Sorry by Gail Jones and The Apology to the Stolen Generations speech given by Kevin Rudd are similar as they share the themes of apology, past mistreatment of Indigenous Australians, silence surrounding this mistreatment and apology. However, these ideas differ between the texts as Rudd’s speech recognizes the mistreatment, breaks the silence and offers an apology to the Indigenous community while in Sorry, there was no apology offered and the silence about the abuse of Indigenous characters remains. Sorry is set throughout the 1940s when it was the convention for the Government to abuse Indigenous peoples, which had a tremendous long-term effect on the Indigenous population and characters in Sorry. Rudd made an apology to the Indigenous peoples for their past mistreatment and its impact ‘We apologise for The laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments …show more content…
The apology to the Stolen Generations was given to the Indigenous peoples of Australia for ‘the pain and suffering that we, the parliament, have caused you by the laws that previous parliaments have enacted’ [181]. In Sorry Perdita allows Mary to suffer the punishment for the crime Perdita committed ‘Mary was driven away into the darkness’P.93. Towards the end of the novel Perdita realises that she should have apologised for allowing Mary to be held responsible ‘That was the point, Perdita would realise much later, at which, in humility, she should have said sorry’P.204. The texts are similar as both mention the need for an apology. Rudd was able to apologise directly to the members of the Stolen Generations and the Indigenous peoples, witnessed by Australian public, who were able to accept the apology, whilst Perdita only recognised the necessity to say sorry to Mary after her death ‘Mary had died, I should have said sorry to my sister’
In his speech, he offered an apology to members of the German–Australian community present at the meeting: “The tragic, and often shameful, discrimination against Australians of German origin fostered during the world wars had many consequences. No doubt, some of you carry the emotional scars of injustice during those times as part of your backgrounds or family histories. Let me as Governor-General say to all who do how profoundly sorry I am that such things happened in our country”. 4.
Reynolds exposes the persecution of Indigenous People, describing the entrenched belief in Aboriginal inferiority common in 70s North Queensland, recalling one school principal who said he ‘did not expect much from [Aboriginal children] because they had smaller brains’. The ‘confidence and complete certainty’ with which the comment was made conveys how deeply negative ideas about Aborigines had been ingrained. These attitudes resulted in an assumption of superiority by white citizens, who Reynolds writes expected ‘lowered eyes and a submissive downward tilt of the head’. Reynolds’ personal voice resonates with condemnation for the oppression faced by Aborigines, illustrating how his perspective has been shaped by his experience of race relations. By sharing this account, Reynolds raises questions about the historical origins of the racial tension he experienced.
This reliable primary source written by an Australian jurist, shows that Indigenous people especially Grant, didn’t feel like they were respected enough during World War 1. The source is useful in showing that Douglas Grant was prepared to die because he and all other Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander felt like they weren’t being treated as equal individuals. Discrimination against Indigenous communities was faced on a daily basis during the War and even continued to when it ended, showing how disrespected and disregarded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
Sorry Speech (2007) in the acknowledgement of the maltreatment of Aboriginal people which brought Australia closer to
These protests against the lack of human rights for Aborigines highlights that Aborigines didn’t have a relatively pleasant life under the government’s control, corroborating that the assimilation policy
In 1995 the Labor government introduced the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families (Price, 2015). The Inquiry had been brought because of the rising concern of Indigenous communities this led to Australian practices of separating indigenous children from their families causing Aboriginal children loss in culture and communities. Today, there Australia celebrates Sorry Day which is the day where the Australian Parliament had apologised for the separation of
Our nation has inflicted relentless bullying onto innocent souls, begging for respect by their own country. It is not too late to mend these souls and restore the respect they so rightfully deserve and desire for. To stitch the wounds of these hearts, injected by our own country’s actions, change the date of Australia date to accept the Indigenous
Monkey Beach is an adaptation of “Queen of the North,” both written by Eden Robinson. The texts both touch on the theme of intergenerational trauma within Indigenous communities. Through the lens of different main characters, however, Monkey Beach approaches the topic differently through its portrayal of the transmission of trauma. In “Queen of the North,” the transmission of intergenerational trauma is most clearly seen through Josh reenacting trauma onto Adelaine. In contrast, as a novel, Monkey Beach offers a more nuanced depiction of the methods of intergenerational trauma transmission, such as the loss of Lisamarie's cultural identity.
