This essay discusses the Stolen Generation as well as explores the process of reconciliation between the indigenous people and non-indigenous people in Australia. The Stolen Generation are the generations of Aboriginal children forcibly taken away from their families by governments, churches and welfare bodies to be brought up in institutions or fostered out by white families (Facts sheets-The Stolen Generations). Records suggest that up to 50,000 children were taken away from their mothers and fathers from 1910 to 1970(Kevin Rudd, 2008). Australian have realised that it is time for the people in Australia to be fully reconciled, to face that memory in the history together. The Stolen Generation is a tragedy due to the brutal policies arsing from the decisions of the governments and parliaments. The removal of Aboriginal children aimed at stripping the children of their aboriginality, which was seen as an embarrassment to white Australia, and accustoming them to …show more content…
On the 13th of February 2008, the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a speech to apologise to the Stolen Generation and all the indigenous people and also spoke about a proposal for reconciliation. That was not the first step at which the reconciliation started, but was the first time when the government and parliament apologized for what they had done. Reconciliation means bringing people together, requiring effort from both the indigenous people and the non-indigenous people. People now realize that bridges need to be built, based on the painful past historical memories which will lead to a new partnership between the indigenous people and non-indigenous people. The important thing for the government and the parliament, as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said, is to recognise the injustice of the past, facing it, dealing with it and moving on from it. (Kevin Rudd,