The 'stolen generation' in Queensland: a critical perspective

Abstract

This article is concerned with the extent to which destruction of culture was the intended result of the practice of removal of Aboriginal children in Queensland. It concludes that, while the laws, policies and practices were inconsistent and contradictory, they were based upon a common assumption. This was the construction of Aboriginality, which was defined according to its otherness from the colonisers. The effect of this construct of Aboriginality was to deny Aboriginal agency, and mask the subjectivity of the Aboriginal people as multifaceted intersectional subjects.