Bringing-Them-Home-Report-Web

The significance of Indigenous languages to the maintenance of family relations andthe preservation and transmission of cultures was not lost on missionaries andprotectors. The speaking of languages was frequently prohibited.People were also punished for speaking language. In many places language becamesomething that had to be hidden; we were taught to be ashamed if we spoke anything otherthan English (Kimberley Language Resource Centre submission 759 page 2).[The old people] didn’t like you listening in and wouldn’t explain things to you, what it wasabout … Then again they were frightened of white-fellas, Superintendents [-] they were veryvery frightened … If old people tried to teach the younger people, they were sent to PalmIsland, at the pleasure of the Superintendent in those days. It was a crime to teach uslanguages, that’s why we were going backwards … The old people were frightened of gettingsent away … That’s why a lot of our people were frightened to teach us our language. It wasfear (quoted by Aird 1996 on page 14).The loss of language is intimately connected with the loss of identity for those forciblyremoved and their descendants.The story of language loss is the story of separation. With the removal of children from theirfamilies and displacement to missions, authorities effectively isolated these children from thenurturing and supportive structures of all aspects of their culture.It is well known that the mission children were not only discouraged from speaking theirnative languages, but in many cases physically punished for doing so.‘What must be remembered is that language is not simply a tool for everydaycommunication, but through recording of stories, songs, legends, poetry and lore, holds thekey to a people’s history and opens the door to cultural and spiritual understanding(Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation of Languages submission 854 page 2).The Kimberley Language Resource Centre submitted,Language and identity are closely linked, and for many of us our language is a symbol ofidentity central to our self-esteem, cultural respect and social identification. Our languagesprovide more than just a way to talk to each other. They provide a way for us to interpret thereality we see around us. The words we use to name things, to describe feelings,understandings and each other, carry meanings particular to us. If we lose these words, welose part of ourselves …… when our children were stolen from our families one of the things that happened was thatthe language learning cycles were broken. Transmission from generation to generation is acrucial link in language maintenance. Taking the children away broke this link (submission759 page 1).The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody commended theestablishment of language and culture centres and recommended that governmentssupport these Indigenous initiatives (Recommendation 56). A network of regionallanguage centres is now established with funding administered by ATSIC under theAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Language Identification Program (ATSILIP). The