Students have been urged to become a "beacon of change" in their families as they gathered to mark National Sorry Day in a ceremony at Loreto College.
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First Nations students from Loreto College, St Patrick's College and Damascus College led a ceremony for hundreds of year eight students from their schools, which followed a smoking ceremony conducted by former Loreto College student and proud Wadawurrung woman, Macaylah Johnson.
During the smoking ceremony, Ms Johnson explained why reconciliation was "everyone's business".
She laid bare the statistics about the health and lives of First Nations people in Australia - among them the chilling facts that Indigenous people die eight to 10 years before non-Indigenous Australians, one in three suffer trauma or stress causing ongoing psychological distress, and the leading cause of death among children aged five to 17 is suicide.
"You as allies and friends can help spark difficult conversations," she said. "Reconciliation is your business. It's also my business and equally though it's uncomfortable business. Let's walk together in peace and take of one another."
Loreto College First Nations leader Ella McCormack said Sorry Day was recognition for the suffering of the stolen generations but also for the "resilience and hope emerging from such devastation".
"I'm a First Nations person and every day I see the effects of the stolen generations impacting the life of people around me," she said. "I see it in my great grandparents, grandparents, parents, families, teachers, students as well as our community ... we all carry the repercussions," she said
She said it was important that her peers, and the broader community, know the importance of Sorry Day to survivors of the stolen generations and that its effects are still affects people today.
"In my case I see it in the colour of my skin, in my disconnection to my culture and sense of belonging. The shame my people were made to feel should not be felt any longer."
The annual National Sorry Day event among Ballarat's Catholic secondary colleges began at St Patrick's College last year and will move to Damascus College in 2025.
Year eight students were chosen to be part of the event as it links to their curriculum, providing an opportunity for them to deepen their knowledge of Australia by engaging with the world's oldest continuous living culture.
Uncle Alan Harris, a Noongar Elder from the Bibbulman clan of the Noongar Nation and the Ngaanyatjarra people of the Western Desert, also shared his story of the stolen generations.
He described the anguish of the stolen generations and urged students not to judge Indigenous Australians on the struggles they face following the traumas of the past, and to work together to create change.
National Sorry Day, on May 26, acknowledges the strength of stolen generations survivors and reflects how the whole community can be part of the healing process. The first National Sorry Day was May 26, 1998, a year after the Bringing Them Home report into the forced removal of Indigenous children from their families and community was tabled in parliament. In 2008, then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd issued an apology to the stolen generations.
"An apology is not a sign of weakness, it's a beacon of strength, a symbol of unity, a declaration that we are all, regardless of race or background, part of the same humanity. It's a call to action, a call to change," Uncle Alan told the students.
"I challenge you to become a beacon of change in your family."
Last week, students from St Pat's and Damascus delivered a traditional message stick to Loreto College.
"We decided to include this important symbolic gesture as part of the day to give some insight into the traditional practice of asking permission to enter another's lands, and how vital it is to acknowledge the country you walk upon," Ms McCormack said.
