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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'Separating Aboriginal children from family and community began as soon as Europeans set foot on our land. The belief that it is in the best interest of Aboriginal children to be removed from Aboriginal culture and assimilated into White culture has justified the systematic disruption of Aboriginal families. This book traces the history of removing Aboriginal children in New South Wales and contains testimonies of Aboriginals whose lives have been profoundly and painfully altered by separation. The book grew out of a submission of Link-Up (NSW) Aboriginal Corporation to the 1996 Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (HREOC) National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families.' (Publisher)
Notes
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Dedication: We dedicate this work to all our Elders who never saw their children again and to all our children who never came home.
We also dedicate this to our parents, who have suffered terribly in having their children systematically taken away from them, and who continue to blame themselves for losing us.
Contents
- [Untitled]i"They had taken away my family!", single work poetry (p. xvi)
- They Took on a Life of Their Own, single work oral history (p. 10)
- Much More Than We Expected, single work oral history (p. 11)
- What Might Have Beeni"No Mother", single work poetry (p. 26)
- Questionsi"If I'm not theirs, then who am I?", single work poetry (p. 28)
- Rachel, Racheli"Conceived from a love I needed to last,", single work poetry (p. 43)
- Justice Will Comei"Why does it seem", single work poetry (p. 47)
- Nan's Countryi"I am of the Yorta Yorta", single work poetry (p. 59)
- Coming Homei"Finding our people", single work poetry (p. 66)
- Separationi"Separation from my clan", single work poetry (p. 93)
- Koories Come In All Coloursi"I know I'm a koorie", single work poetry (p. 103)
- Me and My Mumi"I am about 3 years old in the year of 1921", single work poetry (p. 138)
- Conditional Lovei"You gave me all the love I'd known", single work poetry (p. 175)
- Lost Generationi"Once I had a mother she was Aboriginal they say.", single work poetry (p. 178)
- The Seed That Never Wasi"My grandma is like a seed", single work poetry (p. 216)
- The Seed of Life!i"To my Grandma,", single work poetry (p. 217)
- The Seed of Lifei"The seed of life within", single work poetry (p. 217)
- The Past and Future Tribesi"The Past tribe stepped so softly,", single work poetry (p. 239)
