National Sorry Day - Listening and Learning
Date and time
Event Cancelled - National Sorry Day Listening and Learning
About this event
Please note: This event has been cancelled.
Presenter Biography
Mr Alex Houthuysen (Hill) is an Aboriginal man from the Yamatji Nation of the Pilbara region of Western Australia and is a Stolen Generations Survivor. Mr Houthuysen currently works as an Aboriginal Culture Broker for St Johns Youth Service, supporting Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander young people to break the cycle of homelessness.
Alex has had a varied career focused originally on Aviation, having spent 21 years in the RAAF then continuing his service within the airline industry and then with several NGOs.
It was during this time Alex was made aware of his heritage and the feeling he needed to pursue who he was as an Aboriginal man.
Alex is currently Deputy Chair of the Port Adelaide Enfield Council Aboriginal Advisory Panel and a Board Member of Turkindi Aboriginal Information Network of SA, Aboriginal Veterans SA and Aged Right Advocacy Service Inc.
National Sorry Day – History and significance
National Sorry Day remembers and acknowledges the mistreatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who were forcibly removed from their families and communities, which we now know as ‘The Stolen Generations’.
The idea of holding a ‘Sorry Day’ was first mentioned as one of the 54 recommendations of the Bringing them home Report, which was tabled in Parliament on 26 May 1997. This report was the result of a National Inquiry into the forcible removal and of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, communities and cultural identity. This removal and separation was carried out under Federal, State and Territory laws and policies from the 1800s to the 1970s.
The children who were removed are recognised today as the Stolen Generations. Many of the Stolen Generations alive today are parents and grandparents. Almost every Aboriginal family (and some Torres Strait Islander families) today can identify the loss of family members due to the forcible removal policies. The children who were removed and separated from their families grew up without an understanding of traditional knowledge and culture and without a sense of connection to the land and country where they were born.
On 26 May 1998 the first Sorry Day was held in Sydney. It is now commemorated across Australia. It is a day to acknowledge the strength of Stolen Generations Survivors and reflect on how we can all play a part in the healing process for our people and nation.
