National Sorry Day
Topic: Settler Colonialism: Native Peoples of America and Australia · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 6 "Displacing Indigenous Peoples"
Meaning
National Sorry Day is a public apology in Australia, held on 26 May. It apologises for native children who were taken away from their families and "lost" between the 1820s and the 1970s. Most of these were children of mixed native and European descent. The day is a symbolic step towards making up for past wrongs.
Example
A National Enquiry in 1995 looked into how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children had been separated from their families. NCERT gives the date of Sorry Day as 26 May 1999. The day has been observed every year on 26 May since 1998.
Don't confuse with
- Mabo case (1992): Sorry Day is a symbolic apology for taking children away. Mabo was a court ruling that gave natives legal claims to land.
Related concepts
- Indian Reorganisation Act
- Constitution Act 1982
- Great Australian Silence
- Multiculturalism in Australia
- Mabo case
- Stolen Generations