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Since 1998, May 26 has marked National Sorry Day.
The day acknowledges the strength of Stolen Generation survivors and is also a chance to reflect on how every Australian can play a part in the healing process.
It's a chance to reflect on our history and look forward and ask what still needs to be done.
In Victoria's Central Highlands the wider Ballarat community is being asked to stand with the Aboriginal community today, to protest the number of Aboriginal children being removed from their homes by Child Protection. Subscribers to The Courier can read more here.
Also in the news today is the reduction in reporting period for indigenous deaths in custody.
The Australian Institute of Criminology, an independent government research centre, told senators yesterday evening it was working to reduce its reporting period from annually to less than six months in order to offer more up-to-date figures.
Greens senator Lidia Thorpe said deaths could sometimes take years before they were officially included in the statistics and a move to real-time reporting was needed. Read more about that here.
Today also signals the start of National Reconciliation Week and the anniversary of the parliamentary tabling of the Bringing Them Home report in 1997.
The Stolen Generations Council of NSW and ACT are reported by AAP as saying the forced removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island children from their families and communities must never be repeated and the hardships endured should never be forgotten.
The organisation noted the number of Aboriginal children in out-of-home care continues to increase and is set to double by 2029.
There is still much work to be done.
But there's good news too.
In NSW's north east, youth advocate and proud Indigenous leader Marc Sutherland is working to become Tamworth Regional Council's first Aboriginal councillor. Subscribers of the Northern Daily Leader can read all about him here.
In the state's north west, Gomeroi woman Kerrie Saunders credits TAFE NSW for helping her reconnect with country and find a new sense of belonging.
The 47-year-old was working part-time at Woolaway Wines, tending the vegetable garden for owner Andrew Amos, when she enrolled in a Certificate II in Horticulture to learn more about plants. Read her great story here.
And in Melbourne, an Aboriginal kinder that teaches Indigenous languages, dancing, and stories is at capacity as children learn about their heritage.
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