Impact of Stolen Generation: A Reflective Essay on Indigenous History

This essay reflects on the student's evolving understanding of the Stolen Generation, sparked by a lecture discussing the historical injustices faced by Aboriginal Australians. Initially unaware of the depth of trauma experienced by Aboriginal families, the student's perspective shifted upon learning about the policies of the NSW Aborigines Welfare Board and the forced removal of children. The reflection details how this knowledge challenged pre-existing biases and highlights the lasting impact of these policies on subsequent generations. Furthermore, the essay outlines an action plan for developing culturally competent nursing practices, emphasizing the importance of empathy, respect, and ongoing education to provide better care for Aboriginal communities. The student aims to enhance critical reflective skills and interpersonal communication to foster a more inclusive and understanding approach in their professional practice.

Running head: STOLEN GENERATION
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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STOLEN GENERATION
In module 1, an issue raised by Professor Lisa Pulver Jackson in her lecture caught my
attention was stolen generation. The data suggested that the NSW Aborigines Welfare Board
used to control the life of Aboriginal individuals until 1960s (Eckermann et al., 2010). This
issue really challenged my knowledge of the stolen generation and helped me to rearranging my
practice of providing culturally providing services as a nurse.
This part of the assignment would provide a brief overview of my feeling regarding the
stolen generation. Before listening to the piece of information shared by the professor, I was
unaware of the pain and traumatized experiences Aboriginal families used to experiences. I had
never given much thought to this issue before. During the lecture when the professor talked
about the histories, policies, and statistics related disadvantages, racism and poverty connecting
to the issues of stolen generation, I gained a concise knowledge of stolen generation. Although, I
have never experienced these issues I can feel how things affected the Aboriginal individuals.
This experience is an optimistic experience for me since I came to know that there were
multiple factors can influence the life Aboriginal people. I also came to know that it was not an
easy experience for Aboriginal children where they were forbidden to speak to their own
language; they were told that their parents do not want them, they experience sexual emotional,
sexual and physical abuse and they received little and no education. After knowing this misery of
Aboriginal individuals, I become more mindful of my opinion which was formed based on the
beliefs I hold for the Aboriginal individuals. The understanding from the lecture was that the
stolen generation was a genocide as a form of mass killing and destroying the group,
communities, and families by separating the children from their parents which affected next
generations as well (Blignault & Williams, 2017). This concept of the stolen generation has

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reformed my beliefs about Aboriginal individuals. After listening to the lecture of professor I
think the aim of the assimilation was to solve the Aboriginal by separating the children from
them so that they lose their identity in the wider community. Therefore, the concept of the stolen
generation challenged my beliefs as a part of the citizen of Australia.
In the analysis part, I would like to mention that my opinions have been based on the
reading I read. I have learned that until 1960s NSW Aborigines Welfare Board brought the
destruction of Aboriginal families and society. The protection and assimilation policies
included separated the children from their parents for the sake of education ultimately affected
the wellbeing of children along with their parents and their next generations (O’Donnell et al.,
2019). The young people with parents, grandparents or great grandparents who were taken
during the stolen generation, were 30% less likely to have good health, 50% more likely
changed by police and 10 % less likely to have jobs (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Healing Foundation, 2017).
From this experience, I like to conclude that because of stereotypes, personal beliefs and
inadequate knowledge of stolen generation influence my thinking process. Although it is
difficult to reformulate the beliefs which I had before about the Aboriginal of Torres Strait
Island, after gaining knowledge, I became more mindful about the opinions I will provide in
future about the Aboriginal community. Previously I had some biases regarding the Aboriginal
individuals which influenced my behavior while working in culturally safe way as a nurse.
Therefore, I was not aware of my behavior toward Aboriginal individuals.

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STOLEN GENERATION
I have gained new knowledge about the stolen generation which influenced my feeling
and beliefs. In this case, the action plan I would be required is to develop my critical reflective
skills which will further help me to reexamine my beliefs and attitude as well as values towards
the Aboriginal individuals while providing culturally competent services to the Aboriginal
community. I would develop interpersonal skills to communicate with the Aboriginal individuals
while communicating with the Aboriginal. It is required to work on core nursing skills such as
empathy, compassion, dignity, respect, privacy, resilience, autonomy to provide culturally
competent services and provide them the comfort and security (Funston & Herring 2016).
Moreover, I would involve myself in the workshops and trainings to develop my culturally
competent visiting in their community so that I can include their culture, and beliefs in the
services in the future. I look forward to further develop my skills in the future which would
influence my practice.

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References:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation (2017). Bringing Them home 20
years on: An action plan for healing.
Blignault, I., & Williams, M. (2017). Challenges in evaluating Aboriginal healing programs:
Definitions, diversity and data. Evaluation Journal of Australasia, 17(2), 4-10.
Eckermann, A. K., Down, T., Chong, E., Nixon, L., Gray, R., & Johnson, S. (2010). Binan
Goonj: Bridging cultures in Aboriginal health (3rd ed.). Chatswood, NSW: Elsevier
Australia. Pp1-42 (the important policy areas are summarised for students in this
document and will be explored in the tutorial).
Funston, L., & Herring, S. (2016). When will the stolen generations end?: A qualitative critical
exploration of contemporary'child protection'practices in Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander communities. Sexual Abuse in Australia and New Zealand, 7(1), 51.
O’Donnell, M., Taplin, S., Marriott, R., Lima, F., & Stanley, F. J. (2019). Infant removals: The
need to address the over-representation of Aboriginal infants and community concerns of
another ‘stolen generation’. Child abuse & neglect, 90, 88-98.