Australian parliament apologises

[phil cash cash]

I am very heartened to hear that the Australian aboriginal/indigenous peoples
have received an "apology" from the Australian government.

Last September, I was privileged to be invited to Australia for the Indigenous
Language Conference in Adelaide.  In my conversations with various
aboriginal/indigenous people, I heard first person accounts about racism and
the general hardships of being an aboriginal person, much like what we have
come to know here in North America.  I also heard about the rich culture and
deep connections to place.  It all made me feel very humble knowing that our
own experience paralleled theirs in many ways.

Among the many future possibilities, it is my/our hope that the new government
will strengthen its national programs (or establish new ones) for language
documentation, preservation, & revitalization.

l8ter,

Phil Cash Cash (Cayuse/Nez Perce)
UofA


Quoting Aidan Wilson :

> Not quite directly related to indigenous languages or technology, as
> such, but just thought the non-Australians on this list might be
> interested to hear that the newly elected Australian government, as
> their first act of Parliament, officially apologised to the members of
> what has become known as the 'stolen generations', the result of racist
> policies that saw many indigenous children indiscriminately taken from
> their communities between about 1910 and 1970. The rough analogue of
> Canada's Indian Residential Schools.
>
> Full coverage, including the text of the apology, and the subsequent
> speeches made by the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition,
> the opposition that refused to apologise in the 11 years that they
> formed government, is all available at:
>
> http://www.abc.net.au/news/events/apology/
>
> Cheers,
>
> -Aidan