National Reconciliation Week is an observance held from May 27 through June 3 in Australia. Reconciliation means the establishment of friendly relations following a disagreement. The British colonization of Australia resulted in policies that discriminated against Indigenous (native) people and deprived them of basic rights. Because of this painful history, Australia has undertaken a process of reconciliation based on mutual understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. 
The dates that begin and end National Reconciliation Week have historical and symbolic significance. On May 27, 1967, a nationwide referendum (vote) was held on whether to change the Australian Constitution and remove language that discriminated against Aboriginal people. The referendum asked Australians if they wanted to count Aboriginal people in the census. The referendum also granted the federal government legal authority to pass laws relating to Aboriginal people. Until this time, Aboriginal people were not counted as members of the Australian population. More than 90 percent of Australians voted in favor of changing the Constitution. This marked an important step toward greater equality.
The ending date, June 3, commemorates the day in 1992 when the Australian High Court handed down the Mabo Decision (see Mabo, Eddie Koiki). This decision overturned the principle of terra nullius, meaning land that belongs to no one. This principle held that Australia should be considered to have been unoccupied at the time of British colonization, despite the presence of its Indigenous inhabitants. By rejecting terra nullius, the Mabo Decision paved the way for native title, the maintenance of rights to certain lands by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The idea for a National Reconciliation Week began to take shape in 1993. That year, several leading religious communities came together to hold a special Week of Prayer for Reconciliation, which grew into an annual event. National Reconciliation Week formally began in 1996. Many religious groups still hold a Week of Prayer for Reconciliation in conjunction with National Reconciliation Week.
