The National Day of Healing (National Sorry Day), is held each year on May 26 to remember and commemorate the mistreatment of Australia's First Nations peoples.
On this day 24 years ago a report was tabled in Parliament. This document, the Bringing Them Home report, observed the suffering and trauma of the countless Indigenous children that were forcibly removed from their families - those that are now known as the Stolen Generations.
(Image sourced from the Bringing Them Home report)
This report also urged action from the Australian government, outlining steps toward reconciliation, one of these steps being to issue a formal apology to Indigenous Australians. On 1998, one year later, the first National Sorry Day was held.
"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."
(excerpt from the Bringing them Home Report)
National Sorry Day is a time of mourning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and a time of acknowledgement, recognition and learning for their allies. The post below contains some resources that may be helpful to some.
National Sorry Day is held each year on the day before Reconciliation Week begins. It is an opportunity to observe the years of hardship and trauma inflicted on Australia’s First Nations peoples, before moving forward into a week of reconciliation and finding a better way forward.
Acknowledgement of Country
We acknowledge the Yugambeh and Kombumerri people, the traditional owners of this land on which we operate and recognise their continuing connection to land, waters and culture. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
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