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Ankami: Stolen children, shattered families, silenced histories
'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.
- GenresNonfiction
151 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 4, 2025
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115 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 4, 2026
*** Longlisted for the 2026 Stella Prize ***
“Anger is neither a good guest nor a gentle companion.”
Ankami
- to give life to -
As someone whose parents immigrated from Europe and chose Australia to be their home, it's not always easy to learn about the more ugly side of some of the history that occurred.
Life is complex. The world isn't always fair. Misunderstandings, mistrust and ill treatment of others has been going on since time immemorial. Sadly human nature is such.
Deborah Dank writes the raw truth of the absolute horror and disappointment to hear that some of her father's siblings had been part of the stolen generation. Aboriginal children removed from their families for their supposed welfare. There had been whispers, but it was never spoken about out loud, as by and large hers was a close and tight knit family. It wasn't until adulthood she was able to access archived materials to learn that knot she'd always carried in her gut without knowing what it was, and turned out to be worse than she imagined.
”How can I know what I cry for? It just sits there, another memory yearning to become.”
Who were these Aunts and Uncles she never knew? Were they ok? Did they know how much they were missed? Always scanning stranger's faces in a crowd, looking for a possible family resemblance.
This book is about family and connection to the land you're born on. About turmoil and appalling mistreatment. But it's also about healing, and hope. There is so much love running through this book which kindly balances the truly unpleasant occurrences.
There's humour, and reading about thoughts and customs which aren't mine directly, is always interesting. The respect for land, the connection to country. There is so much we can learn from each other's cultures if we would be willing to do so.
As an aside, the book cover is stunning in its simplicity, and suits this work perfectly. It truly evokes the spirit of the story, and the connection to land and country.
I invite you to listen to Deborah Dank speak about her story at the link below:
https://stella.org.au/book/debra-dank...
I would like to think that this is the sort of work that should be sitting in the libraries of high schools around Oz. We are unable to change the past, but we can hopefully learn from it and make the place we live a more compassionate one.
I'd love for this to be shortlisted.
“Anger is neither a good guest nor a gentle companion.”
Ankami
- to give life to -
As someone whose parents immigrated from Europe and chose Australia to be their home, it's not always easy to learn about the more ugly side of some of the history that occurred.
Life is complex. The world isn't always fair. Misunderstandings, mistrust and ill treatment of others has been going on since time immemorial. Sadly human nature is such.
Deborah Dank writes the raw truth of the absolute horror and disappointment to hear that some of her father's siblings had been part of the stolen generation. Aboriginal children removed from their families for their supposed welfare. There had been whispers, but it was never spoken about out loud, as by and large hers was a close and tight knit family. It wasn't until adulthood she was able to access archived materials to learn that knot she'd always carried in her gut without knowing what it was, and turned out to be worse than she imagined.
”How can I know what I cry for? It just sits there, another memory yearning to become.”
Who were these Aunts and Uncles she never knew? Were they ok? Did they know how much they were missed? Always scanning stranger's faces in a crowd, looking for a possible family resemblance.
This book is about family and connection to the land you're born on. About turmoil and appalling mistreatment. But it's also about healing, and hope. There is so much love running through this book which kindly balances the truly unpleasant occurrences.
There's humour, and reading about thoughts and customs which aren't mine directly, is always interesting. The respect for land, the connection to country. There is so much we can learn from each other's cultures if we would be willing to do so.
As an aside, the book cover is stunning in its simplicity, and suits this work perfectly. It truly evokes the spirit of the story, and the connection to land and country.
I invite you to listen to Deborah Dank speak about her story at the link below:
https://stella.org.au/book/debra-dank...
I would like to think that this is the sort of work that should be sitting in the libraries of high schools around Oz. We are unable to change the past, but we can hopefully learn from it and make the place we live a more compassionate one.
I'd love for this to be shortlisted.
Read
March 20, 2026Fuck anyone who participated in taking those children. Australia has such a shameful history.
March 22, 2026
There's always one family member obsessed with the family tree.
