Wednesday, 14 February 2018 15:01

BRINGING THEM HOME: AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

BRINGING THEM HOME: AUSTRALIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

apology

Claude Mostowik MSC, Director MSC Justice and Peace writes:

Yesterday marked the 10th anniversary of the Australian Government’s apology to the Stolen Generations, when the nation said sorry to make amends and to right past wrongs. The apology was one of 54 recommendations made in the landmark Bringing them Home report, into the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families.

Last year, the Australian Human Rights Commission launched a new website to continue educating Australian teachers, students, and the public, about the Bringing them Home report and the Stolen Generations.  In addition to a series of curriculum mapped teaching resources, the website features information about the Bringing them Home report and personal stories from members of the Stolen Generations and their families.

In launching the website last year, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar said: “As we know, teaching Indigenous content in schools is particularly important, not just for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who need to see their culture respected and valued in the classroom; but equally for all children to learn the true history of this country.” She continued by paying tribute to members of the Stolen Generations and thanking them for their ongoing strength, including in telling their stories: “It is through telling these stories that our families might begin to heal, and that all Australians might begin to understand how our past is so intimately connected to our future.”

The Bringing them Home website and teaching resources were produced in partnership with Aboriginal Child, Family and Community Care State Secretariat (NSW) or AbSec and guided by a reference group of experts in education, history and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice.

The new website is at https://bth.humanrights.gov.au/