ATNS - Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements project

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The Stolen Generations
Category:	Event
Date:	1910s
Date To:	1970s
Place:
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State/Country:	Australia
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Subject Matter:	Law - Policy and Justice \| Reconciliation \| Youth
Summary Information:
Between the 1910s and 1970s, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly removed from their families and communities. These children became known as the Stolen Generations.
Detailed Information:
Various state and federal government policies authorised the removal and assimilation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. The children were intentionally separated from their culture, heritage and language in an effort to assimilate them into white Australia. Once removed, the children were often placed in institutions or with non-Indigenous families. It is estimated that between 1 in 10 and 1 in 3 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were removed from their families and communities between 1910 and 1970. As a result, the Stolen Generations caused significant intergenerational trauma and loss among Indigenous Australians (Bringing Them Home Report, 1997; AIHW, 2018; The Healing Foundation, 2020).