Healing Ourselves
Ms Diane Jarrett, Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Research Officer
My respect to the traditional owners of the land where I speak to you today.Welcome to the overseas visitors to our country.
My name is Diane Jarrett from the Nambucca Valley on the north coast of NSW.
I was institutionlised from 3 to 13 years old at the United Aboriginal Mission, Bomaderry Childrens Home, formerly Bomaderry Infants home which was the source for the Kinchela Boys Home and Cootamundra Girls Home.
Bomaderry Childrens Home during the 1970's still had the atmosphere of assimilation, which still taunts me everyday. The environment was of TOTAL European upbringing. Which therefore left me with a culture clash as a child and my identity also as an adult/parent today.
Defining culture and culture clash is one of the most important issues for myself and this conference when speaking of reparations for my people. Everyday I live this with my children in the heart of ""SYDNEY!! "". [FLAG BURNING at NOWRA].
I am here representing my generation, the children of the Stolen Generation that they may too be recognised and that the reparations cover their descendants who are our future generations.
Over the past 8 years I've done anthropological research for 8 families of the Nambucca Valley. This is a reconstruction of Aboriginal History of this area, which has been left out of the books of Australian history hence being an oral history which we have to translate and transfer to written to educate non-Aboriginal people.
Over the next two days seriously work on the concept of a Tribunal for the sake of our healing as a people and as a nation.
Thank you.
