Indigenous People Apology Analysis

The apology to the Stolen Generations was delivered by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in the House of Representatives on the 13th February 2008. The national apology has become a symbol of hope for Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders. Australia in modern day society are somewhat optimistic for the future of the relationship between both races. Attitudes to Indigenous lives and lifestyles, interactions and attitudes to personal involvement and cultural awareness and pride determines the quality of this relationship. The 2008 government apology to the Stolen Generations brought attention to the issue of reconciliation in a positive way that set an optimistic tone for the future. To improve the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians and provide equal life chances for all Australians, it is crucial to understand the underlying perceptions and values that influence society. An essential consideration in understanding the significance of the apology is to understand the nature of mistakes and responsibilities to which the apology responds. State and territory parliaments delivered apologies which were recommended by the Bringing Them Home (1997) report of the Australian Human Rights Commission. This inquiry was based on the removal of Indigenous Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal juveniles from their families, culture and land. Post events of the apology delivered in 2008, saw Kevin Rudd apologising again to the Forgotten Australians in November 2009. It

In 1999 the Sisters of St Joseph made a genuine apology to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders expressing their deepest sorrows about how they failed to recognize the un-equality and injustice of the withdrawal of the Indigenous culture, heritage and belonging and most importantly their land and families.

In Kevin Rudd’s 17th of February 2008 speech, the Australian Prime Minister apologises to the Indigenous Australians for the stolen generations. With this speech, Rudd attempted to ease the disadvantage that affects most Indigenous Australians by pledging that the government would improve their health, education, living conditions and their lifestyle overall. Rudd claims that he is apologetic and remorseful for the treatment the past Indigenous Australians received. He strengthens his speech by using several language techniques to convince the audience that Australia is remorseful for the past events and wishes to amend. the techniques he used include such as his choice of vocabulary and references to time to mention the historical struggle

Only in recent years have we seen the recognition that the stolen generation deserves and the essential part it has play in the struggle of Aboriginal rights. Since the end of the stolen generation, numerous organisations and government agency has come out and said sorry for what happened for seventy years and as a result Aboriginal rights are becoming more apparent. The famous “I’m sorry” speech said by Kevin Rudd was the first Parliament apology to the Stolen Generation and was seen as a huge leap forward in the recognition of the Stolen Generation. The Bringing Them Home Report in 1997 was a strong campaign for The

It makes sense for all Canadians to take part reconciliation process, not just the Indigenous peoples, because it is beneficial for everyone. Despite, there being many compassionate and ethical reasons for the reconciliation to take place, the biggest reason that Canadian

Canada today is known for the pride it carries for being multi-cultural, inclusive and combination of many cultural, races and religious backgrounds, but for decades in the past Aboriginal children were abducted from their homes unwillingly to go to these Residential School enforced by Canadian government and laws. The goal of the government at the time was to destroy Aboriginal people and their existence overall. Fast forward in 2008 the former Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a public apology to Aboriginals regarding their role in residential schools as he quotes “We are sorry. The treatment of children in Indian residential school is a sad chapter of our history” ("Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Statement Of Apology"). Although many Aboriginals considered this a historical day and had a sense of relief “the apology was necessary but insufficient... Apologies once given, are only meaningful for the action that follows” ("Harper Apologizes For Residential School Abuse"). The official apology to Aboriginal Canadians who suffered in the residential school system for policies and actions of the government in the past have been explored in “A Sorry State” article by author Mitch Miyagawa. Sitting government apologizes for past government is appropriate to the mistreatment that occurred to interned, excluded and systematically neglected people, the accountability for past mass atrocity and human rights abuse and democracy for the victims, as well as acknowledging what

