Sorry Day (an outsider's thoughts)

I'm watching the coverage of the remarkable Sorry Day speeches. It truly is a landmark day in Australian history. (For those not familiar with the issue, the Aboriginal people of Australia have been saying for years — decades, even — that political and cultural relationships between Aborigines and non-Aborigines cannot progress without an admission of the horrors that Aborigines have suffered during the years since Europeans arrived. And, indeed, the stories are many and truly horrific; I won't recount any here, but they're easy enough to find, sadly. But today the new Labor government has formally apologized for this history of damage and indifference.)

The speeches are all inspiring, touching, painful. I have no doubt that they are a necessary part of what's got to happen here. But I'm missing hearing one thing that I believe is essential:

"First people of Australia, we came here only yesterday, in comparison to your tens of thousands of years in this land. But we have grown to love it, too. We, too, take our identity, our livelihoods, and our culture from this land. We, too, are learning to understand, value, and work with it. We, like you, want to be in and of this land. Can we do that together?"

Yes, it's important to acknowledge what "we" did. But what's still there is the absolute assumption — so absolute that it isn't even mentioned — that European Australians are here, they're not leaving, they rule, get used to it. Why not a little humility there? Speaking as someone who has come here myself and learned to love Australia (except for the shopping carts, I'll never love them, oh, and the flies), I think the only way forward is to work from a position of collaboration, not hierarchy. But even the most moving of speeches from the politicians are still based on "we're here, we're not leaving, it's our country." That worries me.

I don't vote here. I'm not a citizen. But I volunteer, I pay taxes, I'm contributing to a society in which I see many, many good things, admirable things. I'm just hoping this upsurge of national courage doesn't end with just saying "sorry."