Today we celebrate National Sorry Day. Sorry Day (May 26) is an important moment to remember the past policies of forced child removal and provides people with the opportunity to come together and share the steps towards healing for the Stolen Generations, their families and communities. In the lead up to Sorry Day on 26 May, we reflect on the sad and painful history of the Stolen Generations and recognising moments of resilience, healing and the power of saying Sorry.

Tomorrow marks the start of National Reconciliation Week. National Reconciliation Week (NRW) is a time for all Australians to learn about our shared histories, cultures, and achievements, and to explore how each of us can contribute to achieving reconciliation in Australia. The dates for NRW are the same each year; 27 May to 3 June. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision respectively. 

27 May 1967 On this day, Australia’s most successful referendum saw more than 90 per cent of Australians vote to give the Australian Government power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and recognise them in the Census.

3 June 1992  On this day, the Australian High Court delivered the Mabo decision, the culmination of Eddie Koiki Mabo’s challenge to the legal fiction of ‘terra nullius’ (land belonging to no one) and leading to the legal recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of lands. This decision paved the way for Native Title.

National Reconciliation Week (NRW) started as the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation in 1993 (the International Year of the World’s Indigenous Peoples) and was supported by Australia’s major faith communities. In 1996, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation launched Australia’s first National Reconciliation Week. In 2001, Reconciliation Australia was established to continue to provide national leadership on reconciliation. In the same year, approximately 300,000 people walked across Sydney Harbour Bridge as part of National Reconciliation Week-and subsequently across bridges in cities and towns-to show their support for reconciliation. 

Today, National Reconciliation Week is celebrated in  workplaces, schools and early learning services, community organisations and groups, and by individuals Australia-wide.

So what are we doing?

Today, Tuesday and Wednesday, Mrs Thomas, as a Gundungurrah and Thurawal woman, is spending time with each class, explaining the importance of Reconciliation and helping each child to be brave and make a change in any small way that they can. All members of our school community will also be decorating a hand that will be placed on the ring road in a 'sea of hand's' to show our commitment to reconciliation. A photo of our sea will be submitted to the Canberra Sea of Hands Reconciliation Day 2022 site.

On Tuesday we also ask all members of our community to 'wear it yellow, for children's ground'. The idea is to choose a day during NRW (Tuesday) to wear yellow, the colour of Children’s Ground, have meaningful discussions with your group and others about what your role is in the ongoing process of reconciliation.

Our First Nations Children will also be making their mark on a map of Australia to show which mobs they come from and how diverse our culture and countries are. The map will then be displayed in our school on the wall as an artwork.

How can you get involved? 

If you and your family members would like to decorate a hand to add to our 'sea of hands' please email me sharee.thomas@cg.catholic.edu.au and let me know how many hadns you would like. I will send home the template for you to complete over the weekend and when it is returned next week, it will be added to our school display. 

There are numerous events on in Canberra, including the fifth annual Reconciliation Day, being celebrated on Monday 30 May 2022 at the National Arboretum. See the following site for more details. https://nrw.reconciliation.org.au/calendar/list/?tribe-bar-search=canberra 

Sharee Thomas