2008 Woodie Awards
Learning Harsh History in Australia
Ethan Moore
Issue date: 4/14/06 Section: Opinion
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Every country in the world has its battle wounds and dark scars from mistakes of the past. America perhaps has too many to count. Australia, however, has an international reputation for being an oasis of sorts. Australia is paradise…but appearances can be deceiving. Australia has a past that not many would be proud of. The Indigenous people were invaded and denied all rights to their land. In the 1800's the Australian government devised a policy that would remove all Aboriginal people from their traditional lands, restrict their ability to marry, and move. It also removed thousands and thousands of children from 'uncivilized' situations. The policy was called protection but was anything but protective.
Imagine being in your front yard playing with your siblings and friends. Now imagine your parents running and screaming to grab and protect you. Why? Because you are about to be taken from them. Not because of neglect or abuse on behalf of your parents but because you are Aboriginal and must be 'saved.' From about 1880's-1970's thousands of children lived out this scenario everyday. Aboriginality was to be bred out and the people were taught that their culture was immoral and were forced into white supremacy. Families were ripped apart and communities destroyed. Kids would get on school buses thinking they were on their way to school but were never to return because they were stolen. Children were taken to missions and schools based upon their skin color. If they were too dark they were seen as too much native and not enough mind space to live in white society. They would be trained to be servants. The lighter kids were adopted into white families and forced to live in white society. This is Australia's lost generation which until recently I thought affected only the older generation. In the past few weeks I have had the privilege of meeting two members of the Stolen Generation. My professor Michael McDaniel was not able to teach us about the stolen generation because his siblings were stolen. It is enormously emotionally distressing for him. I also met a lawyer named Robyn Quiggin and she was forcibly removed from her family. Robyn is maybe 35. The devastation of the Stolen Generation is still tremendously evident not only the politically but musically and artistically too.
If you haven't yet seen the film, Rabbit Proof Fence, book it to blockbuster. The film is a true story about three young girls who are taken to a mission. They run away and walk 1500 miles to get home not once but twice. Anyway, there is a scene in the film that shows the girls being taken from their mothers. The scene was so difficult to shoot because many of the actors themselves were taken as children. Imagine being told that everything you are and all that you come from is wrong. Imagine being stripped of everything you've ever known without an explanation. What would you do?
Imagine being in your front yard playing with your siblings and friends. Now imagine your parents running and screaming to grab and protect you. Why? Because you are about to be taken from them. Not because of neglect or abuse on behalf of your parents but because you are Aboriginal and must be 'saved.' From about 1880's-1970's thousands of children lived out this scenario everyday. Aboriginality was to be bred out and the people were taught that their culture was immoral and were forced into white supremacy. Families were ripped apart and communities destroyed. Kids would get on school buses thinking they were on their way to school but were never to return because they were stolen. Children were taken to missions and schools based upon their skin color. If they were too dark they were seen as too much native and not enough mind space to live in white society. They would be trained to be servants. The lighter kids were adopted into white families and forced to live in white society. This is Australia's lost generation which until recently I thought affected only the older generation. In the past few weeks I have had the privilege of meeting two members of the Stolen Generation. My professor Michael McDaniel was not able to teach us about the stolen generation because his siblings were stolen. It is enormously emotionally distressing for him. I also met a lawyer named Robyn Quiggin and she was forcibly removed from her family. Robyn is maybe 35. The devastation of the Stolen Generation is still tremendously evident not only the politically but musically and artistically too.
If you haven't yet seen the film, Rabbit Proof Fence, book it to blockbuster. The film is a true story about three young girls who are taken to a mission. They run away and walk 1500 miles to get home not once but twice. Anyway, there is a scene in the film that shows the girls being taken from their mothers. The scene was so difficult to shoot because many of the actors themselves were taken as children. Imagine being told that everything you are and all that you come from is wrong. Imagine being stripped of everything you've ever known without an explanation. What would you do?