Dispossession, that is, depriving the Aboriginal people of their land, identity and religious expression, has had a lasting impact on Aboriginal people and their spirituality. The forceful removal of the Indigenous Australians from their lands led to the forceful removal from their family and kinship groups, causing the destruction of Aboriginal spirituality. Through the eradication of the Dreamtime, the centre of their spirituality, their sense of identity and belonging was lost, status and land right continuously denied, and kinship groups were fractured. This loss of kinship ties, in addition to the perpetual impact of the Stolen Generation, resulted in the disruption of the passing on of the Dreamtime stories and tradition, which in turn prevented the spirituality being kept alive through the next generation.
Therefore, the effects can be seen as physical, spiritual and psychological. The physical impact of the dispossession is extremely prevalent in the separation of the Aboriginal people and their land, which constituted a major part of their spirituality. The land is an extension of the physical, spiritual and emotional form of the Indigenous people, and in turn, all life and creation is revered and valued, seeing themselves as interconnected with the natural world. The land is inextricably linked to identity and belonging, making the physical separation more prominent as it is a crucial element of many rituals and beliefs in the spirituality. The ceremonial life is consequently impacted, as Aboriginal spirituality is linked to the education of tradition and life skills through the Dreaming.
The physical, spiritual and psychological impact of dispossession is indisputable in regards to the Stolen Generation, which continued a cycle of abuse that has left an unsettling legacy on Australia and its treatment of Indigenous people and spirituality. Thousands of young Aboriginal children were taken from their families and