Introduction
The period of the lost generations began with the arrival of British colonizers in Australia between the late 18th and mid-20th centuries. The reason for the removal of children was the desire to assimilate them into European culture to change the identity of the Aboriginal people (Gilbert, 2019). Actions to remove children were taken by the colonial authorities, which also included cooperation with the church. Children were removed through violence or deception and sent to specialized places, which allowed them to be separated from their cultural environment. The impact of such events is traumatic for children and is expressed in the loss of culture and the breakdown of their own identity.
The Impact of the Policy ‘Stolen Generations’
To assimilate, thousands of Aboriginal children were separated from their families and placed in special boarding schools and foster homes. This is supported by three sources, including interviews collected by the researcher exploring the intergenerational impact, biographical and autobiographical writings by the participants themselves, and an investigative collection called Bringing Them Home (Gilbert, 2019). All sources confirm the fact that the children were taken away and banned from expressing their culture or traditions.
The history of forced removals has had a number of negative consequences that have left trauma to this day. Children of many families were removed, and upon returning home, their health and well-being were affected (O’Donnell et al., 2019). Traces of trauma contribute to increased rates of substance use, mental health problems, and deficits in parenting skills. In addition, people have lost contact with their families and their language, culture, and traditions, leading to a loss of identity.
Conclusion
The process of colonization had a significant negative impact on the Aboriginal population of Australia. The gap felt by the removed children between being visually perceived as aboriginal and living the identity they were forced to create led to a lack of understanding of their own identity. Today, this historical example encourages the country to value and revive its cultural heritage.
References
Gilbert, S. (2019). Living with the past: the creation of the stolen generation positionality. AlterNative, 15(3), 226–233. Web.
O’Donnell, M., Taplin, S., Marriott, R., Lima, F., & Stanley, F. (2019). Infant removals: The need to address the over-representation of Aboriginal infants and community concerns of another ‘stolen generation’. Child Abuse & Neglect, 90, 88–98. Web.
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