National Sorry Day
26 May
National Sorry Day commemorates the Stolen Generations. The first National Sorry Day was held on the first anniversary of the tabling of the Bringing them home report in Parliament in 1997. The report documents the policies and practices which enabled the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families with the explicit intention of separating them from their connections to family, land, language and culture AND to educate and train them to assimilate; to take their place in mainstream white culture, mostly as domestic labour. Australia recognises these children as part of the Stolen Generations.
Generations is plural because many of children of the children who grew up in institutions or were separated were also institutionalised or separated through forced foster care and adoption practices. To date, of the 83 recommendations made, only six per cent have been fully implemented
For all Australians, National Sorry Day serves as a record of the past, a message to present and a call out to the future. While present day Australians are not responsible for the past injustices, we have a responsibility to acknowledge that it happened. It is the lived experience of many Aboriginal people and families in the Northern Territory. A better understanding of this past helps us understand the present. We all have a responsibility be mindful of our own individual attitude, language and practices.
National Sorry Day matters, but sorry without action is not enough. Teachers can work with students to create artwork which visualise a journey towards reconciliation and combine a reflection on the past, painful histories with hope for a better future. Symbols might include handprints, plants like the native hibiscus, the sun, meeting places, the Aboriginal flag.
Most of the group of children from the CMS mission at Emerald River, with missionary May Dove, Library & Archives NT - Wynne Evans Collection
Digital Keeping Place NE1-0182517
Resources
Digital Keeping Place - Stolen Generations
Healing Foundation - National Sorry Day
NITV - What is National Sorry Day (Video)
Human Rights Commission - Bringing them Home Teachers Resources