Intro: For our resource evaluation we have chosen the story Took the Children Away, a

retelling of the residential school experience by Archie Roach, which exposes the harsh
realities of the system, and the sense of identity loss suffered by indigenous children. It is also
a story of hope, as it concludes with the children finding their way back to the communities.
Took the children away was originally released as a song, and the lyrics were later
incorporated into the book that we have chosen as our classroom resource. Archie Roach is
an Indigenous Australian songwriter, who recalls his personal experience in the Australian
residential school system, accompanied by illustrations done by Archie’s wife, Ruby Hunter,
an indigenous woman from the South Australian Riverlands.

Is the resource recognized by the Aboriginal community? Our resource is recognized by

the Indigenous community, and more specifically, the Australia Indigenous community. It
has been validated by Indigenous groups, Elders, and authors; the author himself tells the
story of his own experience in residential schools, thus he is a valid source to deal with the
Indigenous content present in the resource; and finally, the resource has been approved for
use in classroom settings, and is a resource that is well-known by many Australian scholars.

Is the resource culturally authentic and historically accurate? As Roach is retelling his
truth regarding his experiences within the residential school system, we determined that the
resource is historically accurate and culturally authentic. In the resource, Roach is drawing
upon his own knowledge of the residential system and his experiences within the system
therefore proving the authenticity and accuracy of the content. As the resource has been
validated by Indigenous groups and is accepted within the Indigenous communities and
Australian curriculum, we can come to the conclusion that the resource is both culturally
authentic and historically accurate.

Is the resource balanced and objective? The resource is a retelling of the first hand
experience of the author during his youth. It is hard to be balanced and objective when
approaching a subject from an emotional perspective. The resource cannot be balanced
because it does not reflect all voices and perspectives present from that time. When
discussing indigneous experiences, it does not necessarily need to be objective. The history of
indigneous people cannot be accurately represented or discussed from an objective and
neutral perspective.

Are the language and terminology accurate and respectful? For the most part, the
language is respectful and accurate. However, there are some negative connotations behind
certain mentions of groups such as “White man”. The terminology used when referring to
indigenous people is accurate.

Are the graphics culturally accurate and/or respectful? We determined that the graphics
in the book are in no way disrespectful and although our knowledge of Indigenous history in
Australia is limited, as the graphics are created by an Indigenous person we can infer that
they are culturally accurate.
Is the resource based on information from recognized sources? There is a particular
emphasis on whether the author and the contributors are objective sources of information in
this section of the checklist; however, due to the personal and sensitive nature of the content,
it would be impossible for Roach to remain objective. It is important to note that there is no
point in the story where Roach claims to speak for all Indigenous people. Instead, he limits
the story to his own perspective as an Indigenous person who attended a residential school.
So while our group marked ‘no’ for all of the subcategories in this section, because the
previous point is true, we believe that the resource comes from a recognized source.

Practical Classroom Applications

The indigenous resource Took the Children Away puts a face to the residential school
experience by using a local example that is relevant, contextualizing the story for Australian
students. It can be used in a plethora of rich, interdisciplinary ways, and incorporated into the
art, social studies/history, music, and language arts curriculums. Students have the potential
to engage with the resource in several, multimodal ways, through listening to the lyrics,
reading the book, and analyzing the illustrations. In this way, the resource can be used in
efforts to differentiate an activity and make it accessible to all learners. Additionally, the
book has the potential to be used in multiple grade levels, although the content would need to
be heavily scaffolded for younger children as there are mature themes and language
throughout. Therefore, we deduced that this resource is best suited for secondary students.

Classroom Discussions: The book can serve as an entry point for discussing complex and
difficult topics, such as intergenerational trauma, indigenous identity loss, and current
reconciliation efforts. Teachers can also utilize the book as an introduction to residential
schools, asking guiding questions in regards to what the characters in the book are
experiencing. The conclusion of the book repetitively states “the children came back,” which
can lead into a conversation on the implications of residential schools today.

Personal Responses and Creative Projects: The resource can elicit intense emotional
responses, and the teacher can guide students in creating a personal response to the lyrics,
illustrations, and the song. Students may continue the lyrics of the song to include possible
reconciliation efforts moving forward, or students can create an art piece or illustration of
their understanding of the residential school experience. Lastly, the music video can be
incorporated into a music lesson.

Book Study: Students can complete a book study, or poetry lesson utilizing Took the
children away, identifying the use of literary devices, symbolism, and story-telling, and
analyzing key themes.

Conducting Research: Students can research other indigenous individuals who have shared
their residential school experiences, exploring similarities, differences, and expanding upon
their knowledge. How else has the residential school system been depicted and experiences
shared? Students can develop research questions in groups, based on each page of the story,
sharing their findings with peers through classroom presentations.
English Language Learners: The resource is highly approachable, as it is easy to read and
uses simplistic language, which has the potential to help English Language Learners engage
with the subject. The illustrations and intonations of the song can help to inform ELLs of the
key messages.

Support Resources: It is a well-known Australian resource from the 1990s, and there are
videos and online resources to support teachers when integrating this resource authentically
into the classroom.

References

Roach, A. (2011). Took the children away. City, One Tree Hill.