Traditional Custodians Between 1901 And The 1960's

Despite being the “traditional custodians of the land”, Aboriginal people greatly suffered from lack of human rights, especially between 1901 and the 1960’s. In 1962, NSW was the only state in Australia that gave Aboriginals the right to have control over their children. This meant that government organisations were given the authority to take children away from Aboriginal families. The Aboriginal Protection Board is an example of a government organisation that used this authority to breed out Aboriginals in Australia. The Protection Board would infiltrate Aboriginal communities and take away half-caste children because they could be taught the “white ways.” These children would be taken into missions and assimilated into white society, completely cut off from their culture. In these missions, the kids are taught: the English language, Christianity, and how to be domestic servants. End sentence.
At nine months, Saylor was taken away from her home and placed into the Moore River Mission for being half-caste. She was assimilated at the age of ten when she was fostered by a white family. Here, she was taught to cook, clean and shear sheep. Leaving at the age of 22, she completely lost track of her people and culture. Saylor found her brother, Dawiyah after not seeing him for 40 years, however, the government changed his name to Gordon, making him more white. At first, he didn’t recognise that he had a sister and they had to re-develop their relationship. Unfortunately, Being forcefully taken out of her home meant Saylor never had the chance to learn the Aboriginal language and embrace her