EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES FOR NATIONAL SORRY DAY

A "Sorry Day" will be held exactly a year after the tabling in Federal Parliament of Bringing Them Home, the Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families. The Report reveals the extent of the forced removal, which went on for more than 150 years; its consequences in terms of broken families, shattered physical and mental health, loss of language, culture and connection to traditional land and the enormous distress of many of its victims today. The ongoing legacy continues today.

That there was a systematic policy by State, Territory and Federal governments to separate Indigenous Australian children from their families must be acknowledged and understood by all Australians before healing can commence.

The "Sorry Day", recommended in Bringing Them Home, provides the opportunity for all Australians to express their sorrow at the tragic events spanning such a long time of our shared history and, then, to celebrate the beginning of a new understanding. The wider Australian community is being invited to remember those affected by removal, so that the nation can continue the process of healing together. Indigenous people will participate in the day dedicated to the memory of loved ones who have never come home or are still finding their way home.

"Sorry Day" will be an important step on the road all Australians are 'walking together'.

AIM OF THIS PACKAGE

To provide ideas for all Australians to express a meaningful response and make a personal commitment to acknowledge and understand the events, and the ongoing implications, surrounding the 'Stolen Generations' of Australia's Indigenous Peoples on "Sorry Day" 1998.

There are many resources, many ways to express a commitment and many other ways in which the "stolen generations" can be honoured and acknowledged within the wider Australian population. These are a few simple ideas to indicate what is possible.

While these activities are aimed at one day, the events and issues surrounding the "stolen generations" should be considered, discussed, and reflected upon by all Australians for always.

EARLY CHILDHOOD, AGES 4 - 8:

• Invite an Indigenous parent/community member into the pre-school or school to speak with the children. Talk to this person beforehand, be familiar with what they will say and remember sometimes guest speakers need a small payment for travel and their time.
• Read a Dreaming story which includes families as part of its content.
• Discuss, draw, paint, etc ideas about families.
• Read PILA WUK: When I was Young by Janeen Brian ( a Magic Bean Book Published by Era Publications, 1996). Also available in a Big Book. Talk with the children about the content and the events.
• Tell the children what happened to young Indigenous children and that they were separated from their families. (While being aware of the children's ability to deal with the issue of separation they will be able to cope with a certain amount of the history.)
• Have children cut out the shape of their hand on some coloured paper or card and write a message they would share with their family, friends, classmates, removed Indigenous people and/or other Australians. If the family or teacher is attending other 'Sorry Day' functions these hands could be taken along for display.
• Either during a flag raising, the flag (s) could be at half mast for part of the day, or at some other appropriate time of the day have a minute's silence in honour of the "Stolen Generations".

MIDDLE/UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL AGE, AGES 9 - 12:

• Invite an Indigenous parent/community member into the school to speak with the children. Talk to this person beforehand, be familiar with what they will say and remember sometimes guest speakers need a small payment for travel and their time. Have the students respond in a variety of media. Writing a poem, a story, doing some art work, etc.
• Read at least one story from the Bringing Them Home Report. Full Report available through Australian Government Publishing Services. Summary Document available through Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Sydney ph: (02) 9284 9600
• Have the students respond in a variety of media. Writing a poem, a story, doing some art work, etc.
• Have students 'place themselves in the shoes' of someone being taken away, of someone watching the event, of the parents and so on. Be sure to debrief students.
• Again, draw or paint the scene.
• View extracts from the videos "Lousy Little Sixpence" (available from libraries Resource Centres or Ronin Films, Canberra, phone (02) 6248 0851), "It's a Long Road Back" (available from Libraries, Resource Centres and the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra, phone (02) 6246 1111.
• View some of the photos in the Bringing Them Home Report or summary document and have students analyse and discuss them.
• The Burnt Stick, Anthony Hill, Viking, Ringwood, 1994. A great resource!!!
• Prepare a statement to write in the "Sorry Book".
• Relevant extracts from the Bringing Them Home Report can be found on pages 27, 50, 204 and 249. Other important extracts appear throughout the report.
• Have children cut out the shape of their hand on some coloured paper or card and write a message they would share with their family, friends, classmates, removed Indigenous people and/or other Australians. If the family or teacher is attending other 'Sorry Day' functions these hands could be taken along for display.
• Either during a flag raising, the flag (s) could be at half mast for part of the day, or at some other appropriate time of the day have a minute's silence in honour of the "Stolen Generations".

SECONDARY SCHOOL AGE AND ADULTS:

• Invite an Indigenous parent/community member into the school or office setting to speak with the students or colleagues. Talk to this person beforehand, be familiar with what they will say and remember sometimes guest speakers need a small payment for travel and their time.
• Watch the Bringing them Home video (available through libraries, Resource Centres or purchased at ABC Shops).
• Read or photocopy for your group sections of the Bringing Them Home Report and/or summary document concerning:
  - mothers and their children;
  - government policies; and
  - police and welfare.
  