[Imagine a low booming voice from an announcer] “Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Billy Jacking exhibition, presented by Gallery 2, created and brought to you by artist, Jordan Bennett from the Mi’kmaq Nation, Wabinki Confederacy in Newfoundland, Canada. This exhibition is situated within the traditional un-ceded territory of the Sinixt Peoples. For the featured bout, we are going to witness a most anticipated match in history, the fighters are in the ring and they are ready, we have Billy Jack in the left, and his opponent, Stephen Harper in the right… for people in attendance, are you ready?!... Then, let’s get readddddddddddddy to rummmmmmmmmbllllle…" This exhibition, Billy Jacking presents an imagined bout of epic popular cultural
For those who do not know, Aboriginal peoples have a deep connection to the land, to every drop of water to every piece of land, all of it has a spiritual connection to the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. This was not the only struggle for aboriginal peoples, While the Discrimination was not as prevalent, it was still a very real struggle for the aboriginal soldiers, With some being attacked, or some being verbally abused and shamed, Life was still not fully free from racism. And unfortunately the struggles don’t end there, even once the soldiers got back from war, life just went back to normal, same issues with racism and discrimination. A another story we have is from a soldier called Archie, On Anzac day of 1932, he and a fellow soldier were kicked out of a pub, and were refused re-entry, even when explain all they were there for was honouring their comrades, their mates that didn’t make it back, the pub owner only allowed the men re-entry after an RSL secretary convinced him. This is just one of the many stories of aboriginal soldiers coming home from war and being treated poorly even after fighting for the safety of their country and its
This article discusses the speech given by an Indigenous journalist, Stan Grant who participated in a debate where he spoke for the motion “Racism is destroying the Australian Dream’’. Hence, the main points of this article are mostly evidence given by Grant in his debate to support his idea that the Australian Dream is indeed rooted in racism. One of the main points is that the indigenous Australians are often excluded and disregarded as non-Australians simply due to their race and skin colour. Grant pointed out the incident where AFL player Adam Goodes was publicly jeered and told that he did not belong to his country as he was not an Australian despite the fact that Australia indeed is the land of his ancestors.
As the government overlooks the aboriginals and local residents, this documentary is created in order to shed light to the
The poem “Australia’s Silenced History” was written by Nola Gregory from Western Australia in November 2016 as a response to a powerful and provoking video called “Stan Grant talking about racism and the Great Australian Dream.” The poem was written so that our nation would not forget that Australia has a dark past. The subject of the poem is Australia’s dark history and how it impacted many people. The theme is the importance of respecting and acknowledging our history so it can be dealt with. The subject matter of the poem Australia’s Silenced History is about the shameful history of Australia.
Can you imagine being a child that has been forced to grow up without the loving care and influence of their mother and father? We as a nation need to recognise what we did wrong, and make it right. We need to find a way to live together in harmony with the rightful owners of this land, and restore the sense of community, responsibility, freedom, and love in the Aboriginal
"Reconciliation will not work if it puts a higher value on symbolic gestures rather than the practical needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in areas like health, housing, education and employment." Warren Mundine AO Reconciliation is the action of making one view or belief compatible with another according to the Oxford dictionary of English. The term reconciliation was used as a symbolic gesture in an address made on February 13th 2008 by the former Prime Minister of Australia, Kevin Rudd. Kevin Rudd was the first political figure to speak out and seek reconciliation for the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders after being elected as prime minster in 2007. He spoke out after many generations of mistreated Indigenous Australians that had their rights and equality continuously ignored, but after all that has happened, including the effect of broken families, which still in 2018 have the aftermath of "The stolen generation", there was only one public apology and no compensation for the damages caused to the native people of this country.