Reconciliation is the process of building respectful relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and the wider Australian community. It is about understanding and respecting their culture and heritage and signifies ‘coming together’ to become one nation without racism and with equality for all. There are still vast differences in health, education, employment, and standards of living of the Indigenous peoples as compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. Even today Indigenous peoples have a significantly lower life expectancy, up to 11.5 years for men and 9.7 years for women . The infant mortality rate for the Indigenous peoples is double the rate for non-Aboriginal Australians. Understanding these inequalities is the first step to reconciling the differences. Policies such as the stolen generation and assimilation policy destroyed Indigenous identity and culture and justified the dispossession of Indigenous people and the removal of Indigenous children from their parents. We can’t change the past but we can make a better future by understanding and learning from the mistakes of the past, reconciliation is about that. Many practical and symbolic strategies have been implemented over the last 50 years to achieve reconciliation such as ATSIC, Northern Territory Intervention and the Mabo decision. However, the most significant ones are the 1967 Referendum, Closing the Gap framework in 2008 and the ‘Sorry speech’. The aim is to improve the five dimensions of reconciliation: race relations, equality and equity, institutional integrity, unity, and historical acceptance.

As we are forever sorry for everything that happened to our First Nations People, where can we go next? Reconciliation is a process and takes time, and as a country we promise to provide the resources and opportunities to begin the process of moving towards reconciliation, and healing from the affects of Indian Residential Schools. Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement began on September 19, 2007 and has and will continue to give us the opportunity to move forward in partnership as one country and one community. We apologize and ask for forgiveness for failing the Aboriginal peoples of this country.

Speeches are an iconic and widely used means of expression for our political leaders, particularly when discussing issues of importance such as Indigenous Australia. Paul Keating’s ‘Redfern Speech’ and Kevin Rudd’s ‘Apology to Australia’s Indigenous Peoples’ are the two political speeches which I will be analysing in this paper.

The apology letter that Kevin Rudd made to Australia’s Indigenous people refers to The Stolen Generation which were Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal Australians who were as children, forcibly removed from their parents and siblings and communities by welfare, government or church authorities and placed into things like institutional care or with a non- Indigenous foster family. the children were taken with hope to kill out their whole indigenous culture and children were forced to adapt to white culture.

There has already been steps to help these children that faced the abuse of the residential schools. Prime Minister Stephen Harper approved the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and a total of $1.9 billion in payments to former students (Anderson, 2012). Also, the Agreement promised $60 million for a five-year Truth and Reconciliation Commission and $145 million for commemoration and healing events (Residential Schools Settlement, 2008). Another important element was the public apology to the victims of residential schools by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, on 11 June 2008. Although these are huge steps to try and fix the mistake that the government made with these residential schools, some of the

The reconciliation of Canada’s broken relationship with its indigenous people has been at the forefront of Prime Minister Trudeau’s political agenda. Trudeau has promised reform on a number of fronts. In a recent speech to the United Nations, Trudeau addressed the ongoing mistreatment of Canada’s 1.4 million indigenous people and expressed a strong Canadian commitment to repairing a long history of Aboriginal injustice.

The indigenous justice paradigm in conflict with the principles of the traditional, adversarial American criminal justice system because they do not honor the native American way of life.The American Justice system conflict with the Native American communal nature of most tribes way of life.The U.S. believed that that Indians had no rights. White americans felt that that American Indians interfere with their way of life.Tribes were viewed as separate nations.They even chose to work with them, and they got exploited by the federal government.They are unwritten customary laws that are learned through oral teaching of tribal elders.. This a holistic practice where everyone focus in the same problem to resolve the issue to stay in peace and harmony.he

However in these residential schools many aboriginal children were treated unfairly some were physically and sexually abused. Eighteen years later Stephan Harper and the Canadian Government read an apology letter to the aboriginal

We are deeply apologetic towards the Stolen Generation and all the Aboriginal children who were forcibly separated from their families in addition to experiencing intense suffering and homesickness. Furthermore, we are truly repentant towards the disastrous and tragic impacts we have induced upon the children who were taken, their beloved family members and the Indigenous communities.