Who were the Stolen Generations?
The Stolen Generations are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly removed from their families by Australian governments, churches and welfare agencies. Removals occurred from the late 1800s until the 1970s.
Government policies aimed to assimilate Aboriginal children into white society. Children were placed in institutions, missions and foster homes, and many were forbidden from speaking their languages or seeing their families.
It is estimated that between one in ten and one in three Indigenous children were removed from their families between 1910 and 1970.
Bringing Them Home
In 1997, the Bringing Them Home report by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission documented the experiences of the Stolen Generations. It found that the removals caused lasting harm, including trauma, loss of culture and disrupted family connections.
On 13 February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a National Apology to the Stolen Generations in federal Parliament.
National Sorry Day is held on 26 May each year to remember the Stolen Generations. The film Rabbit-Proof Fence, released in 2002, tells the story of three girls who escaped from a settlement and walked home.