Introductory activities

Content notes

This resource contains references to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have passed away. It also contains links to articles that are more than (or close to) 20 years old, and which may use outdated terminology. Please refer to Emma Jenkins’ advice for establishing a culturally safe learning environment and leading students safely in and safely out of sensitive material.

Be aware that exploring the experiences of the Stolen Generations may produce strong emotional responses in both students AND members of their wider community. Take care when considering this text and the important issues it raises, particularly if there are Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander students in your class.

While the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children occurred throughout Australia, the relevant laws and government practices varied across the nation. Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence by Nugi Garimara (also known as Doris Pilkington) primarily records the experiences of the Stolen Generations in remote Western Australia during the 1930s. If appropriate, you might like to explore stories from your own state or territory, OR from another specific part of the country. A useful resource is the Stolen Generations’ Testimonies project, an archive of videos recorded by members of the Stolen Generations in 2009. The website includes maps and photographs alongside footage of more than 30 survivors. It is crucial that you preview any videos you intend to share in class, as some students may find the contents distressing.

Overview

In Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence Garimara presents the true story of Molly Craig (her mother) as told to her by members of her family, and corroborated by parallel archival records from white Australia. Many people’s knowledge of Molly (14), her sister Daisy Kadibil (8), and her cousin Gracie Fields (11) – who in 1931 escaped from the Moore River Native Settlement so they could make their way home to Jigalong in Western Australia’s Pilbara region – will be based on Phillip Noyce’s 2002 film adaptation, Rabbit-Proof Fence.

This resource focuses on Garimara’s 1996 account, on which Noyce’s film was based. As an example of First Nations life writing, Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence explores far more than the events depicted in the film. It imagines the historical experiences of First Nations Australians prior to European colonisation, and the consequences of invasion that followed. First Nations life writing allows writers to educate their readers (especially non-Indigenous readers) about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures. Garimara’s text, therefore, documents much more than the removal of children from their families, their Country, and their culture.

The genre of life writing also allows First Nations writers to give testimony to their experiences and claim ownership of their stories. Throughout this unit, students will engage in activities where they:

  • explore some of the key ideas in Garimara’s text
  • consider the social, cultural, and political context of the events depicted in Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence
  • explore the possibilities and fluid nature of life writing, and consider how Garimara’s account can educate readers and serve as a witness to history
  • communicate their personal response to the text and experiment with life writing to explore their own stories and experiences
  • develop their understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures

Pre-reading activities

NOTE: As of 2024, all page references are drawn from UQP’s First Nations Classic edition of Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence.

Home

A key idea explored in Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence is the importance of home. We see this in Molly’s driving determination to return to her family and Country in Jigalong.

Ask students to brainstorm what ‘home’ means to them. They can share their personal experiences of this concept in small groups, and reflect on what it means to different people.

About the Martu

Garimara is a Martu (also ‘Mardu’ or ‘Mardujara’) woman from Jigalong in Western Australia. The Martu are the Traditional Custodians of the lands extending from the Great Sandy Desert to a place called Wiluna. This area falls within the Western Desert region that encompasses parts of Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Martu Country has irregular rainfall and few permanent sources of water. The temperature ranges dramatically from –4°C to 54°C. The landscape is marked by stony and sandy plains, red sand ridges, acacia thickets, and creek beds lined with tall eucalyptus.

In 2002, after two decades of fighting, the Martu people were granted rights to more than 13.6 million hectares of their Country; at the time, geographically speaking, it was the largest ever native title settlement in Australia. It is impossible to estimate the size of the Martu population prior to colonisation, but today there are about 1,000 Martu living in Jigalong, Parnngurr, Punmu, and Kunawarritji, and another thousand living elsewhere in the state.

In Chapter 4, ‘From the Deserts They Came’ (pp. 22–41), Garimara relates how – as pastoralists and graziers expanded into the Pilbara – the Martu gradually moved from the desert to live and work on stations and in depots such as Jigalong.

Martu Wangka is the language spoken in most Martu communities, including Jigalong. The Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre provides further information about the language, with a few sample sentences translated into English.

Display the interactive Gambay First Languages Map. You might like to ask students to describe what they see, and perhaps make comparisons to a contemporary map of Australia. This is a good opportunity to demonstrate the number and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations across the country. Now ask students to locate Martu Wangka on the map, and discuss the following questions:

  • How might this map help develop your understanding of First Nations peoples?
  • How might this map increase or reflect your understanding of the events depicted in Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence?
  • How might this map support the ideas communicated in Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence?
What is ‘the rabbit-proof fence’?

