AT a National Sorry Day ceremony last Thursday, Aboriginal leaders and community members stood together to acknowledge the trauma which begun with the Stolen Generations.<\/p>\n
During a sunset ceremony held at La Trobe University\u2019s Bendigo campus, people gathered to remember the pain endured by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.<\/p>\n
Yorta Yorta woman and Aboriginal rural health coordinator at La Trobe, Dr Mishel McMahon, said it was important for people to come together.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of people came together after the last two years where we haven\u2019t attended many events and ceremonies,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was very special because we got to see each other again. It\u2019s kind of like the aftermath, we\u2019re all still standing and here at Sorry Day together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr McMahon said First Nations children are still over-represented in child protection services, and the trauma since the Stolen Generations is not over.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still in the crisis mode,\u201d she said. \u201cSome Aboriginal people would say there\u2019s more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people being removed now than during the Stolen Generations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why Sorry Day is such a heavy ceremony, because we\u2019re in the thick of it still. Right now, it\u2019s eight or nine times more likely for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child to be removed than a non-Aboriginal child.\u201d<\/p>\n
To work towards reconciliation, Dr McMahon said more understanding is needed of First Nations family structures.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe same mindset that informed the Stolen Generations is still part of the context for child protection,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWestern European, imported ways of knowing family and structures, development and kinship, still is the main perspective that informs child protection, intake and assessment.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we stood together on Sorry Day, we need to stand together in the area of child protection.\u201d<\/p>\n
This week is National Reconciliation Week and for Dr McMahon, reconciliation is something that should be led by non-Aboriginal people.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think the process of reconciliation is Aboriginal people taking the lead and doing the work, we need to see non-Aboriginal people making the effort and driving the process,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Dr McMahon said Bendigo organisations exhibiting Reconciliation Action Plans and the work done by groups such as Reconciliation Bendigo is an encouraging sign.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always felt as an Aboriginal person, because of that high level of activity, Reconciliation Week does have meaning,\u201d she said<\/p>\n
\u201cI would say we\u2019re forward moving in that area, and it\u2019s been lovely to have such strong non-Aboriginal people take the lead.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AT a National Sorry Day ceremony last Thursday, Aboriginal leaders and community members stood together to acknowledge the trauma which begun with the Stolen Generations. During a sunset ceremony held at La Trobe University\u2019s Bendigo campus, people gathered to remember the pain endured by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Yorta Yorta woman and Aboriginal […]<\/p>\n