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Ankami: Stolen children, shattered families, silenced histories
Not yet published
Expected 26 Jan 26'Be careful what you wish for,' wrote Aesop, 'lest it come true.' Debra Dank had long been desperate to visit the National Archives, to paint a fuller picture of her family, to add flesh to the name-bones and the few precious stories she possessed. What she discovered would shatter everything she thought she knew about her family and her past.
She had been aware of her father's five siblings, some of whom had died before she could come to know them, but there were always whispers and gaps and silences. Certainly, her parents had experiences that affected how Debra grew up, but hers seemed to be one of the very few Aboriginal families who had escaped having children stolen, who had viewed this horror from a seemingly safer distance. But the information she uncovered revealed that her paternal grandmother had given birth to ten children. Four had been taken from her.
Ankami is written from the perspective of those left behind, those who search always for the faces of stolen and lost Aboriginal children, now known only through a few cruel, thoughtless words written by a violent pastoral manager and a paternalistic colonial administrator, a footnote in a yellowed letter.
This is a story about absences and the secrets that come with them, about unknown but somehow still present family. It is a story about what those speaking silences may be trying to tell as families sit around fires at night or celebrate together at a festive table. It is a story about the lost opportunity to grow with aunts and dads, the knowledge not shared and learned, the memories not made and a love that must remain one-sided and yearning.
Ankami is a book like no other, a searing, unforgettable and deeply human account of sorrow and incomprehensible loss, and the essential power of memory.
She had been aware of her father's five siblings, some of whom had died before she could come to know them, but there were always whispers and gaps and silences. Certainly, her parents had experiences that affected how Debra grew up, but hers seemed to be one of the very few Aboriginal families who had escaped having children stolen, who had viewed this horror from a seemingly safer distance. But the information she uncovered revealed that her paternal grandmother had given birth to ten children. Four had been taken from her.
Ankami is written from the perspective of those left behind, those who search always for the faces of stolen and lost Aboriginal children, now known only through a few cruel, thoughtless words written by a violent pastoral manager and a paternalistic colonial administrator, a footnote in a yellowed letter.
This is a story about absences and the secrets that come with them, about unknown but somehow still present family. It is a story about what those speaking silences may be trying to tell as families sit around fires at night or celebrate together at a festive table. It is a story about the lost opportunity to grow with aunts and dads, the knowledge not shared and learned, the memories not made and a love that must remain one-sided and yearning.
Ankami is a book like no other, a searing, unforgettable and deeply human account of sorrow and incomprehensible loss, and the essential power of memory.
Audible Audio
Expected publication January 26, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 9, 2025
"One day", Debra Dank writes in the introduction to Ankami, "I received a bundle of much wished for information from the National Archives". That information confirmed in a handwritten note from a despicable man something Dank had long felt: four of her father's siblings had been stolen from the station where they were born in what is now the Northern Territory. That note is the beginning and the end of the archive's information on her aunts and/or uncles, so far at least. But is not the beginning nor the end of the loss that echoes through these pages. Read more on my blog.
December 13, 2025
Learning about family history can be challenging because of incomplete records, inaccurate memories and (sometimes) a conscious decision to bury aspects of the past. From records obtained through the National Archives, Ms Dank learned that her paternal grandmother had given birth to ten children, not the six that Ms Dank knew about, and that four of those children had been taken from her.
‘Ankami is written from the perspective of those left behind, those who search always for the faces of stolen and lost Aboriginal children, now known only through a few cruel, thoughtless words written by a violent pastoral manager and a paternalistic colonial administrator, a footnote in a yellowed letter.’
Imagine the gaps left in a family when those who remain cannot speak of those who were taken. Imagine wondering about those missing family members and their lives.
Yes, this book is an uncomfortable reminder of past injustices, but it is important to understand the consequences of the not-so-distant past.
Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
‘Ankami is written from the perspective of those left behind, those who search always for the faces of stolen and lost Aboriginal children, now known only through a few cruel, thoughtless words written by a violent pastoral manager and a paternalistic colonial administrator, a footnote in a yellowed letter.’
Imagine the gaps left in a family when those who remain cannot speak of those who were taken. Imagine wondering about those missing family members and their lives.
Yes, this book is an uncomfortable reminder of past injustices, but it is important to understand the consequences of the not-so-distant past.
Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews