Impacts of Stolen Generations on Indigenous People

Running head: STOLEN GENERATIONS
Stolen Generations
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

STOLEN GENERATIONS 2
Introduction
The history of the injustice perpetrated to the children of indigenous people elicits
various emotions. These emotions are usually those of sadness and grief. The stolen
generations refer to children who were alienated from their families by the white settlers.
This happened between 1910 and 1970 (Aldrich, 2017). The alienation of these children from
their parents was based on the belief that white is superior to black. Therefore, the stolen
generations were taken away on the basis of racial discrimination. The aim of alienating these
children from their parents was a plan to naturally eradicate the black people in a natural way.
The children would be taught to hate their roots and embrace the white culture. They would
be lied to that their parents were either dead or had abandoned them. These children were
immensely mistreated and abused. This history had various impacts on people. These impacts
are still being felt today. Upon discovering the great suffering that the policy had caused, the
government. people. The apology was a great way to start the healing process. This history
has also impacted community work. This assignment is going to focus the history of these
children. The impact of their history on the contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people are going to be addressed. The apology is also going to be addressed. In
addition, the paper will also focus on the implications of the stolen generations to the
community work
Impacts of the History of the Alienated Children
Between 1910-1970, children were forced to leave their homes. This was as a result of
various policies that were aimed at assimilating the black. This caused trauma and other
negative effects that are felt to date (Short, 2016). In order to understand the impact of the
history on the contemporary people, it is important to have a brief look at what exactly
happened. The removal of these children was based on an assimilation policy. This policy

STOLEN GENERATIONS 3
was based on a notorious belief that black is inferior to white. Therefore, it was done as a
measure to naturally get rid of the black population. Those who formulated the inhumane
policy believed that it was easier to assimilate children and not adults. This is because
children would be more receptive to the white culture.
This history still matters today. The effects were so great that they are felt by the
contemporary indigenous society. One of the impacts is trauma. During the assimilation,
there were numerous cases of abuse. There were various forms of abuse perpetrated against
the stolen generations. These include sexual abuse, physical abuse, and psychological abuse.
The effects are still felt today. Psychologists explain that some forms of abuse, such as sexual
abuse may have long-lasting traumatic effects on an individual. Therefore, the stolen
generations still suffer trauma in the modern day due to the ills perpetrated against them by
the white masters.
The other impact is that a significant portion of the stolen generations feels ashamed
of their indigenous culture. During the assimilation process, these children were taught to
disregard their own culture and instead adopt the white one. They were made to believe that
their own culture is retrogressive and was not worth learning. Due to this, most of them have
developed contempt for their own language and culture. In fact, most cannot communicate in
their original languages. Most of the stolen generations and their descendants do not have a
native language (Harrison, Burke and Clarke, 2018). They use English as their primary
language. There have also been great psychological effects that resulted from being separated
from their families. Most were told that their parents were either not alive or did not care
about them.
There have also been several impacts on the families where the stolen generations
came from. Most of these families are yet to heal from the sorrow of being separated from the