The Australian Government provided a long-awaited National Apology to the Stolen Generations on 13 February 2008.

This was the first formal national acknowledgment of the profound, grief, suffering and loss experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples due to past policies of forced child removal – an important first step toward restitution and healing.

The Apology was one of the recommendations of the Bringing them home report, handed down on 26 May 1997. The report was delivered following the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families.

Watch the full apology video

Each year on 13 February, the anniversary of the National Apology is commemorated across Australia.

It serves as a reminder of the impact of the Stolen Generations policies and of the urgent calls to action of the 1997 Bringing them home report. Only 6% of the 83 recommendations have yet been implemented.

Bringing them home documented the words of Stolen Generations survivors, who collectively testified to the grief and loss caused by the breaking of cultural, spiritual, and family ties. The report highlighted the intergenerational impact on the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and showcased their resilience and dignity.

Watch this video of Stolen Generations survivor Aunty Julie Black, a Barkindji woman who was taken from her mother shortly after birth.

Aunty Julie’s story is heart-breaking and courageous and reminds us that behind the Stolen Generations policies were people, taken as children, who are still alive and in need of support.