In Australia, from 1910 to 1970 thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were forcibly removed from their families and communities and placed in non-Indigenous families or raised in institutions. These children are known as the ‘Stolen Generations’. Many of these First Nations peoples experienced neglect, abuse and were denied contact with their families.
In May 1997, the Bringing Them Home report, tabled in Parliament, documented the grief and loss caused to First Nations peoples by the government policies that led to the Stolen Generations and the breaking of cultural, spiritual, and family ties. A key recommendation from the Bringing Them Home report was the need for the Australian government to officially acknowledge and apologise to Australia’s First Nations peoples for the forcible removal of their children from families and communities.
On 13 February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd offered a formal apology to Australia’s First Nations peoples on behalf of the nation at Australian Parliament House. The Apology acknowledged that ‘the laws and policies of successive Parliaments and governments had resulted in the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families’ and ‘inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians’ (Parliament of Australia, aph.gov.au). The Prime Minister’s speech was met with applause, tears, and relief from many First Nations peoples, including members of the Stolen Generations present at parliament House for The Apology.
“The National Apology is considered a milestone step toward reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians” (Parliament of Australia, www.aph.gov.au)
Click here for a full transcript of the Apology.
Listen to the Apology
ABC – The Apology speech by Kevin Rudd at Parliament House
Reconciliation Australia – About the Apology with some of Kevin Rudd’s speech and footage/stories from Indigenous people at Parliament House and a commentary from Reconciliation Australia.