National Sorry Day, also known as the National Day of Healing, is commemorated every year on 26 May across Australia.

The day recognises the Stolen Generations - Indigenous children who were forcibly removed from their families from the early 1900s to 1970s under government assimilation policies.

These policies aimed to absorb Indigenous people into the non-Indigenous population but in doing so, they stripped many of their family connections, language, and cultural heritage.

The first Sorry Day was held on 26 May 1998, one year after the Bringing Them Home report was tabled in Parliament.

That report was the outcome of a government inquiry into the removal of Indigenous children and how these policies affected generations of Indigenous people.

Community groups across the country then came together to acknowledge the wrong-doings of the past and to honour the resilience of survivors.

Events included ceremonies, marches, and the creation of Sorry Books, where thousands of Australians wrote personal messages of apology and solidarity.

Yawuru woman and Healing Foundation, CEO Shannan Dodson, said education on the subject is imperative.

"I think that what is needed is particularly for all Australians to educate themselves about the Stolen Generations and the impact that it still has today… because we can never forget that this has happened in our country," she said.

"We still don't see compensation for all survivors. We still don't see prioritisation from institutions for access to records for these survivors. It's their stories, it's their histories and there's still many that don't know those histories or those stories.

"It is really up to all of us to understand the urgency and the need to ensure that those recommendations are implemented fully, not in five years, not in 10 or 20 or another generation, but now, it's really now that we need to take that urgency seriously."

In 1999, then Prime Minister John Howard expressed regret for the past but refused to issue an apology and dismissed most of the 54 recommendations made by the report.

It would take nearly a decade before Prime Minister Kevin Rudd delivered a National Apology on 13 February 2008 as the first act of his administration.

The Apology was seen as a significant step in reconciliation, though many survivors and advocates pointed out that reparations were few and far between, with little action being taken.

The assimilation policies which sparked the Stolen Generations caused profound intergenerational trauma.

Survivors not only lost their families and culture, but also suffered long-lasting grief that continues to affect their children and grandchildren.

The effects include increased rates of mental health struggles, identity crises and continued social and economic disadvantage.

Rembarrnga Ngalakan woman and Stolen Generations survivor, Eileen Cummings, recalled her own experience.

"I wasn't allowed to speak language, I wasn't allowed to connect with my mother and my people," she said.

"Those are things that the government did to us.

"When you think about children growing up in the system - of course we're going to be traumatised in some shape or form."

Sorry Day continues to be marked each year with ceremonies, cultural events, and acts of remembrance held in schools, workplaces, and communities.

The day provides an opportunity for Australians to learn about the Stolen Generations, listen to survivor stories, and reflect on how to support truth-telling and healing.

The Uluru Statement from the Heart, released in 2017, builds on the spirit of Sorry Day.

While Sorry Day focuses on recognition and remembrance, the Uluru Statement calls for lasting structural change through Voice, Treaty and Truth.

Both remind Australia that genuine reconciliation requires more than apology - it requires action.