Disconnected lines
Watch the video below
In this section, learn about the impact of colonisation, missions, reserves, stations, farms and properties on Aboriginal Kinship systems and how these broke lines of connection between Aboriginal Nations, Clans and families.
Consider
- How did being the victim of massacres, killings and introduced diseases affect family relations across Nations and Clans?
- How did religious division of land into missionary responsibility (through the creation of missions) affect Aboriginal people and their Nation and Clan groups?
- What is the effect of forcing people from different Nations, Clans and languages or areas to move together?
- What has been the effect of ‘Pidgin English’ and ‘Aboriginal English’ on Aboriginal people when leaving mission and reserve institutions?
- What is the effect of forced relationships against Kinship structure?
- Why were Aboriginal people treated as children?
- Why were external agencies violent towards Aboriginal people?
- Issues that arise when mission and reserve institutions close after dependency developed over generations?
Themes
- Living across two cultures.
- What it means to live in contemporary society for Aboriginal people today.
- Experiences of living on missions, reserves and stations for Aboriginal people.
- Experiences of leaving the mission, reserve or station and entering wider society in Australia.
- Experiences with contemporary institutions and public service sectors for Aboriginal people.
- Experience of learning English (as first or second language).
More information
- Australian Institute of Family Studies
- Working with Aboriginal clients
- Australian Museum
- Indigenous Australia overview (Australian Museum website)
- Collaborating for Indigenous Rights
- Collaborating for Indigenous Rights: Timeline
- First Australians – SBS
- Aboriginal History – YouTube
- LaTrobe University – iTunes (free course)
- Aboriginal history of Australia
Module complete
Congratulations on finishing the Kinship Module.
Visit the community narratives page to watch video interviews with Aboriginal people from western New South Wales, where they provide examples from their lives when cultural difference was not understood and created conflict and/or trauma in their lives.