Cootamundra High School students and staff certainly punched above their weight to recgonise Sorry Day last Friday.
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It was a splendid display of school spirit to mark an occasion which 20 years ago did not exist.
Sorry Day has been marked nationally on May 26 each year since 1998.
It began one year on from the tabling of the report Bringing them Home.
The report was the result of an inquiry by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission into the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.
Why should the people of today be sorry for the actions of those before them some may ask?
This point was touched on at the high school assembly with the explanation that Sorry Day is not about an admission of guilt.
Rather, it is an opportunity for Australians to collectively say sorry for the fact children were taken from their parents.
Most Australians agree in hindsight that the Stolen Generation was not a positive course of action.
The hearts and minds of people in positions of power may have been in the right place at the time, however a lack of understanding from these same people effectively led to families being torn apart.
The impact was limited to indigenous families.
Sorry Day is not about apportioning blame to those of us here today as, largely, we were not responsible for the decisions of those before us but rather recognising the impact of these decisions on indigenous families.
Like NAIDOC Week, Sorry Day is growing in importance, particularly in schools.
This next generation will be fuelled with a new compassion and understanding that hopefully will continue for many generations to come.
At Cootamundra High School, an Aboriginal Learning Centre attached to the school sees indigenous students given opportunities to remain in touch with their traditional culture.
Sorry Day emphasised the importance of family with relatives of indigenous families invited to celebrate with students prior to the impressive human art installation.
- Pictured is Cootamundra-based Wiradjuri elder Bob Glanville with indigenous students from Cootamundra schools during Sorry Day on Friday, May 26.