This week marks two significant dates: May 26 is Sorry Day and May 27 is the anniversary of the historic 1967 National Referendum.
Twenty-five years ago, in 1997, the ‘Bringing Them Home’ report was tabled in the Federal Parliament.
This report — the result of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families — acknowledged that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children had been forcibly separated from their families and communities since the early days of European occupation in Australia.
The report started with the following words:
“This report is a tribute to the strength and struggles of many thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people affected by forcible removal. We acknowledge the hardships they endured and the sacrifices they made. We remember and lament all the children who will never come home.
“We dedicate this report with thanks and admiration to those who found the strength to tell their stories to the Inquiry and to the generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people separated from their families and communities.”
One of the recommendations of the report was the establishment of a national ‘Sorry Day’ to commemorate the history of forcible removals and the ongoing effects on individuals, families and communities.
The first National Sorry Day was held on May 26, 1998, one year after the tabling of the report.
The other significant date this week is May 27, the anniversary of the referendum in which 90.77 per cent of the Australian population voted to change the Constitution to allow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to be counted as part of the population and for the Commonwealth to make laws for them.
It was one of the most successful national campaigns in Australia’s history.
It is also the first day of National Reconciliation Week, celebrated across Australia each year between May 27 and June 3.
The last day of National Reconciliation Week, June 3, is the anniversary of the 1992 High Court Mabo decision.
This decision recognised not only the traditional rights of the Meriam people to their land but also that native title existed for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples.
The concept of terra nullius — that the land was not occupied — became a legal fiction.
National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures and achievements, and to explore how each of us can take action to contribute to achieving real change in the journey towards reconciliation in Australia.
The theme for this year’s National Reconciliation Week is “Be Brave. Make Change”.
In 2022, there is a challenge to all Australians — individuals, families, communities, organisations and governments — to be brave and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation so we can make change for the benefit of all Australians.
The challenge to everyone is to make change beginning with brave actions in their daily lives — where they live, work, play and socialise.
We all need to act to bring about a more just and equitable Australia.
We need more people being brave — speaking up, speaking the truth, asking the hard questions, seeing the hard facts — and making change.
So, what can you do?
Tell the truth on racism.
Racism damages lives and livelihoods, and it hurts the whole community.
Find out about the Racism: It Stops with Me campaign.
See and hear personal bias in personal conversations and attitudes. Dig deep on racism. See it. Call it out. Report it.
Acknowledge Country. Wherever you are in Australia you are on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land.
Know whose Country you are on. Acknowledge Country in meetings and gatherings. Display Country names on buildings, offices and on your email signature.
Get your facts first-hand. Get your facts straight from the source – go to NITV, Koori Mail, IndigenousX or ABC Indigenous, Reconciliation Australia or commonground.org
Fight for justice. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the most incarcerated people in the world.
Learn and understand why this is so.
Challenge our leaders to take action on justice.
Get behind the Change the Record, Raise the Age and Family Matters campaigns.
Own our history. The true history of this country has been hidden from us.
Find out about how this country was really colonised and the ongoing Frontier Wars that were part of this colonisation.
When talking about the history of Australia, always include the participation and presence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Get reconciliation into schools. If you didn’t learn about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures at school, make sure our kids do now.
Challenge colonial perspectives on history, commit to a Reconciliation Action Plan in your school.
Learn your local history. Break the silence on the massacres, forced removals, cultural genocide and memorialising.
Find out the truth about colonial leaders and histories memorialised near you.
Are they heroes or criminals? Consider why places have names such as Poisoned Waterholes Creek and Mount Dispersion.
Support self-determination. First Nations-led organisations and activities strengthen the whole community.
Support and promote community-controlled and First Nations-governed organisations.
Be a brave ally. First Nations people make up just three per cent of the population.
Allies help to amplify issues and take action, so understand how to be a good ally. Step up and show up to make change.
Support Blak businesses. Past policies and practices took money and work away from generations of First Nations people.
Stolen wages and land undermined economic futures. Understand how poverty and disempowerment plays out today.
Support Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples’ businesses as contractors, suppliers and producers.
Purchase First Nations art or products only from First Nations-owned businesses. Support and follow First Nations protocols in the arts.
Prioritise cultural safety. Some workplaces and locations exclude or intimidate First Nations people.
Learn about and understand cultural safety and inclusive practices in your life and work.
Understand political representation. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been fighting for a political voice and structural changes like Treaty, for more than 100 years.
Learn the history of representative bodies and calls for Treaty.
Support current calls by First Nations peoples for treaties, constitutional reform and the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
Stand for land rights. First Nations people have fought hard for land rights and Native Title.
Show you support First Nations ownership of Country – support or join land justice efforts and advocacy campaigns near you.
Speak up for languages. Language is intrinsic to culture and identity.
There are around 800 dialects from more than 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
Know the name of the local area language(s) of the Traditional Custodians of the land on which you live.
Get to know and use Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander place names, and petition councils and governments to do so.
Care for Country. First Nations peoples hold the knowledge to manage and protect Country.
Western science and environmental scientists can learn much from them.
Support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups like Seed Mob, the Aboriginal Carbon Foundation, Firesticks Alliance and Yerrabingin.
Learn how climate change is going to directly affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and stand up for those already on the front line.
Reconciliation is everyone’s business, every day.
Use this National Reconciliation Week to learn about and celebrate the world’s oldest living culture.
Attend events; read, watch, listen and learn. Be brave. Make change. It makes a difference.
The annual Sorry Day Commemoration will be held at Monash Park on Thursday, May 26, starting at 10.10am. Register your attendance at www.eventbrite.com.au/e/3370771558
La Trobe University is holding a Sorry Day Observance and lunch on Thursday, May 26, at 12.30pm to 1.30pm in the Shepparton campus courtyard.
To register go to www.eventbrite.com.au/e/national-sorry-day-shepparton-campus-tickets-339638005417