Teacher instructions

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune in: What is trauma?

20 minutes

Find out: Intergenerational trauma

25 minutes

Take action: Research

5 minutes

Reflection: The continuous impact

Note: The topic of this lesson may be confronting for some students, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. You may like to discuss the content of this lesson privately with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their families prior to delivery to ensure they are comfortable with the content.

Tune in: What is trauma?

Step 1. Explain to students that the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families has caused ongoing trauma to those affected and their families. This includes the Stolen Generations, but there are many other cases of child removal that have occurred since the laws pertaining to assimilation were abolished in 1969.

Step 2. Show students the definition for trauma below (it is also available on the Student Worksheet).

What is trauma?

Trauma is the response to a deeply distressing or disturbing event that overwhelms an individual’s ability to cope, causes feelings of helplessness, diminishes their sense of self and their ability to feel a full range of emotions and experiences (source).

Step 3. Have students work with the person sitting next to them and brainstorm some common causes of trauma. They may like to enter their ideas into the Student Worksheet. Regroup with the class and share responses together.

Step 4. Watch this clip.

The Last Daughter: The true history of this country has not been told https://player.vimeo.com/video/814116358?h=6490c9fd2e

Step 5. Ask students to list all of the people featured in the film who may have experienced trauma through being a victim to the government policies of the time.

Find out: Intergenerational trauma

Step 1. Explain to students that trauma can affect an individual, but it can also affect a whole group (collective trauma) and/or be passed down through families for generations (intergenerational trauma). For example, in the case of the Stolen Generations, children who were raised in government or religious institutional settings would not have received the care or nurturing typically provided by a family and kinship system. This would then impact the way Stolen Generations survivors raised their own children, and so forth, especially when connections to place, cultural practices, kin and language were completely severed (The Healing Foundation). It’s important to understand that a person doesn’t need to have directly experienced the traumatic event or situation in order to experience the effects of the trauma induced by that event.

Step 2. Play this video from the Healing Foundation on intergenerational trauma:

Understanding Intergenerational Trauma (https://youtu.be/iQMZZ8ng7oI)

Note: Students might have questions regarding the content in the video. If you feel comfortable answering these questions, invite students to raise their hand to share their questions or concerns. If there are any questions you feel unable to answer, write them down and reach out to your school well-being team or local community, such as an Aboriginal medical or counselling service to see if they might help you answer any additional questions.

Step 3. Explain to students that from having watched The Last Daughter, we know that there are points in Brenda's journey that upset, or trigger her mother's trauma.

Step 4. Watch these clips and have students answer the questions in their Student Worksheet.

The Last Daughter: Brenda reflects on sharing trauma with her mother https://player.vimeo.com/video/814193209?h=fcba8db396
The Last Daughter: Brenda asks her mum if she can reconnect with her white family https://player.vimeo.com/video/816817716?h=7f3257b4e1
The Last Daughter: Brenda's family discovers the 'justification' for the removal of the children https://player.vimeo.com/video/816783824?h=84ff341410

Step 5. Guide students to create their own definition of intergenerational trauma in the Student Worksheets. Encourage students to ask questions to clarify points. It is a complex concept which may need scaffolding.

Take action: Research

Step 1. Invite students to explore between 1905 and 1980 on the Healing Foundation’s Timeline of Trauma and Healing in Australia. Allow students to work in pairs or small groups and assign them one year each. In particular, focus on these years: 1909, 1911, 1921, 1924, 1935, 1940, 1942, 1970, 1980.

Note: If students don’t have their own devices, you can go through it with them on a projector or download and print the Timeline of Trauma and Healing in Australia PDF.

Step 2. Ask each group to create a summary of what happened in the year they were assigned. They will create some key points to share with the class.

Step 3. In chronological order, groups come up and share their findings with the class. Allow students to ask questions and clarify confusing or unclear points.

Step 4. Have each student take down one point from each group's presentation in their Student Worksheets.

Extension Opportunity

For groups that finish their work early, encourage them to use these links below to further research Australia’s history of removing children, with direct reference to the Stolen Generations.

Reflection: The continuous impact

Step 1. Have students return to the essential question of the lesson: How do the continuous impacts of forced child removals upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples impact attitudes toward government and affect how families function?

Have students write their answers in the Student Worksheet.

Differentiated Learning

We trust that teachers are the best equipped to know how to cater to the diversity in their classes. At Cool Australia, we incorporate a variety of differentiation strategies into each lesson. Firstly, each lesson in this unit appeals to an array of different learning preferences. Learning activities can be completed in a number of different ways - if a student feels more comfortable speaking rather than writing, there are opportunities to accommodate this. In lessons that feature group work or learning stations, we trust that teachers will use their discretion in knowing how to best organise their students in accordance to positive working relationships and ability. Graphic organisers and scaffolds are often included so students can ‘visually think’ and keep a record of their work. While our lessons are designed to be 55 - 60 minutes in length, we trust that teachers will manipulate lesson and segment times according to the needs of their students.

The Last Daughter - Intergenerational Trauma

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