Reconciliation South Australia Inc
"a united Australia which respects this land of ours; values the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage; and provides justice and equity for all"
Be the change; I am the change.
National Reconciliation Week: 27 May to 3 June
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Torres Strait Islander flag
Reconciliation - South Australia Inc is proudly supported by:
What is reconciliation? |
rec-on-cil-i-a-tion [rek-uhn-sil-ee-ey-shuhn]–noun
- an act of reconciling or the state of being reconciled.
- the process of making consistent or compatible.
rec-on-cile [rek-uhn-sahyl] - verb
- to cause (a person) to accept or be resigned to something not desired
- to win over to friendliness; cause to become amicable: to reconcile hostile persons
- to compose or settle
- to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent: to reconcile differing statement
In its broadest sense 'reconciliation' is about bringing together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, or Indigenous, and non-Indigenous Australians. Supporting reconciliation means working to overcome the reasons there is division and inequality between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.
Reconciliation: a people's movement
The Reconciliation movement began in 1967 when a 90% majority of Australians voted to allow the Commonwealth government to make decisions respecting Aboriginal Australians.
Since then, the path towards Reconciliation has been filled with progress and setbacks.
In 1972, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established on the steps of Parliament House in Canberra. It continues to serve as a symbol of the fight for Indigenous sovereignty in Australia.
In 1976, the first Aboriginal Land Rights Act was established. Though it was very limited and was only enacted in the Northern Territory, the Act did recognise Aboriginals as traditional land owners for the first time in Australian history.
The biggest step towards land rights reconciliation came in 1992 with the Mabo case. In this court case, the Australian High Court stated that terra nullius (the policy that no group of people owned the land before European contact) was invalid. The Court also formally recognised Aboriginal Australians as the first and traditional owners of Australian land. This court case opened the doors for countless Native Title land claims in the following years.
In 1995, a national enquiry into the federal government policy of taking Aboriginal children from their homes in the first half of the 20th century commenced. The findings of the enquiry led to the establishment of National Sorry Day. While many politicians recognised National Sorry Day every year, the federal government, under the direction of Prime Minister John Howard, refused to issue a formal apology for the policy.
On 28 May 2000, 250,000 people walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in a public declaration that "Reconciliation is the work of all Australians."
On 13 February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd formally apologised to the Stolen Generations on behalf of the Federal Government and the Australian people. This was considered by many Australians to be a significant and long overdue step towards reconciliation. It is important to maintain momentum and to build on these achievements but most of all it is essential that we, as Australians, strive towards achieving reconciliation through attitudes, policies and programs that improve opportunities and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
More information on what reconciliation means: