Calkins: From Prejudice To Pride -- Patty Mills

Matt Calkins of The Columbian talks with Portland Trail Blazers guard Patty Mills about his family's heritage.

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"Unless someone asks me, it’s not a subject I talk about much," Mills said.

The subject pertains to his Indigenous Australian heritage, more specifically his Aboriginal mother, Yvonne, who as a 2-year-old was taken from her mother along with her older brother and three older sisters. The abduction was part of national effort led by the Australian government and church missions to remove Indigenous Australian children from their homes and assimilate them into white culture.

It is now classified as "The Stolen Generation," and Yvonne was a textbook victim.

"That’s the chip I carry on my shoulder," Mills continued. "Not just being an Indigenous Australian, but knowing that my mom’s side of my family never got to see me play."
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ed: bumped to front page

over 1 year ago Corvid 26 comments 12 recs |

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Good read.

It’s sad that the US also did this to Native Americans.

by vanceanthony on Feb 21, 2011 12:38 PM PST reply actions

Yep.

I am reading “In the Spirit of Crazy Horse” and actually had to set it aside last night — the first person accounts of what happened to Native American children in order to “assimilate” them was disturbing to say the least.

Hopefully all cultures can learn at least a little from history as we attempt to move forward…

by NeverSummer on Feb 21, 2011 12:59 PM PST up reply actions

It was based on the US (Utah) government policy

by wayno on Feb 21, 2011 2:51 PM PST up reply actions

Nice story!

The NBA needs more of these written.

Campaign to remove "Free-throw Guy" from the Rose Garden.

by Knobby on Feb 21, 2011 1:22 PM PST reply actions

wow.

Love hearing this stuff finally coming out.

"All is vanity and vexation of spirit."
http://year5000.bandcamp.com

by Y5k on Feb 21, 2011 1:51 PM PST reply actions

He should fly his Indigenous family over here

…for a game or two in the Rose Garden.

Rumor has it that Dos Equis first approached Aldridge, but Aldridge turned thrm down because the real 'most interesting man in the world' would not have to prove it in a commercial. - Canis Hoopus 1/7/11

by jamon51 on Feb 21, 2011 1:52 PM PST reply actions

Can you imagine?

same planet, different worlds…that would be one heck of an experience for them

"If I had a dime for every basket I made today, you'd still suck!" - from the book 'John Dies @ the End'

by sammymohawk on Feb 21, 2011 2:05 PM PST up reply actions

How can this help us trade for chris paul?

by yobama on Feb 21, 2011 2:07 PM PST reply actions

...

come on dude seriously?

by lostkauze on Feb 21, 2011 2:22 PM PST up reply actions

Did Mick Dundee know about any of this?

you’d think he’d put a stop to it, singlehandidly

When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!

by two4larue on Feb 21, 2011 2:40 PM PST reply actions

Or Quigley

"My shoulder is OK. And away we go." -- Nic Batum
"wang-dang diddly wubba SPROING wow-wow" -- Dave

by DonkeyShins on Feb 21, 2011 3:26 PM PST up reply actions

Mick was a man of the indigenous people

He is probably the reason it stopped

by benfti on Feb 21, 2011 6:49 PM PST up reply actions

Compare this article to the drivel Canzano puts out.

#52--------I believe in Greg Oden

by annthefan on Feb 21, 2011 2:43 PM PST reply actions 1 recs

Anyone else think the Columbian puts out the best Blazer-related articles?

by Liface on Feb 21, 2011 4:34 PM PST reply actions

Is someone cutting onions in here?

There is something in my eyes.

Clyde the Glide, the greatest player ever

Cliff Robinson got mad at my brother who was trying to sell him a cellphone when my brother called him Uncle Cliffy. Apparently, he doesn't like that name very much.

by BeaumontTXBlazerFan on Feb 21, 2011 6:18 PM PST reply actions

Signed in the rec this.

I wish BEdge would go more in this direction, rather than the trade rumor echo room (though I accept the trade rumor deluge in the last two weeks before the deadline).

There is so much to be gained when we connect our obsession for the Blazers with the people and the realities that really matter.

Proud to be a Republican.
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by staylost on Feb 21, 2011 6:20 PM PST reply actions

I must be too dense but I don’t understand why Mills’ aboriginal family never got to see him play.

Is it that they were stripped of their actual family identity so completely that they no longer were even able to know who were their aboriginal relatives such as Patty?

by LanceS on Feb 21, 2011 6:38 PM PST reply actions

Pardon the pun

But Patty Mills in more than just jersey is a real Trail Blazer

by benfti on Feb 21, 2011 6:49 PM PST reply actions

I really hope this helps illustrate

just how far Patty has come.

by benfti on Feb 21, 2011 6:51 PM PST reply actions

columbian

As a Vancouverite, this article makes me proud. Also, no doubt Canzano is kicking himself, Mr. Writer of Trailblazer Human Interest Stories missed an incredibly compelling one.

by LanceS on Feb 21, 2011 9:11 PM PST reply actions

Canzano would've totally destroyed this article.

The beautiful thing is this article isn’t full of moralizing or inserting the journalist into the story.

Proud to be a Republican.
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by staylost on Feb 21, 2011 9:42 PM PST up reply actions

As an Australian fan of Patty

it’s hard to express just how important this aspect of him being an NBA player is. It’s not just that Australians finally have a guard in the league – which is rad – but that he is an Indigenous Australian makes it so much more important makes it go so much further than basketball. He has the ability to influence youth – indigenous and non-indigenous Australians alike – in a positive way. He knows this and I think he carries around an incredible sense of responsibility with him that it would be hard for anyone to understand – that’s why he’s so mature and so eloquent for his age. He’s a special dude, hopefully he’s able to find a way of sticking around in this league for a while to come yet.

by thesecret on Feb 22, 2011 1:56 AM PST reply actions