Wagga Wagga City Council warmly invites the community to come along and attend the commemoration of the 18th anniversary of the National Apology on Friday 13 February at 10am on Wiradjuri/Wiradyuri Ngurambang (Country).
The event will commence outdoors on the grassed area in front of the Wagga Wagga Civic Theatre, on the banks of the Wollundry Lagoon, which is a highly significant cultural place for the Wiradjuri/Wiradyuri and wider First Nations community.
Council's First Nations Community Development Officer, proud Wiradjuri woman Teneille McDonald said that the event has been developed with community input.
"It's vital to pause and reflect on this day in 2008 when the former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered the National Apology to Australia's Indigenous Peoples," Ms McDonald said.
"This moment marked a powerful acknowledgment of the historic mistreatment of the Stolen Generations, the demonstrated and profound impact of transgenerational trauma has had on the Stolen Generation, their families both past, present and future, and marked the beginning of the healing journey the National Apology brings to First Nations Australians."
The event will begin with a smoking ceremony conducted by local Cultural Knowledge Holder Luke Wighton, before moving inside the Civic Theatre for Aunty Mary Atkinson to deliver a Welcome to Country.
Proceedings will include a performance from Gudharraa Giralang – local First Nations youth cultural dancers – and reflections from Uncle Hewitt Whyman on the path of healing.
"Reconciliation is an ongoing journey; it is a path we must walk together with open hearts and minds," Ms McDonald said.
