Looking towards recognition and reconciliation
National Sorry Day marks the beginning of Reconciliation Week and is the day Australians formally and solemnly acknowledge the Stolen Generations.
The College recognised the importance of Sorry Day at the College Assembly on Wednesday, when Georgia Carter shared her thoughts on the day.
Good afternoon College Leadership Team, Staff, guests and students, my name is Georgia Carter and I am from Fitzroy Crossing and part of the Goodiandi and Kija tribes. I am here today to talk about Sorry Day, many of you may wonder what that is?
Sorry Day marks the beginning of Reconciliation Week and is a day when we formally and solemnly acknowledge the Stolen Generations. The Stolen Generations were children of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous decent who were taken away from their families and sent to missions across Australia; this happened to both my grandparents.
My grandmother, Ivy Carter, was separated from her three brothers and sent to a mission at Moola Bulla. By the time she had reconnected with her brothers, she had already started a family of her own with my grandfather. One of the most devastating impacts The Stolen Generations had on my Grandmother, was that she believed her own mother abandoned her, as only her white father was able to visit her at the mission. There are many others, like my grandmother, who are still recovering from their childhood trauma today. This is why we continue to celebrate Sorry Day; to remember the emotional pain of those who suffered.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Referendum. The goal of this Referendum was to change the definition of Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders from flora and fauna, and acknowledge them as people. This was a significant event due to the fact that over 90 percent of people voted 'yes' to change the constitution and it marked the start of the recognition movement. It later led to the successful acknowledgement of land with the Mabo case in 1992.
The theme for Reconciliation Week 2017 is, 'Let's take the next step.' To me this means completely mending the relationship between non-Indigenous and the Indigenous Australians. This is being achieved through the Closing the Gap Campaign which aims to close the wealth, education and the life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
This is why it is so important that we continue to make a change and continue to look towards recognition and reconciliation.
Thank you.
Georgia Carter, Year 9 O'Halloran