stolen generationn.
/ˌstəʊlən ˌdʒɛnəˈreɪʃən/, U.S. /ˌstoʊlən ˌdʒɛnəˈreɪʃən/, /ˈstoʊlən ˌdʒɛnəˌreɪʃən/, Australian English /ˌstoʊlən ˌdʒɛnəˈræeʃən/ Australian History.
As a collective noun: Aboriginal children of mixed parentage who were removed from their families by the authorities and placed in institutions or foster homes, with the intention of weakening their cultural links to Aboriginal society and strengthening links to white society; adults who experienced this as children. Also in plural.This practice was continued from the late 19th cent. until the late 1960s.
ΚΠ
1982 P. Read (title) The stolen generations: the removal of Aboriginal children in New South Wales 1883–1969.
1988 Sydney Morning Herald 9 Apr. 76/2 A member of the ‘stolen generation’ of Aborigines, a mother, grandmother, widow twice over, writer, actor, and film adviser.
1994 Gazette (Montreal) (Nexis) 11 Oct. b1 The ‘stolen generation’ of aborigines, thousands of whom were snatched from their parents by the Australian authorities to be raised as whites, are seeking compensation for their suffering.
2000 Independent 5 July (Review section) 11/1 The issues swarming around the ‘Stolen Generations’ have proved fertile for centuries of dramatic exploration.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1982