Our Kids Belong With Family with Rärriwuy Hick

In this episode, Kirilly speaks with Rärriwuy Hick, Yolngu woman, actress, artist, storyteller and the founder of Our Kids Belong With Family - a campaign which she started on 13th February 2017, after her nephews were forcibly removed by Territory Families without following their own kinship protocols or notifying immediate family.

In this episode we speak of themes of child removal, the Stolen Generation, the NT Intervention, abuse and violence by the colonial state. Please listen with care, as these topics and parts of the conversation may be distressing.

We want to acknowledge and pay our respects to the people of the Stolen Generation, to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who have themselves, their ancestors, and their Country, been affected by the Stolen Generation, and to those who are being impacted today by forced child removals by the state. We hope this story offers some healing to you, to know that you aren't alone and that the episode may offer some tips from Rärriwuy as you continue to fight the system - a fight we wish you did not have to endure.

Our Kids Belong With Family is a four year global campaign that aims to raise awareness on the international human rights abuse of Indigenous Children and their families navigating the trauma of child removal by the Australian nation state.

In this powerful and intimate conversation, Rärriwuy shares her story of the heartache, trauma and triumph in her journey to get her kids back. We ask that you listen with respect to her and her family and their privacy. Rärriwuy has also written about the campaign and her journey to create change and accountability for the Australia nation state which has historically and systematically forcibly removed Indigenous children since colonisation began.
https://meanjin.com.au/blog/our-kids-belong-with-family/

You can support Our Kids Belong With Family by posting an image of yourself to social media, holding a piece of paper with "#OurKidsBelongWithFamily" and please use the hashtag and tag the instagram account @ourkidsbelongwithfamily on the 13th of Feb.

You can also donate to the new Go Fund Me campaign for Our Kids Belong With Family, which is raising money to help those families and children who have suffered from being forcibly removed to heal.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/rarriwuy-hick-our-kids-belong-with-family

RESOURCES AND INFORMATION
For those wanting to learn more about the Stolen Generation, and the Australian Government's policies and history of state enforced child removal, please visit:
https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/education/track-history-timeline-stolen-generations

Grandmother's Against Removal:
https://www.facebook.com/GMAR.GrandmothersAgainstRemovals/
https://aftertheapology.com/ - important film to watch

ID Know Yourself: Mentoring and support for children who have experienced out of home care
https://idknowyourself.com/