When was the last time you were asked to sign something and did you stop to think how the strange squiggly mark you make on a page could be used?

The signature is a performative act, crucial to the law’s way of knowing, but it’s also been used as an instrument of power and control.

In this episode of History Lab we hear from a boy who was stolen, the man who took him away and the Judge who was asked to decide if a mother's thumbprint was a sign of consent.

The presence or absence of a signature on a legal document can speak volumes and throughout history Aboriginal people have been reclaiming this marker of individual identity to represent the many and speak back to an empire.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this episode contains the voices and names of deceased persons.