INTRODUCTION. Sorry business is the Aboriginal English term used by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to describe the mourning period when a family member dies and all responsibilities that follow in accordance with traditional lore and custom.
Sorry Business is an important time of mourning that involves responsibilities and obligations to attend funerals and participate in other cultural events, activities or ceremonies with the community.
History. National Sorry Day is an annual event in Australia on 26 May. It commemorates the "Stolen Generations" — the Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly separated from their families in an attempt to assimilate them into white Australian culture during the 20th century.
The Aboriginal Funeral Transport “Sorry Business” initiative provides assistance with transport for isolated and disadvantaged Aboriginal communities throughout NSW including metro Sydney, to attend funerals. Please download the below fact sheets for more information. Alternatively, you can call 1300 361 787.
In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, time is cyclical, rather than sequential. It's flexible and shifts according to people's needs and what's happening on the earth. Time isn't rigid; for example, a fish trap isn't set each day at the same time on a clock because you won't catch any fish that way.
Many Aboriginal Australians also refer to the world-creation time as "Dreamtime". The Dreaming laid down the patterns of life for the Aboriginal people.
The Tanganekald Peoples of the Coorong region in South Australia have a cultural story that explains daytime and night-time by describing the sun as a woman carrying firesticks. The sun story of the Wotjobaluk Peoples of western Victoria describes a woman carrying a bark torch as she journeys across the sky.
Aboriginal people believe that if the deceased person's name is mentioned, the spirit is called back to this world. Images (film and photographs) or broadcasting the voice of the deceased person may also be against protocol and may cause serious offence.
NSWALC Funeral Grants
Financial assistance for funeral expenses may be available from the NSW Aboriginal Land Council (NSWALC). Further enquiries should be directed to NSWALC.
Eligibility Summary
To be eligible for up to $1,000 in funding for claimable funeral expenses, the Aboriginal person must be buried within NSW (regardless of if they resided in NSW or not) or be a member of the NSW local Aboriginal Land Council (regardless of if they resided in or are buried in NSW).
Its purple colour denotes compassion and spiritual healing.
INTRODUCTION. Sorry business is the Aboriginal English term used by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to describe the mourning period when a family member dies and all responsibilities that follow in accordance with traditional lore and custom.
National Sorry Day is an Australia-wide observance held on May 26 each year. This day gives people the chance to come together and share the steps towards healing for the Stolen Generations, their families and communities.
Many Aboriginal language and clan groups share the belief that this life is only part of a longer journey. When a person passes away, the spirit leaves the body. The spirit must be sent along its journey back to the ancestors and the land or it will stay and disturb the family.
If your Sorry Business involves someone who is not an immediate family or household member then you can't get compassionate leave, but you should still talk to your boss about taking time off work. Your boss might agree to give you paid leave or there might be unpaid types of leave you can get.
The New South Wales Stolen Generations Reparations Scheme provides ex-gratia payments of $75,000 to living Stolen Generations survivors who were removed from their families and committed to the care of the New South Wales Aborigines Protection or Welfare Boards.
Between 2014–15 and 2018–19, after adjusting for inflation, the median gross weekly personal income for Indigenous Australians aged 18 and over fell by 5.6%, from $518 to $489 (Figure 1).
The government is also providing $37.5 million to support native title holders to gain greater economic benefit from their land, as well as $21.9 million for leadership initiatives. The government is estimated to provide $16.2 million for Indigenous health spending to the states and territories in 2022-23.
For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, avoidance of eye contact is customarily a gesture of respect. In Western society averting gaze can be viewed as being dishonest, rude Page 2 or showing lack of interest.
Assimilationist terms such as 'full-blood,' 'half-caste' and 'quarter-caste' are extremely offensive and should never be used when referring to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
'Aborigine' is generally perceived as insensitive, because it has racist connotations from Australia's colonial past, and lumps people with diverse backgrounds into a single group. You're more likely to make friends by saying 'Aboriginal person', 'Aboriginal' or 'Torres Strait Islander'.
Some of the most well known Aboriginal words for hello are: Kaya, which means hello in the Noongar language. Palya is a Pintupi language word used as a greeting much in the same way that two friends would say hello in English while Yaama is a Gamilaraay language word for hello used in Northern NSW.
The Moon is considered a man in most Aboriginal communities but there are exceptions where the Moon is seen as a woman. It is associated with fertility, death and initiation ceremonies.