Aboriginal Healing, Stolen Generations
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"... The theory of intergenerational transmission of trauma; the findings of major reports like Bringing them home; the daily realities of abuse, suicide and mental illness, alcohol and substance abuse and sky rocketing incarceration rates among Indigenous communities, all point to the imperative for community wide healing. All Indigenous peoples have been touched by trauma in some way. All Indigenous peoples deserve the opportunity to work through this trauma to heal..."
Social Justice Report, 2008, Australian Human Rights Commission |
"However, it is now time to develop a comprehensive understanding of healing and look at ways that it can be systematically supported. In previous Social Justice Reports have found that many of the good examples of healing are ad hoc and poorly funded, when what is needed is consistent, long term support to heal the wounds of the Stolen Generations, their families and communities.
It is also timely to bring an agenda for healing to the fore of the national agenda on Indigenous affairs..." "... The theory of intergenerational transmission of trauma; the findings of major reports like Bringing them home; the daily realities of abuse, suicide and mental illness, alcohol and substance abuse and sky rocketing incarceration rates among Indigenous communities, all point to the imperative for community wide healing. All Indigenous peoples have been touched by trauma in some way. All Indigenous peoples deserve the opportunity to work through this trauma to heal..." "... Finally, healing is not just about Indigenous peoples. Healing is part of reconciliation. It is not about attributing blame or a 'black arm band' view of history but honestly facing up to the mistakes of the past and acknowledging our shared history and shared future. The National Apology was an important step in recognition, healing and reconciliation. In his Sydney Peace Prize lecture, Patrick Dodson, one of the leaders of the reconciliation movement in Australia stated: 'With the National Apology the nation has been given a wonderful opportunity to begin to make justice possible not only for the Aboriginal people but for all the people of this nation. Justice denied one group within the nation is a diminishment of us all and the nation will remain diminished until the wrong is righted.' Patrick Dodson Commentators such as Gregory Phillips have noted the need for a truth and reconciliation process, similar to South Africa or Canada. This would enable both perpetrators and survivors of the forced removal policies to share their stories, and generate wide community acknowledgement for trauma and harm that occurred. This could be an important aspect of non-Indigenous healing, moving towards reconciliation. Broader Australian society must also deal with questions around history, identity and justice to heal. This means coming to terms with past policies but also current policies to ensure the mistakes of the past are never repeated and Indigenous peoples have equal life chances..." |
"... Perhaps more importantly, Indigenous communities are stridently calling for healing. This is not new. There have been widespread calls for healing and healing programs to meet the recommendations for the Bringing them home report. However, we are now seeing renewed calls for healing to address broader issues like family violence and alcohol and other drug use.
These calls are coming from all parts of the Indigenous community and increasingly from Indigenous men. On 3 July 2008 a summit on Indigenous men’s health in Alice Springs issued the Inteyerrkwe Statement: We as Aboriginal males from Central Australia and our visitor brothers from around the Australia gathered at Inteyerrkwe in July 2008 to develop strategies to ensure our future roles as husbands, grandfathers, fathers, uncles, nephews, brothers, grandsons, and sons in caring for our children in a safe family environment that will lead to a happier, longer life that reflects opportunities experienced by the wider community. We acknowledge and say sorry for the hurt, pain and suffering caused by Aboriginal males to our wives, to our children, to our mothers, to our grandmothers, to our granddaughters, to our aunties, to our nieces and to our sisters.[15]... ... While it is positive that government is beginning to look at healing options, it is Indigenous community calls for healing that provide the most compelling imperative to progress healing initiatives. As Gregory Phillips has stated, ‘healing is not a strategy, it is a process’[17] and it is a process that needs the full ownership of the Indigenous community if it is going to work. I think the Indigenous community has been crying out for healing for a long time and are ideally placed to take on the challenge of healing. Developments like the Inteyerrkwe Statement show a community that is united in its desire to face up to some difficult realities and heal. Social Justice Report, 2008 > Want to learn more historical trauma? |