In an attempt to address the gap in accurate student and public knowledge about the Stolen Generations, a new resource kit is now available for schools across the country.

Key points: A new resource has been made available for Australian schools to teach students up to Year 9 the stories of the Stolen Generations

A new resource has been made available for Australian schools to teach students up to Year 9 the stories of the Stolen Generations The kit is designed to address the gap in accurate student and public knowledge about the stories of the members of the Stolen Generations

The kit is designed to address the gap in accurate student and public knowledge about the stories of the members of the Stolen Generations It includes five hour-long activities and each school is able to decide if they will implement the program

A northern Victorian Yorta Yorta man, and member of the Stolen Generations, has shared his story with students as part of a broader initiative aimed at educating school students about one of Australia's darkest periods of history.

In 1964, when Ian Hamm was just three weeks old, he was forcibly removed from his family by the Australian Federal and State Government agencies and church missions.

He grew up just 50 kilometres away from them, unaware of their existence.

"It's a funny term, 'Member of the Stolen Generations', sometimes it makes it sound like it's a club and it's not," he said.

"I use the term 'stolen children', because this happened to us when we were children.

"Being part of the stolen children, almost makes you a separate community to not only the non-Aboriginal community, but to the wider community itself."

Ian Hamm was forcibly removed from his family in 1964 when he was three weeks old. ( Supplied: Healing Foundation )

Rectifying students' knowledge 'gap'

Mr Hamm has worked as the chair of The Healing Foundation's Stolen Generations Reference Group.

The foundation is a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation that has partnered with communities to address the "intergenerational trauma" caused by actions like the forced removal of children from their families in the 1960s.

Last week, in consultation with Mr Hamm, the foundation launched a new resource kit that will be available for schools across the country.

Yorta Yorta man Ian Hamm hopes this resource kit will act as a "stepping stone" to creating a more tailored and permanent approach to teaching students about Indigenous history. ( Supplied: Simone Andy )

The kit comprises about five activities, all of which take just over an hour to complete, for students from Prep to Year 9.

It also contains lesson plans for teachers to follow.

The activities and reading materials were developed in consultation with Stolen Generations members, Indigenous and non-Indigenous teachers, parents and curriculum writers.

Students can read stories from children of the Stolen Generations, including Mr Hamm.

Mr Hamm said the new initiative was the first of its kind.

"[Information about the Stolen Generations] is taught in a way that's appropriate for each year level and is done in a way that is non-judgemental, doesn't seek to apportion blame or anything," he said.

Mr Hamm said there was a concerning "gap" in students' and the wider public's knowledge of the Stolen Generations, and he hoped the initiative would change that.

He said information about this piece of Australian history was lacking in the national curriculum.

"The gap that exists is one where, while it might have been broached, there hasn't been a lot of detail around what the Stolen Generations were, what their stories were," Mr Hamm said.

"A lot of [the information that exists] can be misleading, a lot of it though can be only half the information.

"One of the reasons we did the kit was to ensure that the information that was being provided to students about the Stolen Generations was actually accurate, it was worthwhile, it gave them an experience, helped them through their learning and development.

"[The kit] helps them understand that not everybody has the same life or journey that they might be experiencing wherever they live."

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Hopes initiative will bring curriculum reform

Mr Hamm said he hoped this initiative would act as a "stepping stone" to creating a more tailored and permanent approach to teaching students about Indigenous history.

"What we're really hoping for is that this is the start of a more comprehensive journey about the understanding of Aboriginal Australia within the education systems around the various states and territories," he said.

Mr Hamm said there are still 17,000 children of the Stolen Generations alive today.

"One of the things is intergenerational trauma. So, it's not only those who are taken but their children and their grandchildren and the generations after them," he said.

"It has had such a detrimental impact on the Aboriginal community — you have to understand what has happened to people in the past to understand where they are now."

The initiative was launched at Trangie Central School in New South Wales on Wednesday, and it is hoped other schools will eventually follow suit.

"It's real stories, it's interactive, it's linked to the curriculum," deputy principal Dimiti Trudgett said.

"It's four activities to start off with and they range from 60 to 70 minutes.

"It's really important that we do look at our national curriculum and make sure that there is more in regard to the Stolen Generations and learning about the history of Australia for all students."

Not a compulsory part of curriculum

The Federal Department of Education said it would be up to state and territory governments to decide how the resource kit was implemented and used.

The resource kit has been designed to fit with national curriculum requirements, however individual schools are able to decide whether or not to adopt it.

"While the Government plays a national leadership role in school education, state and territory government and non-government education authorities are responsible for the day-to-day delivery of education programs," a department spokesperson said.

"This includes decisions about how best to implement the Australian Curriculum and which resources and programs to use.

"In many cases, decisions are made by individual schools based on the judgement of school leaders, teachers and communities and the needs of their students."

In response to claims the national curriculum lacks relevant information about the Stolen Generations, the department disagreed.

"The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures cross-curriculum priority of the Australian Curriculum is designed for all students to engage in reconciliation, respect and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures," a spokesperson said.

The resource kit can be accessed via the Healing Foundation's website.