The Point discusses Deaths in Custody and Cultural Heritage Protection sbs.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sbs.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Roseanne Pat never knew her cousin, but his death in a stone cell in Western Australia’s remote Pilbara region continues to have a huge impact on her life.
“It’s always inside of you, it s something that scars you for life, it s always inside of you like a scar,” she told The Point.
“It’s something we’re not going to forget about.”
John Pat’s death in 1983, in Ieramadagu or Roebourne, thousands of kilometres from the corridors of power in Canberra, caused a national outcry.
The outpouring of anger and grief after his death triggered the push for a Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. The inquiry would eventually examine 99 cases, including John Pat’s.