Sydney
Parliament House

Australia's Indigenous People

Australia's Indigenous People comprise of over 400 distinct groups all of which exhibit their own language and culture. For many centuries these groups lived together in Australia's vast territory developing into complex and rich cultures that deserve our admiration and respect.

With the arrival of European settlers in the 18th century, Australia's territory quickly became a British colony. One of the results of colonization was that aboriginal people were stripped off their rights, limiting this way their liberty to express their traditional lifestyle and rituals and even enforce their right to be parents.

During the 20th century, with the argument that aboriginal people were not 'fit' to provide proper parental care, the Australian government introduced a series of policies that had aboriginal children abandon, often forcibly, their families in an attempt to turn them into white Australians. This act alone resulted in about 100.000 aboriginal children being abducted from their homes from the late 1890s to 1970, leading to what is known today as the "Stolen Generations".

Many years would pass until the Australian government publicly apologized to the Stolen Generations, an apology that came on 13 February 2008 from then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. However, since 1998, an annual event has been held on May 26 to remember the years of mistreatment to the aboriginal peoples of Australia. This holiday, National Sorry Day, searches to create awareness among politicians, law makers and the general public of the past policies that had a regretful consequence on aboriginal children, their families and communities. Each year in Australia all schools, community groups and workplaces are encouraged to hold events on National Sorry Day.

Understanding the history behind National Sorry Day