• Put yourselves in the shoes of the different participants in a 'separation situation'. The responses could be oral, written, drawn or painted, enacted and so on. Debrief students.
• Cut out the shape of your hand on some coloured paper or card and write a message you would share with your family, friends, classmates, removed Indigenous people and/or other Australians. Bring it along to other "Sorry Day" activities.
• Set up a debate or a mock court to discuss questions such as:
  - Were the various government policies to separate Indigenous children from their families genocide?
  - Do the 'Stolen generations' continue today? Discuss the extreme levels of Indigenous peoples' incarceration, especially among Indigenous juveniles/adolescents.
  - Should the Federal Parliament of Australia apologise to the 'Stolen Generations' ?
  - Many other questions may come to mind. Please discuss them!
  
• Students prepare a statement for entry into a "Sorry Book".
• Separation policies continued after the 1967 Referendum. See Bringing Them Home Report, page 425.
• Good summaries of the State/Territory Government Policies/Acts of Parliament are on pages 254 and 261 of the Bringing Them Home Report.
• Fuller documentation of the above are available on pages 600 to 648 of the same document. An Internet site: www.hreoc.gov.au see "Stolen children" section.
• Important extracts from the Bringing Them Home Report can be found on pages 27, 50, 204 and 249. Other relevant extracts appear throughout the report.
• Important submissions to the National Inquiry can be found on:
  - Jennifer's submission - pp 52 to 55;
  - John's submission - pp 166 to 167; and
  - William's submission - pp 371 to 372.
  
• The issue of Indigenous children separated from their families and taken overseas must be addressed. See a short description of Russell Moore's lifestory on pages 369, 370 and 471 of the Bringing Them Home Report. Listen to the song "Muntjana" by Archie Roach on his 'Charcoal Lane' album. A tragic revelation!!!
• Other international removals are discussed on page 243 of the Report. How should this issue be dealt with?
• The Burnt Stick, Anthony Hill, Viking, Ringwood, 1994. A great resource!!!
• The Stolen Generations, Carmel Bird, 1998. Contains stories, policies and commentary.
• Either during a flag raising, the flag (s) could be at half mast for part of the day, or at some other appropriate time of the day have a minute's silence in honour of the "Stolen Generations".

SOME OTHER RESOURCES TO USE

TEXT

• Bringing Them Home, the Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Indigenous Children from Their Families.
• Bringing Them Home, a summary document of the complete Report.
• The Girl Who Was Taken Away From Her Family by Selma Sampson Nampijinpa in Aboriginal Short Stories No 32, Pascoe Publishing,1990. This is a short play suitable for school children and small groups to perform.
• Being Aboriginal - Comments, Observations and Stories from Aboriginal Australia by Ros Bowden and Bill Bunbury ABC Books, 1990.
• If Everyone Cared by Margaret Tucker, Grosvenor Books, 1983.
• The Lost Children, Coral Edwards and Peter Read (Eds), Doubleday, Moorebank 1989. 13 Australians taken from their Aboriginal families tell of their struggle to find their natural parents.
• Inside Black Australia, Kevin Gilbert (ed), Penguin 1988. For example,
  A Letter to My Mother by Eva Johnson;
  Mary's Plea by Daisy Utemorrah;
  Torn Apart by Pam Tjanara Williams; and
  Kidnappers by Iris Clayton.
  
• The Stolen Generation: 1883 - 1969, Peter Read, a small publication of the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Sydney phone (02) 9290 8700.
• This Whispering in the Our Hearts, Henry Reynolds, Allen and Unwin, 1998. Just Released.

SONG

• My Brown Skin Baby, Bobby Randell. Very difficult to find an original copy to purchase. A version of the song appears as the final unlisted live track on the Tiddas album "Sing About Life" distributed through Mercury/Polygram records.
• They Took the Children Away, Archie Roach - from the album "Charcoal Lane" distributed through Mushroom Records @ $ 19.95.
• Sorry, Goanna - CD Single, Big Heart Productions, contact Helene Jedwab ph/fax (03) 5562 4030, @ 5.00 plus $ 2.50 postage.
• Sorry Song, Kerry Fletcher and the Coexistence Singers - a CD Single available through People to People in Harmony, W A, phone (08) 9266 3928.
• Many other songs, especially by Indigenous artists, would be suitable to use.

VIDEO

VISIT

• Arrange a visit to a site of significance in your local region. The site may be related to the 'Stolen Generations' or may be an important place to remember and reflect upon Indigenous Australia - the sorrows and the victories.
• The Tent Embassy in Canberra situated between the Southern end of Lake Burley Griffin and Old Parliament House. Many 'Stolen Generations' issues can be talked through there.