Original early 1920's era postcard of 2 pretty, serious looking teenage sisters of mixed aboriginal or Torres Strait Island descent called Lillie and Florrie wearing Western summer clothes, fostered into white families, removed from their family by 'removalists' who were mostly white male missionaries, patrol officers and police officers - this scandal is known as the Stolen Generations or Stolen Children, Australia
On reverse of this postcard is written "To Cousin Annie & Hilda With love from Cousin Lillie and Florrie. The Stolen Generations were the children of Australian Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander descent who were removed from their families by the Australian federal and state government agencies & church missions, under acts of their respective parliaments. The removals of those referred to as "half-caste" children were conducted in the period between approximately although in some places mixed-race children were still being taken into the 1970s. Official government estimates are that in certain regions between one in ten and one in three Indigenous Australian children were forcibly taken from their families and communities between 1910 and 1970. Source: Wikipedia In Australia, between 1910 and the 1970s, governments, churches and welfare bodies forcibly removed many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. These children became known as the Stolen Generations. Their removal was sanctioned by various government policies, which have left a legacy of trauma and loss that continues to affect First Nations communities, families and individuals today. The forcible removal of First Nations children from their families was based on assimilation policies, which claimed that the lives of First Nations people would be improved if they became part of white society. Assimilation policies proposed that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples should be allowed to ‘die out’ through a process of natural elimination, or, where possible, assimilated into the white community. Policies focused on assimilating children as they were considered more adaptable to white society than adults. Children of First Nations and white parentage were particularly vulnerable to removal because authorities thought these children could be assimilated more easily into the white community due to their lighter skin colour. Source: Australians together
Size: 4363px × 6686px
Location: Australia
Photo credit: © ThislifeThen / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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