Stolen Motherhood

Anne Maree Payne

doi:10.5771/9781793618634

Stolen Motherhood

Aboriginal Mothers and Child Removal in the Stolen Generations Era

1. Edition 2021

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doi.org/10.5771/9781793618634
ISBN print: 978-1-7936-1862-7
ISBN online: 978-1-7936-1863-4
Lexington, Lanham Lexington, Lanham

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Abstract

The 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.

Schlagworte

Aboriginal history Aboriginal mothers Bringing Them Home Australian history Indigenous child removal Indigenous parental rights right to mother the Stolen Generations

Chapter Expand | CollapsePage
Preface
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
1–16 Introduction 1–16
17–30 Chapter One: Motherhood, Truth-Telling and the Bringing Them Home Inquiry 17–30
31–52 Chapter Two: Untold Suffering? Motherhood and Silence 31–52
53–66 Chapter Three: “To the Exclusion of the Rights of the Mother” 53–66
67–76 Chapter Four: “Strange Anomalies” 67–76
77–84 Chapter Five: “Forcible Removal Through Employment” 77–84
85–92 Chapter Six: Monitored Motherhood 85–92
93–116 Chapter Seven: Sitting in Judgment? Views about Aboriginal Mothering 93–116
117–138 Chapter Eight: For Their Own Good? Diverse Perspectives on Aboriginal Child Removal 117–138
139–160 Chapter Nine: Beyond Silence 139–160
161–170 Conclusion 161–170
171–172 Appendix I 171–172
173–176 Appendix II 173–176
177–188 Bibliography 177–188
189–196 Index 189–196
197–197 About the Author 197–197

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