Loss of Identity

Loss of Identity

Generation after generation

They shared the land given to them

Children were born

Elders died

All on the land given them in the Dreamtime

Time passed

Unwelcome visitors came to give them aid

They did not ask for the help

They did not need the help

Those people never wanted to change

But change was forced upon them

Schools taught new ways

Erased the lessons of the time before

Those who didn’t change were punished

They were killed for their beliefs

Now, their villages sit quiet

Closed by the people who claimed to help them

The lessons taught by the elders are long gone

The kids no longer play in the bush

The homes of uncounted generations are gone

Stories of the elders are no longer told

Their culture has been destroyed

The people of the village no longer exist

Now, they could use our help

Help to be who they really are

Help to have their land

Their homes

Their culture

Their identities

Finally returned to them