Bringing-Them-Home-Report-Web

… there exists a large body of administrative and personal records relating to Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander peoples … these records form part of the cultural heritage of the Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander peoples of this State and are of vital concern to those … wishing to findout more about their own, their families and their communities past (Queensland Communityand Personal Histories Draft Access Policy 1996).Indigenous organisations and individuals told the Inquiry that records about themcreated and held by governments and non-government agencies should belong to them.Some witnesses asserted an individual’s rights to reclaim his or her records.Why have they got records on us? I’m not a criminal. I never have been a criminal and Iobject to the government holding records on me. I didn’t do anything wrong and I wantthose records to be – if they don’t want to hand them over to me, then destroy them in frontof me. I don’t see why I should have that humiliation.Confidential evidence 284, South Australia.I think they should be getting everyone’s records together and handing it back to them, sothat at least we know our own identity. A lot of it’s still lost and I don’t know if I’ll ever findit.Confidential evidence 283, South Australia.Indigenous organisations asserted the community’s right to recover thedocumentation of its history, including personal information about community members.All records relating to Aboriginal people and their communities should be housed by appropriateAboriginal organisations as determined by the communities (Link Up’s, Keeping Places, orCultural Centres may be examples of such organisations). Such organisations must be givenadequate resources in order to arrange proper ‘user friendly’ access, and indexing to these recordsand to allow for their physical maintenance. In addition such organisations must be resourced inorder to provide necessary client counselling and support, research assistance services and ‘newand potential user’ information services (Stolen Generations National Workshop 1996 submission754 page 23).Link-Up recommends the establishment of an Aboriginal Archive where all of the departmentalrecords pertaining to Aboriginal people will be consolidated under an Aboriginal-controlledadministration with uniform and culturally appropriate access procedures.To implement this recommendation, an Aboriginal Archive committee comprising appropriatedepartments and Aboriginal organisations should be formed to formulate a plan for establishingthe Aboriginal Archive (Link-Up (NSW) submission 186 page 11).That a national centre or institution be established as a memorial to truth, in recognition of thegross violations of human rights suffered by the ‘Stolen Generations’ and for the purpose ofsharing history, keeping records, undertaking research and establishing international links withother victims of forced removal (Central Land Council submission 495 page 14,recommendation 8).