[Dialogue] Fw: Memo - National apology

Wed Feb 13 11:00:05 EST 2008

Thank you, Wayne, for providing a picture of this situation.  I also
recommend the film, RABBIT-PROOF FENCE--
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit-Proof_Fence_(film)

All the best,
Diann McCabe

On 2/13/08 9:05 AM, "Wayne Nelson" <wnelson at ica-associates.ca> wrote:

> 
> Auntie Mamie King from Murrin Bridge was one of those who was taken from her
> family as a young woman. She was born "on the land" before the reserves were
> in place and went through that whole terrifying process.  She was taken to
> 'school' in Cootamundra and was trained to be a domestic worker. After many
> years, she made her way back to her family and community. She was one of the
> last living Nygampa speakers and played an instrumental role in helping
> younger generations appreciate their language and heritage. She passed in
> the early 90's.  We've met several others who did not or were not able to
> reconnect. 
> 
> This is a seriously major step for a federal government.
> 
> Wayne 
> 
> "Robyn & John Hutchinson"  wrote:
> 
>> 
>> Colleagues,
>> Thought you may like to see the NSW Department of Education response to the
>> applogy to the Stolen Generations, which will take place on Feb 13th in
>> Canberra.  The Reconciliation Australia attachment is a particularly useful
>> document.  For our colleagues outside Australia, you will know this is a
>> landmark event for us down under.
>> Best wishes, Robyn
>> 
>> ________________________________
>> 
>> From: Director-General, DET
>> Sent: Fri 8/02/2008 10:54 AM
>> To: @All DET Staff
>> Subject: Memo - National apology
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Dear Colleagues,
>> 
>> The Commonwealth Government will formally say sorry to the stolen
>> generations when the Parliament resumes in Canberra next week.
>> 
>> The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, will deliver the apology on Wednesday 13
>> February 2008 at around 10:00 am, as the first item of business for the new
>> Parliament.
>> 
>> The day before, at the official opening of the Parliament, the Ngunnawal
>> People will perform a welcome to country ceremony - the first time this has
>> happened in the national Parliament.
>> 
>> Both are historic events for Aboriginal people and for all Australians.
>> 
>> The apology will acknowledge the profound wrong done to Aboriginal children,
>> families and communities by governments removing children on the basis of
>> race.
>> 
>> Think about those policies for a minute. Here's historian Inga Clendinnan's
>> description:
>> 
>> "....with no legal process at all, in clear violation of the common-law
>> rights of children and of parents ... with no inquiry into their actual
>> physical and emotional care, on the authority of a public servant's
>> signature on a form, and with no appeal, children were grabbed, transported
>> and set down again, sometimes with white foster families, more often in
>> institutions, in conditions of acute loneliness and emotional and often
>> physical deprivation, and immured for years until they were released to
>> serve the white world as cheap labour."
>> 
>> I firmly believe the apology is an essential step towards a closer
>> relationship between Australians.
>> 
>> Strong friendships are based on truth, recognition and respect, and
>> sustained by forgiveness.
>> 
>> I urge all NSW public schools and TAFE Institutes and other colleagues to
>> take the opportunity of the national apology to reflect on the past, to
>> celebrate how Australia's first peoples have survived policies that
>> destroyed family, kinship and identity, and to look to the future with
>> resolve and optimism.
>> 
>> We can all participate in these significant events in the life of our
>> country by:
>> 
>> * Giving students the chance to view the live telecasts on Tuesday 12 and/or
>> Wednesday 13.
>> * Informing the broader school and TAFE community by newsletter and websites
>> of the significance of the two days.
>> * Rearranging school assemblies to fall on either the Tuesday or the
>> Wednesday to recognise the events, and inviting local Aboriginal Elders,
>> parents and community members to participate as guest speakers and conduct
>> welcome to country or acknowledgement of country with the students.
>> * Flying the Aboriginal flag.
>> * Asking TAFE Student Associations if they would like to participate by
>> organising an event to acknowledge this occasion.
>> * Discussing with students the significance of the events, providing
>> background information, and finding ways to engage in practical actions of
>> reconciliation. Useful web links are:
>> 
>> 
>> http://www.reconcile.org.au/ <http://www.reconcile.org.au/>
>> 
>> http://www.nsdc.org.au/index.php <http://www.nsdc.org.au/index.php>
>> 
>> 
http://www.nsdc.org.au/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&categ>>
o
>> ry_id=7&Itemid=5
>> 
<http://www.nsdc.org.au/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.browse&cate>>
g
>> ory_id=7&Itemid=5>
>> 
>> http://www.nsdc.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=59&Itemid=36
>> 
> 
<http://www.nsdc.org.au/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=59&Itemid=36>
>
>> 
>> 
>> 
>>         Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission website:
>> 
>> http://www.humanrights.gov.au/education/index.html
>> <http://www.humanrights.gov.au/education/index.html>
>> 
>> * Bringing them home Education Module
>> <http://www.humanrights.gov.au/education/bth/index.html>  (11 December 2007)
>> * Us Taken-Away Kids <http://www.humanrights.gov.au/bth/taken/index.html>
>> (11 December 2007)
>> * Professional Development <http://www.humanrights.gov.au/education/pd.html>
>> 
>> Attached are some questions and answers prepared by Reconciliation Australia
>> that you may find useful to help explain the background to the apology.
>> 
>> I have asked our Centre for Learning Innovation to produce a teaching
>> resource to recognise the significance of this event.
>> 
>> Some resources will be available on TaLe (www.tale.edu.au
>> <http://www.tale.edu.au/> ) from 14 February 2008. You will also be able to
>> view video and audio files of the first welcome to country for the Federal
>> Parliament and official apology delivered by the Prime Minister on the
>> Department's intranet, internet and on TaLe.
>> 
>> With my best regards,
>> 
>> 
>> Michael Coutts-Trotter
>> DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
>> MANAGING DIRECTOR OF TAFE NSW
>> 8 February 2008
>> 
>> <<Reconciliation Australia.pdf>>
>> 
>> 
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> 
> < >  < >  < >  < >  < >
> Wayne Nelson - ICA Associates Inc
> 416-691-2316 - http://ica-associates.ca
> 
> 
> 
> 
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