In Chapter 4 Garimara describes the titular rabbit-proof fence. Constructed between 1901 and 1907, it is now known as the State Barrier Fence of Western Australia. You can find images of the rabbit-proof fence on this Pinterest board.

Ask students to research the history and purpose of the rabbit-proof fence. The following links may be useful:

You might ask students to share their research in the form of:

  • a script for a short promotional film to be screened in Western Australian cinemas in the 1930s as part of a government information campaign
  • a script for a radio/podcast advertisement promoting the goals of the rabbit-proof fence as part of a government information campaign

Alternatively, you could ask students to present their findings as a digital poster, infographic or pictogram (provided they are familiar with these forms). A range of apps/software is available to help students disseminate their research about the rabbit-proof fence.

The Stolen Generations

Background

The Stolen Generations is the name given to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly removed or made wards of the state under the assimilation policies of successive Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments. The practice of removing Aboriginal children from their families began in the mid-1800s, intensified at the end of the century, and became an official government policy in all states and territories in the 1900s.

The Bringing them Home report was tabled in Parliament in 1997, following a National Inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. The report concluded that between 1 in 10 and 1 in 3 First Nations children were forcibly removed from their families between 1910 and 1970. It also revealed the mistreatment and abuse of many First Nations children who were living in government custody. In 2008, then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a formal Apology to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for the removal of children from their families, communities, and Country.

Teaching resources based on the Bringing Them Home report have been developed by the Australian Human Rights Commission, Department of Education and Training, and AbSec.

Defining the term

The above definition of ‘Stolen Generations’ is based on wording from the Bringing them Home report and former PM Rudd’s Apology.

You are sure to find other definitions in glossaries from syllabus and curriculum documents, for a range of subjects AND across states and territories. You should refer to as many explanations as you can, especially those written from First Nations perspectives, to develop your understanding of how to describe and define this important term. Useful sources may include:

First Australians

NOTE: Your students may already have some knowledge about the Stolen Generations, or they may know very little; you will need to adjust your approach depending on their level of familiarity.

As an introduction to the Stolen Generations, consider showing students an excerpt from Episode 5 (‘An Unhealthy Government Experiment’) of First Australians, a 2008 documentary series produced by Blackfella Films.

Before viewing, ask students to share:

  1. ONE fact or piece of information they already know about the Stolen Generations
  2. ONE question they have about the Stolen Generations (this may emerge from their reading of Follow the Rabbit-Proof Fence)

You may wish to follow these guidelines as you conduct the activity:

  • Ask students to write their answers to the above prompts on separate sticky notes, perhaps using a different colour for each prompt.
  • Assemble the facts in one place and the questions in another, perhaps on labelled sheets of cardboard or grouped on the classroom wall.
    • NOTE: Check each sticky note before displaying to reduce the risk of exposure to harmful stereotypes or misinformation. It may be better to display five to ten of the best facts and questions instead of the whole lot.
  • Ask each student to read a fact that is not their own. Discuss this information as a class.
  • Ask each student to read a question that is not their own. See if the class can answer these questions; they may be better positioned to do so after viewing an excerpt from First Australians.

Unanswered or partially answered questions will direct and motivate research for the next activity.

Synthesising task/activity

Ask students to imagine that a feature article about the Stolen Generations is being published in a magazine aimed at young adults. The article will spotlight one of the survivors who shared their story as part of the Stolen Generations’ Testimonies project (see Introductory Activities > Advice).

In pairs or individually, students will compose the copy for a box/panel that will accompany the feature article. The box should be titled ‘The Stolen Generations: What You Need to Know’. It should contain FIVE to SEVEN bullet points summarising key background information about the Stolen Generations.

Version 9.0: (AC9E9LA03)   (AC9E9LE01)   (AC9E9LE03)   (AC9E9LE06)   (AC9E9LY01)   (AC9E9LY03)   (AC9E9LY05)   (AC9E9LY07)

Version 8.4: (ACELA1553)   (ACELT1633)   (ACELT1635)   (ACELT1773)   (ACELY1739)   (ACELY1741)   (ACELY1742)   (ACELY1744)