Bringing-Them-Home-Report-Web

caused these losses and the further losses that flow inevitably from dispossession.It must be acknowledged that, no matter how well intentioned the motives of the church werein its involvement in separating children from their families, it’s complicity has contributedto the dislocation of the people concerned and therefore to their loss of land, language andidentity (Anglican Church of Australia, Diocese of Perth submission 410 page 2).The staff members who served at Marribank [WA], the scatter homes and the hostels, withfew exceptions, were not trained for cross-cultural work. Many acknowledge that they knewlittle of the cultures of the Aboriginal tribal groups. This had the inevitable effect of furtherisolating the children from their Aboriginal heritage. One of the social workers comments:Aboriginal values, traditions, and cultural mores were ignored in the care arrangements thatwere made for the children (Baptist Churches of WA and the Aboriginal and Islander BaptistCommittee of WA submission 674 Page 15).Church effortsSome churches have expressed an intention or a willingness to return landacquired for the purpose of housing forcibly removed children or other land acquiredfor purposes relating to their missions to Aborigines.Recently, during research through our records in preparing this submission, Baptist Churchesof Western Australia discovered Crown Lease of 8094 square metres still inadvertently heldby us, at Kojonup Location 4086, Reserve No. 16908, in Trust for the purpose of a Cemetery‘Aboriginals’.We are willing to hand this land over to the Aboriginal people, as appropriate. (BaptistChurches of Western Australia submission 674 page 24).The National Standing Committee of the Uniting Church in Australia hasrecently apologised,… to the people of Minjilang, traditional owners of Croker Island, that the church took over alarge part of their ancestral lands without their permission, and used it for forty years toprovide care for children separated from their parents (submission 457 page 2).The process of returning mission land has not been straightforward. The Inquirywas told in Broome that the Catholic Church was willing to hand back land used formission purposes and that negotiations were under way. The Catholic Churchproposes to hand back most of the land, retaining some portions as freehold. It isnegotiating for an ex gratia payment in the order of $500,000 from the WAGovernment in return for relinquishing the land it holds on trust. It is proposed toinvest that amount for the benefit of the residents of the missions (Bishop Chris Saundersevidence 519).ProposalsThe Kimberley Land Council called on churches to ‘resolve any outstanding land