Reconciliation Week 2020

This week as we gather on the sacred lands of the Ngunnawal people, we as a school community acknowledge that “The Spirit of God has been present in Australia for all its ancient history and that Aboriginal people have had their own way of experiencing the mystery of the Creator among them.”

Each year between the 27 May and the 3 June members of all faith communities across Australia offer prayers for Reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. This week is a time for us to renew our commitment to working together in partnership for justice and the healing of relationships. This years theme is ‘In this Together’. This theme is even more poignant at this time as we grapple with the effects of COVID-19 on our daily lives.

Reconciliation Week is framed by two key events in Australia’s history which provide strong symbols of the aspirations for reconciliation. May 27 marks the anniversary of Australia’s most successful referendum and a defining event in our nation’s history. The 1967 Referendum saw over 90 per cent of Australians vote to give the Commonwealth the power to make laws for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and recognise them in the national census. 

On 3 June 1992, the High Court of Australia delivered its landmark Mabo decision which legally recognised that Indigenous people had a special relationship to the land—that existed prior to colonisation and still exists today. This recognition paved the way for Indigenous land rights called Native Title.  

As a school community, we began Reconciliation week today by taking part in a liturgy in class or across grade levels. There will be several more activities completed over the week which I will share with you in next weeks newsletter.