What happened
From roughly 1910 to the 1970s, government policies across the country removed many Indigenous children from their families and communities and placed them in institutions or with foster carers.
Background
The aim was to assimilate Indigenous people into mainstream society. The children who were taken were cut off from their language, culture, and family ties and were deeply harmed.
Consequences
The 1997 government report Bringing Them Home brought this history to light. The Stolen Generations remain central to Australia’s debate over reconciliation.