Part 2 : The Stolen Generation

1. Movie- RABBIT PROOF FENCE

Watch the movie and find information :

Scene 1 :

-characters (names + how they are related +origin) : Molly, Daisy, Gracie (3 aboriginal
kids) live with their grandmother/mother. A white policeman
-place : they live near the fence, in Jigalong, in the middle of the desert
-activity : they are hunting

Scene 2 : in Perth

- place : in Mr Neville’s office

- characters : Mr Neville and his assistant
- what are they talking about ?: Mr Neville is authorizing
the removal of the 3 half-caste girls

Scene 3 : at the shop :

- characters : 3 kids + 1 store owners

-find information on the fence : it’s a fence that crosses Australia and
prevents rabbits from entering the farmlands.
- what happens at the end of the scene : the policeman stole the 3 girls resorting to
brutality

Scene 4 : in Mr Neville's office.

- who? :
-what is he talking about ? Choose the correct answer.

a) He wants to protect the half castes

b) He wants to purify the Aborigenes.
c) He wants the white race and the coloureds to live in peace.

-what does he dream of ? Use the following prompts and vocabulary :

He dreams of + Ving
He wants to ....
a pure race
mixed race children = half-blood children="half castes"
to remove : faire disparaitre
be absorbed in the white population.
be advanced to white status.
to disapprove of (=disagree with) of interracial marriages.

He wants half- caste children to marry white people to breed out the aboriginal ‘race’. After a
few generations, there will be no traces of indigenous blood anymore. He wants the aboriginal
population to be absorbed in the ‘white’ lifestyle. This is a process of ‘assimilation’.

Scene 5 : At the camp

Describe the children's daily routine at the camp :

First they have to wake up and make their bed

Then, they must clean the room
Before eating they have to say a prayer
They are not allowed to talk/use their native language while they are eating.
Then they …............................................................................................................
and finally they must ….............................................................................................

Scene 6 : The inspection

What is Mr Neville doing ? he’s inspecting the children one by one.

What for ? in order to detect the ‘fairer’ ones. In other words, children who have a fair
skin will be sent to a proper school because they are said to be cleverer. The others will
have to stay at Moore River.
What is the final decision for Molly ?
Her skins is too ‘dark’ so she is not allowed to go to school

Conclusion
Fill in the blanks with the following words:
elimination – languages- Indigenous - culture – lighter- inferiority - placed

The forcible removal of Indigenous children from their families was part of the policy of

Assimilation. Assimilation was based on the assumption of black inferiority and white

superiority, which proposed that Indigenous people should be allowed to “die out” through a

process of natural elimination, or, where possible, should be assimilated into the white

community.

Children taken from their parents as part of the Stolen Generation were taught to reject their

Indigenous heritage and forced to adopt white culture Their names were often changed, and

they were forbidden to speak their traditional languages. Some children were adopted by

white families, and many were in placed institutions where abuse and neglect were common.
“Half-caste” children were particularly vulnerable to removal, because authorities thought

these children could be assimilated more easily into the white community due to their lighter

skin colour.

2. Prime Minister’s speech on the Stolen Generations

Listen to the document 3 times and write a report of what you’ve understood (in French)