26 May 2017 marks the 20th year since the 1997 Bringing them home report was released in Federal Parliament. One year after the tabling of this report, on 26th May 1998, National Sorry Day was declared.
For Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians alike, National Sorry Day is an important day for reflection and understanding about the enduring impact of the government’s early assimilation policies, where generations of Indigenous children were forcefully separated from their families, their communities, their language and their culture.
Between one in three and one in ten Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families between 1910 and 1970 (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2017). The National Inquiry informing the Bringing them home report confirmed that the majority of these children – the Stolen Generations – were removed because they were Indigenous; not out of concern for their well-being (read more here).
The unfinished business of the Bringing them home report is not just about healing, but about dealing with the impacts of separation.
As the registered Cultural Heritage Body for the Gold Coast region, Jabree works for the Gold Coast Traditional Owner community to help bring together archaeological evidence and local knowledge of ancestral land use and traditions, to build a better picture of the Gold Coast region’s Indigenous cultural heritage.
We also work to ensure that traditional owner interests are genuinely represented in the development of the Gold Coast region, through their direct involvement in key regional projects and planning processes.
We also facilitate employment on cultural heritage assessment and management projects, we promote other employment and training opportunities in the region, and we support community members through employment and training programs where required.
This is our demonstrated commitment to helping overcome social and economic disadvantage for Indigenous Australians.
National Sorry Day will be followed by National Reconciliation Week (27 May-3 June) marking two milestones in Australia’s reconciliation journey – 50 years since the 1967 referendum, and 25 years since the historic Mabo decision.
