From elimination to assimilation: disconnection from country
Written by Dr. Jess Reeves
Bung Yarnda (Lake Tyers) is a place that evokes strong emotion in the Gunaikurnai people of the land, now called Gippsland, in southeastern Australia. At once a symbol of oppression and humiliation, but also ‘home’. This essay questions how the historical policies of elimination and assimilation sought to disconnect Gunaikurnai from their country and how through resistance and continuity of culture they are navigating their way back to self-determination.
