Introduction
Good evening, thank you for inviting me here this evening. I would like to discuss how Carmel Bird’s non-fiction book The Stolen Children-Their Stories (TSC) and Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s poem, “We are going” (WAG) gives us an understanding of how Australian voices reflect Australian values. Both texts explore the unfair treatment and effects of suffering inflicted upon Aboriginal communities and individuals by past government’s policies, as well as western society’s disrespect and ignorance. By analysing the texts, we learn about the values of egalitarianism from the perspectives of both indigenous people and the government. Egalitarianism means a fair go for all people where everyone is equal in fundamental worth and status. Getting this kind of insight into social and political issues of assimilation changes the view on problems of equality in this country. It reveals we should have sense of responsibility towards Aboriginal people and provide justice for their suffering.
Body
Carmel bird’s view
Carmel Bird organised the report in a simplified non-fiction text form for regular Australians to be able to discover how the past government’s policy deeply affected the culture, identity and lives of Indigenous people. The composer used persuasive text to convey different emotional stories and perspectives to convince the readers of her subjective point of view. One of the textual features is the order of the texts. The texts start from the perspectives of the Aboriginals who were affected, positioning responders to feel sympathy for them. And by putting the speech of John Howard about avoiding apologising to these people at the end makes him look unsympathetic. This further reinforces Bird’s attempt to convince Australians to share her perception of accepting Indigenous people as equals and work towards reconciliation.
Cover of the book
Bird starts with her introduction by discussing the front cover of the book. The photo depicts six