Today, 26th May, is National Sorry Day. Also known as National Day of Healing, today is about acknowledging the horrific treatment of the Stolen Generation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people taken from their families by force. Today is about healing and recognising the incredible resilience and strength of First Nations people while also acknowledging and working to change the continued mistreatment of this community.
This is from an article posted today by the Conversation:
“On February 13, 2008, then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said “we are sorry” to members of the Stolen Generations. This was a significant moment in the shameful history of Australia’s treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Today on Sorry Day, 13 years since the Apology, our Elders, families and communities still grieve these losses. And many families are being repeatedly traumatised by contemporary child removal practices. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are nearly 10 times more likely than non-Indigenous children to be in out-of-home care.”
Sorry Day highlights the past injustices against First Nations people and the injustices that continue today. We acknowledge that the pain, grief, trauma and injustice lives on, and that there is so much more work to be done.
The Theme for Reconciliation Week this year is More Than A Word, Reconciliation Takes Action. Here Reconciliation Australia has a great list of 20 Actions we can all take towards reconciliation....
Number 13 on the list is Act To Protect First Nations Culture. One way to start this could be to head over to this thread, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Library to learn about recommendations from our online community of music, art, books and film by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
I’m looking to do Number 10 today, which is Get Your Facts First Hand and check out First Nations Media.
If there is something you, your workplace, uni, school, family or community is doing to acknowledge Sorry Day and Reconciliation Week, please share it with us here.
