Aboriginal Families: Overview

Background

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are the Indigenous peoples of Australia. Like many of the world's Indigenous peoples they are significantly disadvantaged when compared to the mainstream population.

For an overview click here

The impact of issues such as poverty, ill health, lower educational attainment and employment continues to impact on Aboriginal communities in general and Aboriginal families specifically. On completion of the module you will:

1. Have an understanding of the significance of family for Aboriginal communities;
2. Recognise the impact that legislation has had on shaping the experience of Aboriginal families;
3. Appreciate the need for programs that support Aboriginal families at a grass roots level;
4. Reflect on the similarities and differences between your own family and cultural traditions and that of Aboriginal Australians.

During this module you will be introduced to a range of historical and recent examples of Aboriginal family experiences. The examples are drawn predominantly from the mid-north coast region of New South Wales from the area traditionally owned by the Dunghutti and Gumbayngirr peoples (please note spellings may vary). This work acknowledges those peoples and their elders past and present. To view a map of the region click here Scroll through the languages and select Dunghutti and Gumbaynggirr.

Women's Stories

Women remain important story tellers within the community for passing on family stories and cultural traditions.

Further information:

• To read other titles in the Aboriginal Women's Heritage series click here 

Other items

• Stories from the Aboriginal Women of the Yarning Circle: When Cultures CollideWhich way that empowerment? : Aboriginal women's narratives of empowerment
• 'For our mother's song we sing': Yanyuwa Aboriginal women's narratives of experience, memory and emotion  
• White Mothers, Indigenous Families, and the politics of voice 

The Stolen Generations

From the beginning of the Twentieth Century all mainland Australian states enacted "Protection" legislation which gave the states far reaching power to intervene in Aboriginal lives. Among the most damaging parts of the legislations was the ability for the state to remove Aboriginal children from their families. This practice continued until the late 1960's and accounts for one of the most damaging legacies of colonisation for Aboriginal people. The removed children are often referred to as the Stolen Generations.

In the 1990's Sir Ronald Wilson conducted a Royal Commission into the removal of Aboriginal Children from their families. The report, Bringing them Home, ignited public debate within Australia. Films such as Rabbit Proof Fence also reached into the national consciousness and challenged the notion that removal was "in their best interests".

The then Prime Minister John Howard refused to apologise to the Stolen Generations and this refusal caused distress within the Aboriginal community. Grass roots movements such as the Harbour Bridge Walk and the Sea of Hands maintained pressure for an apology to be delivered. The Apology was first act of the new Labour-led Australian parliament led by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in 2008.

To watch the apology click here

The removal of Aboriginal children from their families is important on the mid-north coats of New South Wales for two reasons.

1. The removal of children from their families in that area;
2. The placement of Kinchela Boys Home near Kempsey, which was the major Aboriginal Boy's Institution in NSW

The stories of removal for Jennifer and John were collected as part of the Royal Commission into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from the families and cover the two aspects mentioned above.

• Jennifer  
• John  

Many of the boys who were placed in Kinchela continue to have issues related to their removal as men. In 2009 a Healing Strategy to support the men and their families was launched in NSW