But in this case its completely justified. Dank tells the story of her family, but more interestingly, the process and lengths in which she went to to find out what happened to her family during colonisation. She grapples with learning what happened to her grandmother, which ultimately lead to her being ostracised from both white and black communities. She also learnt that many of her family members were taken away from their mums since colonisation through to the stolen generation, and she grapples with the longing to know these people she feels a connection with, but has no idea where they are now. It is heartbreaking and you can feel the raw emotion through the page.
Dank writes provocatively on purpose, she states in the introduction that she knows this book is uncomfortable, but it's meant to be. We (as white Australians) need to confront the atrocities that were, and still are being committed against First Nations peoples.
But in this case its completely justified. Dank tells the story of her family, but more interestingly, the process and lengths in which she went to to find out what happened to her family during colonisation. She grapples with learning what happened to her grandmother, which ultimately lead to her being ostracised from both white and black communities. She also learnt that many of her family members were taken away from their mums since colonisation through to the stolen generation, and she grapples with the longing to know these people she feels a connection with, but has no idea where they are now. It is heartbreaking and you can feel the raw emotion through the page.
Dank writes provocatively on purpose, she states in the introduction that she knows this book is uncomfortable, but it's meant to be. We (as white Australians) need to confront the atrocities that were, and still are being committed against First Nations peoples.
April 2, 2026
Both visually and in its subject matter, this third book by Debra Dank and her first We Come With This Place (see my review here) are linked. However, the tone of this book is different: instead of being a celebration of family, country and continuity as her first book was, this book is infused with an anger which is moulded into regret. The beautiful writing is still there, but there's an injury here as well. I wonder if the timing of this book has something to do with this? It was published in 2025, post-Voice Referendum.
...
This book is confronting and asks difficult questions that we don't want to answer, but it is not bashing you over the head with guilt. As Antonia Pont, who wrote the Foreword notes, the book "circles, spirals, sidles close to, and also confronts legal, political, communal and personal facts and happenings, with a rigorous yet not overplayed scholarly knowledge of the detail" (p.xii) It is a bit like probing the skin around a wound: touch, flinch, but touch again more gently. Such grace in allowing us the space to be so tentative, but still quietly insistent that there is much work yet to be done.
For my complete review, please visit:
https://residentjudge.com/2026/04/02/...
...
This book is confronting and asks difficult questions that we don't want to answer, but it is not bashing you over the head with guilt. As Antonia Pont, who wrote the Foreword notes, the book "circles, spirals, sidles close to, and also confronts legal, political, communal and personal facts and happenings, with a rigorous yet not overplayed scholarly knowledge of the detail" (p.xii) It is a bit like probing the skin around a wound: touch, flinch, but touch again more gently. Such grace in allowing us the space to be so tentative, but still quietly insistent that there is much work yet to be done.
For my complete review, please visit:
https://residentjudge.com/2026/04/02/...
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.
May 13, 2026
Unforgettable. Deeply impactful. Necessary reading for all Australians.
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
March 3, 2026
Very beautifully written. Such a chilling and gut wrenching book. There's so much courage in writting it.
I haven't read much on Aboriginal history and the book explores why there isn't much literature out there that covers it. They have a beautiful culture of telling stories around the campfire rather than writting it for anyone to read.
Admittedly I was a bit lost in the first 75 pages as the author explores her emotions of her families untold stories. I picked up the rhythm of the book after those first 75 though.
I haven't read much on Aboriginal history and the book explores why there isn't much literature out there that covers it. They have a beautiful culture of telling stories around the campfire rather than writting it for anyone to read.
Admittedly I was a bit lost in the first 75 pages as the author explores her emotions of her families untold stories. I picked up the rhythm of the book after those first 75 though.
May 4, 2026
Ankami was a stunning memoir that discussed colonialism, Indigenous Australian identity and missing people you have never known. I thought the prose was beautiful and devastating, and a great reminder of the atrocities committed by the Australian government.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews