"For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Australia’s colonial history is characterised by devastating land dispossession, violence, and racism. Over the last half-century, however, many significant steps towards reconciliation have been taken. Reconciliation is an ongoing journey that reminds us that while generations of Australians have fought hard for meaningful change, future gains are likely to take just as much, if not more, effort." - What is Reconciliation? (Reconciliation Australia)
Take a look at these timelines: Healing Foundation's Timeline of Trauma and Healing in Australia and Uluru Statement from the Heart History. Use these and the other resources on this page to learn more about the significant milestones and events on Australia's journey towards reconciliation.
From Reconciliation Australia, this video outlines key facts in the 2021 State of Reconciliation in Australia Report. This report is designed to assess the current status of reconciliation and outlines recommended actions for the progression of reconciliation.
Singer songwriter Mitch Tambo is a proud Gamilaraay man. In this episode of Q+A he discusses his perspective on truth-telling and closing the gap. "It's about what's inside of our heart, our Gii Dhuwi, our heart and our spirit."
(Panellists: Jennifer Robinson, Human Rights Lawyer; Mitch Tambo, Singer and songwriter; Dave Sharma, Liberal Member for Wentworth; Ed Husic, Labor Member for Chifley; and Randa Abdel-Fattah, Author and academic.)
Actor and writer Meyne Wyatt delivered this speech - taken from his autobiographical play City of Gold (2019) - to close an episode of Q+A. The episode focused on Indigenous deaths in custody and the global Black Lives Matter movement.
"'How are we to move forward if we dwell on the past?' That's your privilege. You get to ask that question. You want your blacks quiet and humble. 'You can't stand up, you have to sit down.' . . . Silence is violence. Complacency is complicity. I don't want to be quiet. I don't want to be humble. I don't want to sit down."
Journalist Stan Grant has written and spoken extensively about his identity as a Waradjuri man.
In 2015 he took part in the IQ2 debate topic "Racism is Destroying the Australian Dream." His speech focused on the impact of colonisation on Indigenous Australians and argued that the 'Australian Dream' is rooted in racism. It has been widely acknowledged that his is one of the most powerful speeches ever heard at IQ2. Find the full transcript here.
Following his IQ2 speech, Stan Grant was invited to address staff of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to discuss his views on Indigenous Affairs.
Stan Grant discusses his latest book - Talking to my Country - a very personal meditation on what it means to be Australian, what it means to be Indigenous, and what racism really means in this country.
This ClickView video covers a variety of Indigenous issues, including: colonisation, massacres, dispossession, racism, stolen children, political activism, land rights, and native title, among others. Check out the additional resources included to the right of the video screen.
This documentary from the perspective of 10-year-old Arrernte/Garrwa boy Dujuan, and his family, looks at the challenges he faces in school and on the streets of Alice Springs.
ClickView offers an associated resource for this documentary in which the themes of In My Blood It Runs are discussed by First Nations experts. Said discussion includes the concepts of truth telling, tokenism, bias, self-determination, and the UN's Indigenous Peoples' Rights Declaration.
Dean Parkin - current director of the Yes23 campaign in advance of the 2023 referendum - was deeply involved in the leadup to the Uluru Statement from the Heart. In this TEDx talk he discusses the Statement and its contents in more detail.
We, gathered at the 2017 National Constitutional Convention, coming from all points of the southern sky, make this statement from the heart: Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tribes were the first sovereign Nations of the Australian continent and its adjacent islands, and possessed it under our own laws and customs. This our ancestors did, according to the reckoning of our culture, from the Creation, according to the common law from 'time immemorial', and according to science more than 60,000 years ago. This sovereignty is a spiritual notion: the ancestral tie between the land, or 'mother nature', and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who were born therefrom, remain attached thereto, and must one day return thither to be united with our ancestors. This link is the basis of the ownership of the soil, or better, of sovereignty. It has never been ceded or extinguished, and co-exists with the sovereignty of the Crown. How could it be otherwise? That peoples possessed a land for sixty millennia and this sacred link disappears from world history in merely the last two hundred years? With substantive constitutional change and structural reform, we believe this ancient sovereignty can shine through as a fuller expression of Australia's nationhood. Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be our hope for the future. These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness. We seek constitutional reforms to empower our people and take a rightful place in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to their country. We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution. Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice and self-determination. We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history. In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.
On January 26 1788 the British landed in Australia, claiming the country as a British colony. Many dates have been used to celebrate the foundation of Australia but by 1935 all states and territories were celebrating on January 26. Australia Day and its celebrations were officially declared as January 26 by the Commonwealth and state governments in 1946, and only in 1994 did it become a public holiday.
This date holds a very different meaning to First Nations peoples and the first official Day of Mourning was held in 1938.
For First Nations peoples January 26 is a reminder of invasion, dispossession, and violence.
Exploring all sides of Australia Day - Australians Together
Australia Day - Invasion Day - Creative Spirits
Yes, this continent was invaded in 1788 - an international law expert explains - The Conversation
Invasion Day (Australia Day) - Common Ground
OPINION: Invasion Day, Survival Day, or Day of Mourning? All of the above - NITV
For an Indigenous perspective on 'Australia Day', here's a quick guide to First Nations media platforms - The Conversation
Australia Day debate is exhausting and data tells us it could last another generation - ABC News
Indigenous youth in remote Australia share their ideas on #changethedate - ABC News
Growing recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples civil rights also required an acknowledgement of the long-standing suppression of those rights by Australian society - its government and people.
In December 1992, then Prime Minister, Paul Keating addressed a predominantly Indigenous crowd at Redfern Park in Sydney for the beginning of the International Year of the World's Indigenous People. In this speech he focused on the injustices suffered by Australia's First Nations peoples and acknowledged responsibility. This official recognition is considered a significant step towards reconciliation.
Results of a 2011 poll classified it as one of the most unforgettable speeches of all time.
Paul Keating's Redfern Address - ABC
Paul Keating's 1992 Redfern Speech - ABC Education
Paul Keating's Redfern Speech - Creative Spirits
Keating's Redfern speech is still worth fighting for - The Conversation
Paul Keating's Redfern speech still powerful after 25 years - SBS News
Paul Keating Speech Transcript - ANTaR
Although a national apology for the atrocities of the Stolen Generations was recommended by the Bringing Them Home report in 1997, it was not until 2008 that it actually happened. Then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's first order of business when Parliament opened on February 13, 2008 was to make a formal public apology to those First Nations peoples affected by the Stolen Generations, acknowledging and apologising for the laws and policies of previous governments that had caused such harm.
This event consolidated Australia's commitment to reconciliation.
National Apology - National Museum of Australia
National Apology (Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples) - Explora (SS)
The National Apology to the Stolen Generations - Healing Foundation
Apology to the Stolen Generations - Deadly Story
Apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples - indigenous.gov.au (includes transcript)
Opinion: Shared history, shared responsibility for change - ABC News
Stolen Generations survivor Aunty Lindy Lawler speaks on her path to healing for National Sorry Day - ABC News
In 2015 Kevin Rudd presented the 2015 Australian National University Reconciliation Lecture. This lecture explores the role of symbols in our cultures and identities, as well as the fundamental need to link symbolic national gestures, like the National Apology, with actions and measurable outcomes, such as the Closing the Gap strategy to overcome Indigenous disadvantage. Also discussed is the current state of reconciliation and steps to take to progress the reconciliation process. These are acknowledged to be the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution and the need for certain constitutional reforms.
The full text and key quotes from this lecture are available via NITV.
On May 27, 1967, a referendum was held to change the Australian Constitution. Before this happened First Nations peoples weren't included in the official census and each state or territory was allowed to make their own laws with respect to First Nations peoples. This meant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples:
The referendum was held to change these clauses, to include First Nations people among the Australian population, and to allow the Commonwealth government to make laws that applied to all First Nations peoples wherever in Australia they lived.
90.77% of Australians voted YES to these changes.
27 May - 1967 Referendum - Reconciliation Australia
The 1967 Referendum - Deadly Story
The 1967 Referendum - AIATSIS
Right Wrongs - ABC (includes audio/visual resources as well as text)
The 1967 Referendum - Australians Together
The 1967 Referendum - Parliament of Australia
The Mabo decision was an important turning point in the fight for Indigenous land rights.
British colonisation claimed land from First Nations peoples under terra nullius. Their assumption that the land was not 'owned' by the First Nations peoples who lived there and thus had no rights to it enabled the Europeans to claim it as their own.
In 1992 a group of Meriam people (traditional owners of the Murray Islands (Mer) in the Torres Strait) led by Eddie Koiki Mabo challenged this legal principle. Explaining how the Torres Strait Islander peoples customs and beliefs follow their traditional system of ownership, the people of Mer called upon the High Court to determine the true owners of the land.
Their ruling acknowledged that First Nations peoples held sovereignty over their land before the British arrived, meaning terra nullius should not have applied, and thus those rights still existed. This decision led to the Native Title Act of 1993 which enabled First Nations peoples to begin reclaiming their traditional lands.
Land Rights - AIATSIS
Land Rights - Australian Museum
Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 - Explora (SS)
A short history of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy - an indelible reminder of unceded sovereignty - The Conversation
The Mabo Case - AIATSIS
3 June: The Mabo Decision - Reconciliation Australia
Mabo Decision - Explora (SS)
Eddie Koiki Mabo - AIATSIS
About Native Title - AIATSIS
Native Title - Australian Museum
Native Title in Australia - Explora (SS)
For more resources surrounding this topic check out the videos included as part of the ClickView-curated Mabo Day playlist.
The first National Sorry Day was held on May 26, 1998 - the first anniversary of the Bringing Them Home report being presented to Parliament. This report was the result of a government inquiry into the removal of First Nations children from their families (the Stolen Generations) and recommends an apology and reparations be made to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for this practice.
National Sorry Day is a day to acknowledge not only the trauma and grief suffered by those of the Stolen Generations but also their strength in surviving. In 2005, it was renamed (although both names may be used) as the National Day of Healing. This change reinforces the event as a time to reflect on how all Australians can play a part in the healing process needed to achieve reconciliation.
National Sorry Day - Reconciliation Australia
Let's Talk . . . Sorry Day - Reconciliation Australia
National Sorry Day (National Day of Healing) - Explora (SS)
National Sorry Day (or National Healing Day) - Justice + Peace Office
National Sorry Day - May 26, 2022, Australia - National Today
National Sorry Day: Why is it Important? - First People Recruitment Solutions
National Sorry Day - a time for all Australians to commit to healing the nation - Healing Foundation
National Sorry Day is a day to commemorate those taken. But 'sorry' is not enough - we need action - The Conversation
Sorry Day is about empathy - NITV
National Sorry Day holds hope for healing - The Queensland Cabinet and Ministerial Directory
In May 2017, the First Nations Constitutional Convention was held at Uluru. This Convention, and the intense regional dialogues that preceded it, resulted in the adoption of the Uluru Statement from the Heart. This Statement is a unified plea to the people of Australia for constitutional recognition. Key concepts include constitutional reform, an acknowledgement of First Nations sovereignty, an established voice to Parliament, commitment to truth-telling, and a Makarrata (Treaty) Commission.
Voice, Treaty, and Truth will help Australia move forward in the journey towards reconciliation. Learn more by exploring the Statement's official website.
The Uluru Statement from the Heart - Official Website
Explainer: Uluru Statement from the Heart - NITV (video, 2 min)
What is the Uluru Statement from the Heart? Here's how it could change Australia - SBS News
Explainer: Uluru Statement from the Heart - Creative Spirits
FAQs - Official Website
What Does the Uluru Statement Mean? - From the Heart
Uluru Statement: A Quick Guide - Parliament of Australia
Toxicity swirls around January 26, but we can change the nation with a Voice to parliament - The Conversation
We keep hearing about a First Nations Voice to parliament, but what would it actually look like in practice? - The Conversation
The Uluru Statement from the Heart included two key concepts: constitutional reform, and an established voice to parliament. On becoming Prime Minister in May 2022, Anthony Albanese, as a representative of the newly elected government acknowledges his support of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, and committed to action regarding the requested constitutional recognition and an enshrinement of an Indigenous Voice to Parliament into the Australian Constitution.
This action - a proposed amendment and referendum (to be held between October and December) - was formally announced in March of 2023, with a government information program designed to inform the Australian people about the Voice to Parliament Referendum being launched two months later.
For more detailed information on this issue, check out the 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice' LibGuide page.