DARWIN — On August 10, the Cubillo and Gunner v Commonwealth trial reopens in the Federal Court. The cases are an attempt to show that the earlier government policy of removal of Aboriginal children from their families was racist and an attempt to "assimilate" or wipe out their Aboriginality. The cases highlight the neglect and violence the Aboriginal children were exposed to. The commonwealth is the defendant because it was commonwealth laws that made possible the forced removal and subsequent institutionalisation of Aboriginal children of "mixed" descent in the NT. Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly's REBECCA MECKELBURG spoke to BARBARA CUMMINGS, spokesperson for the stolen generation community.
Question: What issues have been raised as a result of this case and the campaign of the stolen generation for justice?
We hope that this case will set a precedent for the treatment of children. There are other examples: the British government sent children away from their families to Australia, and those children are still seeking justice.
There are others affected by this kind of loss. By going to court, we hope that legislators will take notice that you can't deny vulnerable groups of people their rights.
The time has come for all Australians to consider the need for a bill of rights. Governments should no longer be allowed to create legislation that impedes citizens' rights as human beings. In the past, there has been some discussion of a bill of rights but it has been shelved.
This case is just one of many fought in a court of law to prove that an injustice has been done by the commonwealth government. The commonwealth has already demonstrated that it will fight it all the way, despite so much public evidence that an injustice has been done.
Question: Has the litigation process been in any way empowering?
It has been for people in Darwin. This town is a dumping ground for those taken and put in institutions. There were eight institutions in the NT — Retta Dixon Children's Home and Kahlin Compound in Darwin, the Bungalow (the old Telegraph station), St Mary's and St John's in Alice Springs, and Croker Island, Groote Eylandt and Garden Point.
Our experience is similar to those of many Aboriginal people in the southern states who, because of the government's land rights legislation, have no legal rights to land. In some ways, the land councils have accepted the impact of the stolen generation policy.
But I have to belong somewhere. Aboriginal people who have voluntarily moved from their land have the option to go back, but the stolen generation cannot go back. We grew up with the Larrakia [the traditional owners of Darwin], we were all put in the same institutions, but we have no land rights. We've been abandoned by the government and, in some ways, by the land councils. So the court process has given us opportunities for our experiences to be heard.
Question: Can you tell us about your experiences?
My mother was taken from the Daly in 1925 when she was two. Her sister was also taken; she was four. Their mother was "full blood". They separated them at the institution. This happened a lot. They would take the mothers and babies to town and then separate them.
They were there from 1925 until the late '30s. Eventually she was moved to Retta Dixon. My mother had three children, and we were all wards of the state. My brother and I lived at Retta Dixon, and my other brother was sent to Croker Island.
We were not allowed to learn our language, our customs or our corroboree. We were not allowed to experience the bonding of families or with anyone else. We were taught instead that god was our friend. We were taught that Jesus died for us, Jesus saved us and we should be glad for it. This experience has a long-term effect.
You're expected to be a good child, then a good parent, but after living your life in an institution, how are you supposed to know how? There was a lot of despair, a lot of rejection, a lot of feeling of being dumped. And remember, Retta Dixon only closed in 1980.
Question: What do you hope to achieve in the court case?
Our experiences result from systemic racism in this country. If we win, it will benefit all Australians. It will say something about the welfare of children and what is good and what is not.
The government is only concerned with acquittal of its responsibilities for child welfare. There is a total lack of services that enable positive community development rather than band-aid solutions.
We hope that some of the benefits of the case will be some legislative change or at least a better ability to deal with the rights of children.
Maybe the case will give us some answers to where we come from, how did we get here and why are we still here. And maybe it will answer the question of why the government could take away a child from its family because of the colour of its skin.
This stolen generation experience is only one of the injustices done to Aboriginal people. It's been more than 30 years since governments have had the opportunity to do something serious about land rights [Aboriginal people were "granted" citizenship rights in 1967]. The Land Rights Act is inadequate, and there's little being done about it. The land councils are accepting things as they are.
Question: What can people do who want to support the struggle for justice and the stolen generation community?
At the reopening of the trial, we want all Australians who can to be with us on that historic day to give us support. We think that this case has informed many people about the stolen generation issue, and we hope that more people will continue to learn and understand our experience.
[People are asked to gather outside the Supreme Court in Darwin at noon, Tuesday, August 10. Members of the stolen generation urge people to contact their local politicians and others and inform them about the issues.]