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Every year on 26 May, National Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’. 

National Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how we can all play a part in the healing process for our people and nation. 

The first National Sorry Day was held on 26 May 1998, one year after the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Parliament. The Bringing Them Home report is a result of a Government Inquiry into the past policies which caused children to be removed from their families and communities in the 20th century. 

The journey continues...

Since the establishment of Sorry Day, we now recognise another important milestone in Australia’s history on this date. On 26 May, 2017, at the conclusion of the 2017 First Nations National Constitutional Convention at Uluru, council member Megan Davis delivered the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a consensus document on constitutional recognition, developed by a 16-member Referendum Council of Indigenous and non-Indigenous community leaders. 

Today, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are still experiencing significant disparity in the social determinants of health. This year’s national theme, From Sorry to Action, reflects expectations that governments take urgent steps to create tangible and measurable change within survivors’ lifetimes. 

The Healing Foundation is a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation that partners with communities to address the ongoing trauma caused by actions like the forced removal of children from their families. 

We cannot begin to fix the problems of the present without accepting the truth of our history. This National Sorry Day let us all acknowledge the Stolen Generations, and in doing so, remember that historical injustice is still an ongoing source of intergenerational trauma for Aboriginal and Torres Islander families, communities, and peoples. 

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