Description
Book SynopsisThe removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families gained national attention in Australia following the Bringing Them Home Report in 1997. However, the voices of Indigenous parents were largely missing from the Report. The Inquiry attributed their lack of testimony to the impact of trauma and the silencing impact of parents’ overwhelming sense of guilt and despair; a submission by Link-Up NSW commented on Aboriginal mothers being “unwilling and unable to speak about the immense pain, grief and anguish that losing their children had caused them.”
This book explores what happened to Aboriginal mothers who had children removed and why they have overwhelmingly remained silent about their experiences. Identifying the structural barriers to Aboriginal mothering in the Stolen Generations era, the author examines how contemporary laws, policies and practices increased the likelihood of Aboriginal child removal and argues that negative perceptions of Aboriginal mothering underpinned removal processes, with tragic consequences. This book makes an important contribution to understanding the history of the Stolen Generations and highlights the importance of designing inclusive truth-telling processes that enable a diversity of perspectives to be shared.
Table of ContentsChapter 1: Motherhood, Truth-Telling and the Bringing Them Home Inquiry
Chapter 2: Untold Suffering? Motherhood and Silence
Chapter 3: ‘To the Exclusion of the Rights of the Mother’: The Impact of Aboriginal ‘Protection’ Legislation
Chapter 4: ‘Strange Anomalies’: Limitations on Aboriginal Mothers’ Access to Social Security
Chapter 5: ‘Forcible Removal Through Employment’: The Impact of the Requirement to Work on Aboriginal Mothers
Chapter 6: Monitored Motherhood: The Impact of State Surveillance and the Threat of Intervention in Aboriginal Families
Chapter 7: ‘Sitting in Judgement’? Views About Aboriginal Mothering
Chapter 8: For Their Own Good? Diverse Perspectives on Aboriginal Child Removal
Chapter 9: Beyond Silence: Aboriginal Mothers’ Experiences of Children Removal in the Stolen Generations Era
