AustLit

Introduction states: 'To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the publication of the Bringing Them Home report (1997), it is fitting that we should look to those whose stories of removal formed the basis of the report and its recommendations. With this in mind, the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission invited Indigenous peoples across Australia to tell us their experiences of removal, their thoughts ten years on from the Inquiry and their hopes for the future. The poetry, stories and artwork featured in Us Taken-Away Kids are the fruits of this invitation.

'Ten years on, the recommendations of the Bringing Them Home Report still stand as the starting point for a national reconciliation process. I call on all Australian governments to implement those recommendations in full, with all possible urgency, so that all Australians can reach their full potential.

Us Taken-Away Kids is a testament to the resilience of Aboriginal people, our ability to overcome adversity, to look to a brighter future, and to triumph in the face of desolation and despair.

The storytellers within are more than the faces of Indigenous Australia. These people are the voices of our living history. Their stories are laden with tragedy, loneliness and loss. But never far away is their inexplicable optimism. A hope for the future, for our children, for the Australian nation.

Tom Calma

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner

(Edited from Foreword)

Us Taken-Away Kids is It is available online here.

'It is estimated now that nearly five thousand Aboriginal authors have been published in Australia since the cultural impact of colonisation occurred. However this seems rare or vague knowledge to the outskirts of Australian literature. It seems this contribution by Aboriginal writers is somewhat limited to access or obtain for the general public who enjoy a good read, or seek an historical view point...' (Source: Cobby Eckermann Ali, and Fogarty Lionel, Southerly Vol. 71 No. 2 2011:8-11)