Bringing-Them-Home-Report-Web

and access procedures so that they can provide a full assistance service to Indigenoussearchers. These Services will require priority access to a network of specialist officers ineach record-holding agency, sufficient information about the holdings of each agency andsufficient resources and skills to provide competent and reliable referral. Eachgovernment has a responsibility to establish an Indigenous Family Information Service asa ‘first stop shop’ for people seeking access to records.Widespread advertising of the existence and services of the Indigenous FamilyInformation Service would be a key to facilitating access.While they must be staffed by Indigenous people, the Services would not necessarilybe the best source of support and counselling, tracing and reunion support, or generalfamily and community research. It is preferable that these roles be undertaken byIndigenous-controlled services (see Royal Commission Recommendation 192).Indigenous Family Information ServiceRecommendation 27: That the Commonwealth and each State and TerritoryGovernment, in consultation with relevant Indigenous services and its RecordsTaskforce, establish an Indigenous Family Information Service to operate as a ‘firststop shop’ for people seeking information about and referral to records held by thegovernment and by churches. That these Services be staffed by Indigenous people.That to support these Services each government and church record agency nominatea designated contact officer.The Indigenous Family Information Services must be staffed by Indigenous people.Ideally the entire contact network should be constituted by Indigenous officers. TheGoing Home Conference recommended,… that the Minister direct his Department to create positions for Aboriginal contact officers inthe central and regional office of the Commonwealth Archives. The Aboriginal contact officerswould be responsible for facilitating for Aboriginal people who wish to have access toinformation held in the Commonwealth archives.To this end relevant traineeships and scholarships should be established. Graduateswould find employment in Family Information Services, government record agencies,family tracing and reunion services and, where established, Indigenous language, cultureand history centres.TrainingRecommendation 28: That the Commonwealth and each State and TerritoryGovernment institute traineeships and scholarships for the training of Indigenousarchivists, genealogists, historical researchers and counsellors.Indigenous repositories