National Sorry day - Wikipedia National Sorry day This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( January 2017 ) National Sorry Day Also called Sorry Day Observed by Australia 🇦 🇺 Type Cultural Significance Remember and commemorate the mistreatment of Australia 's indigenous population Date 26 May Next time 26 May 2018 ( 2018 - 05 - 26 ) Frequency annual First time 26 May 1998 ( 1998 - 05 - 26 ) National Sorry Day is an annual event that has been held in Australia on 26 May, since 1998, to remember and commemorate the mistreatment of the country 's indigenous population. During the 20th century, Australian governments ' policies resulted in a `` Stolen Generation '' -- described by John Torpey as `` Aboriginal children separated, often forcibly, from their families in the interest of turning them into white Australians ''. On 26 May 1997, the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Parliament. The date 26 May carries great significance for the Stolen Generations, as well as for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and its supporters among non-indigenous Australians. Contents 1 The background on National Sorry Day 2 See also 3 References 4 External links The background on national Sorry day An older indigenous protest day is the Day of Mourning, which originated in 1938, focusing on land loss and mistreatment. A commemorative poster from 2008 The 1997 Bringing Them Home report recommended that the Prime Minister apologise to the Stolen Generation. Prime Minister John Howard refused to do so, stating that he `` did not subscribe to the black armband view of history ''. On 26 August 1999, Prime Minister John Howard moved a Motion of Reconciliation, which included an expression of `` deep and sincere regret that indigenous Australians suffered injustices under the practices of past generations, and for the hurt and trauma that many indigenous people continue to feel as a consequence of those practices ''. The opposition leader, Kim Beazley, moved to replace John Howard 's motion of regret with an unreserved apology which was not successful. In response, a popular movement evolved to celebrate `` sorry day '' in the absence of formal political recognition from the conservative government. The annual commemorations are intended to raise awareness among politicians, policy makers, and the wider public about the forcible removal policies and their impact on the children that were taken, their families and their communities. On 13 February 2008, then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd moved a motion of Apology to the Indigenous Australian `` Stolen Generation ''. The apology was the new parliament 's first order of business ; Kevin Rudd became the first Australian Prime Minister to publicly apologise to the Stolen Generations on behalf of the Australian federal government. See also Day of Mourning Harmony Day Mabo Day NAIDOC Week National Reconciliation Week Native American Day, US `` I Apologize '' campaign, a grassroots ' initiative in Turkey References Jump up ^ Torpey, John C. ( 2006 ). Making Whole What Has Been Smashed : On Reparations Politics. Cambridge, MA : Harvard University Press. p. 4. ISBN 9780674019430. Jump up ^ McKenna, Dr Mark ( 10 November 1997 ). `` Different Perspectives on Black Armband History ''. Parliament of Australia Parliamentary Library. Retrieved 2 November 2006. Jump up ^ `` Motion of Reconciliation ''. parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Parliament of Australia. 26 August 1999. Retrieved 26 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` House of representatives Hansard Thursday 26 August 1999 '' ( PDF ). Parliament of Australia Hansard. 26 August 1999. p. 152. Retrieved 4 November 2006. Jump up ^ `` Official Australian Government Website -- Sorry Day and the Stolen Generation ''. Australian Government. Retrieved 21 February 2012. External links Sorry Day and the Stolen Generations Stolen Generations Alliance Stolen Generations Testimonies Project The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation Reconciliation Australia Kimberley Stolen Generation Aboriginal Corporation The National Apology - Snapshots of relevant webpages from 2008 Indigenous Australians Peoples Aboriginal Australians Australoids Blackfellas Communities Groups Half - castes Tasmanians Torres Strait Islanders Victorians Western Australians Individuals Activists Musicians People from politics and public service Performing artists Sportspeople Visual artists Writers Culture Astronomy Avoidance Bora Corroboree Deadly Awards Deities Dreaming Dreamtime Enumeration Flag Kinship Kurdaitcha Marn Grook Message stick Mythology NAIDOC National Indigenous Human Rights Awards Outstation movement Riji Seasons Sacred sites Smoking ceremony Songlines Tjurunga Torres Strait Islands Woggabaliri Languages Avoidance speech Australian Aboriginal English Macro-Gunwinyguan languages Australian Creole Language groups Loanwords into English Palawa Pama -- Nyungan languages Placenames Sign languages Torres Strait Island languages Organisations ATSIC Aboriginal Medical Service Aborigines Advancement League Aborigines Progressive Association AIATSIS Australian Aboriginal Progress Association Australian Aborigines ' League Central Land Council Media National Congress of Australia 's First Peoples National Indigenous Council Northern Land Council Office of the Registrar of Indigenous Corporations Politics TSRA Reconciliation Australia Sorry Day Bushcraft Boomerang Buka Bush bread Bushfood Bush medicine Coolamon Dugout canoe Fibrecraft Fire - stick farming Food groups Humpy Possum - skin cloak Scarred tree Soaks Spinifex resin Sweet foods Waddy Woomera Arts Artifacts Bark painting Contemporary visual art Dance Didgeridoo Music Music groups Rock NATSIA Award Papunya Tula Sandpainting Vibe Visual art Yininmadyemi History Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1976 Caledon Bay crisis Cummeragunja walk - off Day of Mourning Gurindji Strike Historical figures History Prehistory History wars King plates Massacres Black War Missions Native police Pilbara strike Pintupi Nine Tent embassy Western Australia Issues Crime Health Land rights Native title Protected Area Media portrayal Northern Territory National Emergency Response Self - determination Stolen Generations Half - Caste Act Voting rights 1967 Referendum Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=National_Sorry_Day&oldid=797815699 '' Categories : Civil awareness days Indigenous Australian politics May observances Recurring events established in 1998 Stolen Generations Hidden categories : Use Australian English from April 2014 All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English Use dmy dates from May 2013 Articles needing additional references from January 2017 All articles needing additional references Infobox holiday fixed day ( 2 ) Talk Contents About Wikipedia Languages Deutsch Français Italiano עברית Magyar 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 29 August 2017, at 09 : 50. 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Question: what is the importance of national sorry day
Answer: to remember and commemorate the mistreatment of the country's indigenous population