Sister Heart Themes

Annie, Janey, Tim, Nancy, Emmy, Dot, and Margy represent the thousands of Aboriginal children stolen from their families in Australia between the early 1900s and the 1960s. Their stories thus describe a small portion of the dreadful treatment and abuse visited upon these children by colonial authorities in the name of assimilating them to European culture. Reverend Dale wants to convert Annie to Christianity, and he tells her she…

One of the primary ways that authorities like the policeman, Reverend Dale, Teacher, and Nurse attempt to assimilate the Aboriginal children of Australia is by placing vast distances between them and their families. The children in the school come from northwest and southwest Australia and none of them can say how far—or even in what direction—they’ve traveled to be there. When Annie arrives at the school, she misses her family (Mum…

Annie and the other children at the nameless Australian residential school in Sister Heart are there against their will—colonial authorities like the ominous and nameless policeman who imprisons Annie at the very beginning of the book have stolen them from their families. School authorities like Teacher make rules about what language the children can speak (English only), what and when they eat, what they wear, and what they do (mostly classes and chores). But the…

Annie has a deep connection with nature. She has cherished memories of watching wildlife with her baby sister and hunting with Mum. The first major disruption in her life involves her move from the “outcamp,” located deep in the bush on Boss’s substantial livestock ranch, into domestic service with her Aunty Adie at Boss’s house. After the authorities steal her from her family and place her in a residential school, she finds strength…