Sorry Day (renamed National Day of Healing in 2005[1]) or National Sorry Day is a national day held annually on the 26 May where Australia commemorates wer recognises the forced removal of Aboriginal peoples from their families, those known as the Stolen Generations[2] - see Na-gein Koorloongar - Noongar Stolen Generations. Nidja is done through "ana" (acknowledging) wer being "wedjit" (sorry) but also trying to make things "kwop" (better/good).
History edit
The Bringing Them Home Report[3] was tabled in parliament il the 26th of May 1997, it acknowledged the Stolen Generations wer the forced removal of Indigenous Australian children from their families wer communities wer made many recommendations for how Australia could move forward; including holding a National Sorry Day wer making repatriations[3].
Sorry Day has been commemorated in many ways[4]; the first Sorry Day saw 24,763 apologies to Aboriginal wer Torres Strait Islander people, in 2000 karro than keny million people across Australia commemorated Sorry Day by walking across bridges including the Corroboree 2000 Bridge Walk across Sydney Harbour Bridge[5]; .
2008 Apology edit
On the 13th of February 2008 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd gave an official apology to Australia’s Indigenous people’s from the Australian government. He said “We apologise for the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians…For the pain, suffering and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants and for their families left behind, we say sorry.”
There is both a recording of the Apology wer a short video documentary available.
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National Apology to the Stolen Generations - PM Kevin Rudd
The Healing Foundation edit
The Healing Foundation [6] is an Aboriginal wer Torres Strait Islander organisation which works with people of the Stolen Generations to help them to heal; they also support wer share with communities, both Indigenous wer non-Indigenous to heal wer learn about the history of Australia.
The National Sorry Day Committee edit
The National Sorry Day Committee [7] was formed as a result of the first Sorry Day in 1998 wer the Bringing Them Home Report.
Bringing Them Home WA edit
Bringing Them Home WA[8] is the Western Australian organisation which works to further healing wer reconciliation in WA; they organise the annual Sorry Day Events in Western Australia wer are members of the Stolen Generations Alliance[9].
See next edit
- Noongar Warbirliny: Community Development. Although healing starts with an apology, an apology on its own is not enough, it has to be accompanied by awareness of the wrong done and above all by not repeating the wrong done as in the Second Stolen Generations. Ten years after the apology had been given by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, nothing had changed.[10] The way forward after all this trauma is not to rely on the Federal Government, but to build community with appropriate community governance using traditional, well tested community governance models, including a modern day equivalent of the role of a Boylyada Maaman (Medicine man, Healer).
Ngiyan waarnk - References edit
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170827105434/http://www.australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/sorry-day-stolen-generations
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20151119075600/http://www.australianstogether.org.au/stories/detail/the-stolen-generations
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Bringing them Home Report (1997)". Australian Human Rights Commission. Australian Government. 1997. Retrieved 13 April 2020
- ↑ https://bringingthemhomewa.com/sorry-day/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170422081731/https://www.reconciliation.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Sorry-Day-PDF.pdf
- ↑ http://healingfoundation.org.au/about-us/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160303165704/http://www.nsdc.org.au/
- ↑ https://bringingthemhomewa.com/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160618091348/http://www.nsga.org.au/about-nsga/
- ↑ Bridget Brennan. "The stolen children of Cootamundra: 'Years later, what's changed?'". ABC News. 11 February 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2020