Parramatta City Council has held a flag raising ceremony to commemorate National Sorry Day today, Tuesday May 26.
The event included a traditional smoking ceremony by Chris Tobin, the raising of the Australian, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, and a performance by the Taryn Beatty Dancers in Centenary Square.
“National Sorry Day is an opportunity to acknowledge and recognise members of the Stolen Generations,” Lord Mayor of Parramatta, Councillor Scott Lloyd said.
“For many Indigenous people the event is an important part of the process of healing.”
Mayor Lloyd encouraged residents to attend the ceremony.
“It is a chance to acknowledge history and pay respect to Aboriginal people who have been directly and indirectly affected by the legacy of the Stolen Generations.
“It is also an important way we can stand together and enable our community to look towards the future with optimism and unity.”
For thousands of years the Parramatta area has been occupied by the Burramattagal people, a clan of the Darug Nation.
National Recocilliation Week begins tomorrow, May 27, and runs till June 3.
Uncle Chris Tobin performs the smoking ceremony for #sorryday Parramatta, on until 11, Centenary Square. All welcome. pic.twitter.com/SXAguxuSkN
— City of Parramatta (@parracity) May 25, 2015
