Indigenous people have long spoken about coercive practices of officials and experts around birth control, as late as the 1960s. Now historians are finding evidence in the government’s own records.
Melissa Lucashenko’s latest novel is an epic, affirming pathways for Indigenous futures – and she gifts us with characters impossible not to invest in.
Was international bestselling author Dorothy Cottrell too female, too popular, too ‘unAustralian’ and perhaps, too disabled, for the local literary establishment?
Truth-telling between First Nations and non-Indigenous people is a vital step in recognising past colonial wrongdoing. And research has found it is also a step towards self-determination and healing.
Brenda Matthews’ story is a truth-seeking quest to right the wrongs perpetrated by a government hell-bent on doing ‘as they saw fit’ when it came to Aboriginal peoples, writes Sandra Phillips.
First Nations women and their newborns are considered high risk due to fatality rates and access to care. Research shows First Nations-led culturally safe healthcare could prevent further deaths.
Our analysis revealed the relative attention our news and opinion pieces gave to First Nations peoples began to grow steadily from around 2005, with a huge peak in 2007.
Formal hearings of the Yoorrook Justice Commission have begun in Melbourne. This is the first Indigenous-led justice commission of this kind in the world.
Scott Morrison’s comments on the 14th anniversary of the Stolen Generations’ Apology show a lack of understanding of what is really needed to ensure healing for First Nations peoples.
As we edge closer to another anniversary of Kevin Rudd’s National Apology to the Stolen Generations, the number of First Nations children in out-of-home has increased.
Recently, the Commonwealth government created a redress scheme to compensate Stolen Generations survivors. But more needs to be done to address the trauma.
Steve Larkin, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education
In a survey of Stolen Generation survivors, two-thirds reported a decline in their physical health as a result of COVID restrictions, while 75% reported a decline in their mental health and wellbeing.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are increasingly being removed from their families and placed into out-of-home care, raising concerns of another Stolen Generation.
Signatures developed to replace rituals as a form of legal validation. Indigenous people have seen their marks used against them and rallied communities to use signatures in innovative protests.
State archives hold precious Noongar letters pleading for the return of Stolen Generations children. Among them, I find my grandmother’s grandfather: historical records of love.
Aileen Marwung Walsh’s grandparents were sent to the Moore River Native Settlement, of Rabbit Proof Fence infamy, half a century ago. In 2018, 100 years after the settlement’s founding, she returned.
Honorary (Senior Fellow) School of Culture and Communication University of Melbourne. Editor in Chief, Design and Art of Australia Online, The University of Melbourne