Stolen Generations: Assimilation Into The White Community

Assimilation was founded on the assumption of black inferiority and white superiority, which proposed that Indigenous people should be allowed to “die out” through a process of natural elimination, or, where possible, should be assimilated into the white community. Assimilation focused primarily on children, who were considered more adaptable to white society than Indigenous adults.

As the Australian Aboriginal people were not able to live as the white people wanted them to do, between the years of 1883 – 1969, the Australian Federal and State government agencies and church missions, ordered for the removal of their children from their families. The generations of children removed under these policies became known as the Stolen Generations. These acts, caused the Aboriginal people a lot of pain and suffering as families are broken and children suffered from years of neglect and abuse in the government reserves and stations or in the homes of white people.
Particularly vulnerable were the Aboriginal children whom had mixed-parentage as their skin was lighter and they were thought to be better able to adapt to the western way. The children were lied to and told that they had been given up by their parents as they could not care for them and did not want them. As a result, most of the victims of separation were ashamed to talk about their removal. Some were taken so young that they did not remember where they had come from or even who their parents were. Many of these children did not, and could not, return to their families even after turning 18 when they were given the choice to return. Those who did, were not able to function as normal