and traditional land . This essay will examine Australia’s obligation in regard to these international crimes; systematic discrimination, genocide and breaching duty of care. This will be followed by the establishment of the right to reparations in Australia for violating international law. International law offers a wide range of remedies for breach of human rights law. However the weakness in Australia’s legal system makes it difficult for the victims of stolen generation to bring claim international human

From 1910 to 1970 an Assimilation policy was proposed to ‘die out’ indigenous people by manipulating indigenous children who were forcibly removed from their families to adopt themselves into white culture and forget their own. The generations of children removed under this policy were known as the ‘Stolen Generations.’ These children that were taken was left a legacy of trauma and loss that continues to affect indigenous communities, families and individuals. To retell this dark history of Australia, characters are important to illustrate the raw essence of stolen generations through the perspective of a child taken away or a parent of that child as such to have a great impact on the audience as they are able to visualise their journey and see their development through the course of their experiences.

What happened to those Aboriginal children in New South Wales who were taken away from their parents, either living on government reserves and stations, by government legislation, and put in the care of the whites. It is the story of the attempt to ‘breed out’ the Aboriginal race. It’s the story of stolen generation. How has the stolen generation effected the aboriginal and Torres Strait islands. All aspects of their lives are affected. Some enter a lifelong search for their parents, others never succeed as parents themselves and turn to substance abuse. Many feel they are living a life surrounded by ghosts- people they don’t know but

Australia has stalled the process of addressing the issues of former governments as the nation possesses a narrow mindset of not being responsible for other people’s actions. Many continue to deny the existence of the Stolen Generation as Howard stated, “I didn’t believe genocide had taken place, and I still don’t.” (Howard’s statement, the Guardian) Due to the failure to act in a just and sympathetic manner, it has resulted in 16,846 Aboriginal children in out-of-home care in 2016, in comparison to 2,785 Aboriginal children in 1997. Australia must remove the finger from the national pause button to provide comfort for the deserving Aborigines who were exposed to prolonged suffering, abuse and persecution. The past, present and future generations need to apologise as it is a continuous lifelong struggle for Aborigines as “it never goes away. Just ‘cause we’re not walking around on crutches, doesn’t mean we’re not hurting.” (Confidential Evidence 580, Queensland Bringing Them Home Report.) Australia’s patriotic society lacks nationalistic sorrow towards the victims affected by these policies. This proves that Australians of this generation are obligated to feel remorse as the insensitivity towards Aboriginals

On February 13th 2008, the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, finally apologised on behalf of Australia, to the Stolen Generation for the terrible events that occurred in 1960’s and 1970’s where many Aboriginal children had been forced away from their families. This report first shows a deeper understanding of the event and its outcomes. Then, it looks at what effect it had on Aboriginal communities. Then it looks at what it has done to help other Indigenous communities around the globe. Finally, the report shows how the apology was, to a lesser extent, ineffective.

Australia is often presented as a heroic and extraordinary tale of triumph that changed this nation, but many refuse or are ignorant of the horrific slaughter and massacres of the Aboriginal people. This exhibition depicts the bloody and gruesome side of Australian History that many Australians are unaware of. The start of European settlement during 1788 to the start of the Australian nation being born in 1901, led a trail of massacres, inhumane treatment, enslavement and racism started by the first settlers and passed onto generations of white Australians. The First Settlers refused to understand the Aboriginal way of life as they were believed to be racially inferior and unfit to adapt towards the European lifestyle led to the Europeans

Between 1890s and 1970s, children, in particular Indigenous children roughly between ages two to four were forcefully taken away from their parents. These children are known as “Stolen Generations”, one of the darkest chapters of the Australian History. The term “Indigenous” comes from the Latin word “indigena” which means “a native”. This term is used to refer to native Australians, both Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. The removal of children begun in the early days of white settlement (European) then later became an official Australian policy until 1969.

Aboriginal children forcefully removed from their families, known as “The Stolen Generation”. The Stolen Generation as

The Stolen Generation has left devastating impacts upon the Aboriginal culture and heritage, Australian history and the presence of equality experienced today. The ‘Stolen Generation’ refers to the children of Aboriginal descent being forcefully abducted by government officials of Australia and placed within institutions and catholic orphanages, being forced to assimilate into ‘white society’. These dehumanising acts placed these stolen children to experience desecration of culture, loss of identity and the extinction of their race. The destructive consequences that followed were effects of corruption including attempted suicide, depression and drug and alcohol abuse. The indigenous peoples affected by this have endured solitude for many

The Stolen Generations is a dark chapter in Australia 's history, which saw the breaching of the eighth commandment – ‘You shall not steal’

In 2008, the Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd, officially apologized to the the Stolen Generations. The Stolen Generations were children who were forcibly removed from their Aboriginal families. Robert Brault, an American singer born in 1963, once said: “Life becomes easier when you learn to accept an apology you never got.” In this essay, I will deliberate and reflect this statement.

‘The Sapphires’ by Wayne Blair was the trigger that led my research into the effects of the Stolen Generation on Aboriginals in Australia. This film is about an Aboriginal singing group who want to make a name for themselves, but find it difficult because of the racism against them. This film also tells the stories of their cousin Kay, who was a half-caste and was stolen from her Aboriginal family at a young age to be taught the ways of white people, and forget her culture. This film made me realise that I am lucky to live in a country where racism of such an extent in which children are stolen from their indigenous families, isn’t part of our history, and has not affected me personally. From my research, I have found six main sources that have helped me to understand how large this problem was and continues to be. My sources: ‘The Sapphires’ by Wayne Blair; a film about a group of Aboriginal singers who are affected by racism which is based on a real life singing group; ‘The Sorry Speech’, by Kevin Rudd who was the Prime Minister of Australia in 2008 who explains the damage and apologises for the way that the actions of past governments tore apart the lives of their indigenous people. Then there is ‘Blind Eye,’ the documentary in which people who were stolen are interviewed and tell their stories. The film, ‘Rabbit Proof Fence’ this tells the story of two girls who were stolen and gives us insight into how brutally that they were treated after being ripped apart from