The Politics of Memory: Autobiographical Narratives of Indigenous Child Separation

Abstract

This paper is interested in autobiographical narratives that document and re-present experiences of Indigenous child separation from their families. Reconstructing the memories of the Stolen Generations in the form of autobiography is inevitably subject to mechanisms of selection, verification, and commodification within the dominant discourse. However, it is necessary to recognise the agency of Aboriginal people who tactically unsettle the racial ideology and bring into consciousness what has been forgotten by Australian historiography. By examining how memories of child removal have been shaped in public discourse, and exploring Aboriginal authorial agency in recollecting an archive of separation stories, the paper argues that the multi-faceted memories of the stolen children open up a critical space to expose racial injustices and to articulate Indigenous visions of history, plights and rights.

本文探讨“被偷走的一代”土著作家的自传体叙述对历史记忆的建构及策略性呈现。土著个体与群体记忆不可避免地受到社会主流话语的影响，包括对主题的选择性接受、叙事真实性的质疑以及商品化的问题。但值得关注的是土著作家如何策略性地颠覆种族意识形态，再现被权威历史刻意遗忘和抹杀的记忆。通过审视“被偷走的一代”记忆的重构过程，本文认为多样性的土著自传体叙述挑战权力话语的束缚，揭露了澳洲社会的种族矛盾与歧视，展现了土著群体的历史观以及争取自身权利的不懈斗争。