Who are the Stolen Generations?
Since the arrival of Europeans to the Central Australian region in the late 1800s, Indigenous children were removed from their families, by compulsion, duress, trickery, personal action, church intervention and as the result of past policies and practices of Australian governments. Prior to 1911 and then under the Aboriginal Ordinance 1911, the Commonwealth gave the Chief Protector the power to act as the legal guardian of every Aboriginal and person of mixed descent in the Northern Territory, until the child attained the age of 18. As a result of these policies, children were forcibly removed and placed into government and church institutions across Australia. CASG&FAC identifies three overlapping eras that created the Stolen Generations: •The Assimilation Era: 1910-1953; • The Adoption Era : 1935-1976; and •The Child Protection Era : 1983 and ongoing. The formal Stolen Generations Movement in the Northern Territory commenced around the " Going Home Conference" which was held at Kormilda College in Darwin in October 1994. Approximately 600 Stolen Generations representatives travelled from every state and territory to attend the conference. In May 1995, in response to efforts made by key indigenous agencies and communities, the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families "Bringing Them Home" was established. Click here for a chronology of the Stolen Generations Movement in the Northern Territory. Click here for a Stolen Generations Timeline