In Melbourne, hundreds of people gathered in Federation Square to remember the lost children. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags were lowered to half-mast and black roses were distributed to the crowd to be thrown on the steps of the Victorian Parliament.
In Darwin, Sorry Day was commemorated with a morning walk to symbolize a journey of healing. The effects of the Stolen Generation live on in the hearts and minds of every Indigenous Australian.
National Sorry Day reminds us all to respect the trauma that our fellow Australians now hold in their cultural story. If you or your loved ones have been affected by the child removal policies and would like support in your healing journey, reach out to the Healing Foundation. Alternatively, there are Link-Up services available across Australia to help members of the Stolen Generations reconnect with their families and find out about their family history.
Professor Larkin said by honouring the stories that led to national recognition of Sorry Day we aim to bring about change that can deliver better outcomes across education, health, and social and emotional wellbeing. As a result, they carry a significant burden of health, wellbeing, and social and economic deficits. Professor Larkin said the effects of the trauma and abuse inherent in the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children carries across to subsequent generations.
It was written into the Bringing Them Home report from the many conversations, testimonies and stories of our people going back over years. A multi-thousand participant walk across the Sydney Harbor Bridge is organized and executed to bring attention to the reconciliation movement.
Events such as Sorry Day flag-raising events, morning teas or lunches, media statements from Australian politicians, and speeches from community leaders, including Indigenous Australian elders, are often conducted during this day.
A national apology was issued, especially for the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, their communities, and their country. This apology extended to the pain, suffering, and hurt of these Stolen Generations, their descendants, and for their families left behind. Just a little research will tell horrific stories of children torn from their rightful families and forced into an unfamiliar and difficult life living with strangers, as well as trying to keep up with the schooling, traditions, and family dynamics of colonist-descended white Australians.
People of Aboriginal descent have made incredible contributions to Australia as a whole, in the fields of art, music, law, medicine, entertainment, and more.
Take a few hours to locate some of these contributions, learn about them, and bask in the richness of their culture. To apologize without reservation. That can be a tough thing to do, whether as an individual or as a larger group. An apology can go a long way towards healing, or at least beginning to.
Thinking about the concept of reconciliation in your life and applying it can be a humbling and important experience. In evolutionary terms, Australian Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders are among the oldest continuous civilizations on earth, thought to have migrated out of Africa over 70, years ago. Australian English is made up of more than words from Aboriginal languages, most of which are nouns.
Some of these words include koala, wombat, barramundi, kookaburra, boomerang, yakka and bung. The hurt caused by white Australians to native peoples is now being addressed, so the first steps have been taken. If we can acknowledge our history the way Australians have, we can move toward a time of healing and redemption.
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