National Reconciliation Week is a time for all Australians to reflect and learn from First Nations peoples and communities.
There are a number of significant days during this week.
National Sorry Day (26 May) is a day of remembering and paying respect to the First Nations peoples forcibly removed from their homes as part of the Stolen Generations.
Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been in some way affected by the Stolen Generations, whether it was their grandparents, parents, or themselves being removed from their families, cultures and Communities, or having relatives taken away from them.
The Anniversary of the 1967 Referendum (27 May), the Referendum made two changes to the Australian constitution:
First Nations people were counted as Citizens of Australia; and
the same laws applied to them as all other Australians
This was only 55 years ago, in the lifetime of many in our netball community.
Anniversary of Torres Strait Islander Flag (29 May), it is 32 years since the late Bernard Naom Senior from Thursday Island, won the design competition for the flag and it was presented to the people.
The symbol is the Dhori and identifies Torres Strait Islanders.
The five points of the star are our group the Eastern, Central, Western, Port Kennedy group and the many that made the mainland their home, explained Namok.
Mabo Day (2 June), recognises the anniversary of Eddie Kiiki Mobo's work for Native Title and to overturn 'terra nullius' in 1992.
'Terra nullius' defined Australian continent as 'land belonging to no one' where First Nations peoples were part of the flora and fauna connected to the country.
This was only 32 years ago, in the lifetime of many in our netball community.
National Reconciliation Week is not only an opportunity for all Australians to learn more about the complex histories of this nation, but also an opportunity for all of us to strive towards reconciliation.
To find our more go to: National Reconciliation Week - Reconciliation Australia
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