Stewart Sutherland receives his award from Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue. Photo James Henry Photography, courtesy The Lowitja Institute.
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies’ (AIATSIS) Research Fellow in Health and Social and Emotional Wellbeing, Mr. Stewart Sutherland, was announced as the winner of the prestigious Lowitja Institute Student of the Year Award at Congress Lowitja in Melbourne today.
A PhD student from the Australian National University, Mr. Sutherland’s studies in transnational comparative research into reconciliation policies and practices and the social and emotional wellbeing of people forcibly removed by governments, is given important recognition through this award.
Mr. Sutherland said the 2008 apology by former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was undoubtedly one of the biggest achievements for Australia in terms of a positive reconciliation event, but no one has really delved into the effects it’s had on the people it was addressed to.
“I believe the further down the track we get from that event without more positive action, the angrier and more disillusioned people are becoming . So I’ve set out to look at that,” Mr. Sutherland said.
“As Canada and New Zealand have various forms of apologies as well, I want to see how people forcibly removed from their homes, families and culture across all three nations have been affected, and how we can use those experiences to look at better ways of conciliating.
“It’s an awesome honour to be named as the student of the year by the Lowitja Institute. It’s widely accepted Lowitja is the leading institute in Aboriginal health in Australia. And the Institutes namesake, Aunty Lowitja, well she’s a legend – so just based on that I’m rapt.
“It would have been incredibly difficult to complete the work without the support of AIATSIS and the Australian National University’s College of Arts and Social Sciences Research School of Humanities and the Arts where I'm a student.”
Dr. Jakelin Troy, Director of Research in Indigenous Social and Cultural Wellbeing at AIATSIS, said it’s a real credit to the Institute’s Indigenous Visiting Research Fellow program.
“That our researchers have won this award twice now shows our research is contemporary and well received.”
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