72-year-old Kath Ryan, a senior Yinggarda elder, was born in Carnarvon in 1953. As an Aboriginal woman and a survivor of the Stolen Generations, she shares with passion her lifetime story of resilience and survival. Ryan was removed from her family when she was just seven years old. Since then, her life has been a story of struggle and victory. Her experiences serve as a potent reminder of the historical injustices that Indigenous Australians have undergone. Within each story are the persistent effects of these events on their lives now.
Ryan’s light skin was a stark contrast to her single mother’s complexion. This juxtaposition had a profound impact on Ryan’s formative life experiences. At only seven years old, this meant she was forcibly removed from her family without her consent. She found herself in a Church of Christ mission in Carnarvon, where her days were filled with household duties and looking after the smaller kids. For Mary Anne, the severance from her family was much more than just a loss of life. It unleashed a psychological storm that would determine the contours of her sense of self for years to come.
As she became an adult, Ryan’s life changed direction. At just under 12 years of age, she was transferred to a family in the rich Perth suburb of Cottesloe. It was a stark shift from her roots, yet her mother remained elusive, constantly evading welfare officials and the threat of severe penalties for speaking out against the removals.
The Pain of Separation
Ryan still remembers how distraught her mother was the day she was removed.
“I was screaming and kicking and stuff like that. I saw my mum walking off and she didn’t look back.” – Kath Ryan
This trauma had a lasting imprint on her psyche. The stigma associated with these removals cast resistance as a dangerous gamble. Ryan goes on to lay it out, “You know, during the great day just people to get nosily and cussed out and off you would be going to jail.
Upon returning to Carnarvon in her 20s, Ryan experienced an unexpected shock: she found herself ostracized by her own family. This rejection was the seventh layer of grief in a life already aching with loss. Through this hurtful experience, she was able to reconnect with her family in the end and develop a deep sense of Home.
A Journey of Education and Empowerment
Ryan’s fighting spirit ultimately drove her to seek education later in life. Meanwhile, urged on by a TARTAR friend, she completed her university education, earning a degree—mostly on-line, in her mid-30s—in community health. Building her own home became not only Tamika’s personal victory, but her opportunity to give a voice to others battling the same obstacles.
I went to extreme lengths to be the ultimate mummy,” she adds as she reflects on her journey through motherhood. That’s the farthest from the truth—I totally tried. Ryan has a strong sense of pride in her identity as a grandparent. Her granddaughter is now attending law school, and they both carry on the family tradition of education and empowerment.
Her personal stake in wanting to keep her kids close is clear. She determined in her mind, “I’m not losing those other six,” she says firmly. In the film, she talks about the six children she raised in addition to the one that was stolen from her at birth. She endured the heartache of having her own daughter taken away, yet remained determined to provide stability for her remaining children.
Redress and Reflection
Ryan, who only recently became eligible under contract terms for payments of up to $85,000. This opportunity is a result of an extraordinary redress scheme announced by the Western Australian government. Though this financial compensation goes beyond any monetary formula to make survivors whole after years of hurt and harm, Ryan is pragmatic about its limitations.
“But it doesn’t matter how much money you get, it will never compensate for what I’ve gone through.” – Kath Ryan
Ryan hopes that by continuing to tell her story, deeper healing can begin and everyone can learn more about each other’s experiences. “People need to know that these things occurred,” she says passionately. Her hope is that through truth-telling initiatives, more people will recognize these injustices as real events rather than mere narratives.
“With this truth-telling and stuff like that, hopefully we’ll make a lot of people realise these things are true, they’re not just made up.” – Kath Ryan
