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“The Other One Was Half and Half, Half-Caste”: A Qualitative Exploration of Colonial Narratives Used to Represent Aboriginal Children by Non-Indigenous Foster Carers in Australia

Since colonisation in Australia, dominant western narratives have continually undermined the identity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Through a lens of subaltern theory, this article explores how Aboriginal children, their families, and their communities are spoken for and about as members of subaltern communities by non-Indigenous foster carers. 

Citation:
Hamilton S, Mutch R, Maslen S, Penny M, Pell C, Jones L, Michie C, Walton-Blane A, O’Donnell M, Shepherd C, Farrant B. “The Other One Was Half and Half, Half-Caste”: A Qualitative Exploration of Colonial Narratives Used to Represent Aboriginal Children by Non-Indigenous Foster Carers in Australia. AlterNative. 2026.

Abstract:
Since colonisation in Australia, dominant western narratives have continually undermined the identity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Through a lens of subaltern theory, this article explores how Aboriginal children, their families, and their communities are spoken for and about as members of subaltern communities by non-Indigenous foster carers.