In 2017, Indigenous people gathered at this continent's heart Uluru to develop what is now known as The Uluru Statement from the Heart. Such a getting together from so many nations to clearly articulate a singular unity of purpose when it comes to our constitution and our national relationship to history ... it was mind blowing to me at the time. Imagine a collective of Indigenous peoples from the Europa continent doing the same thing, on the same day, with the same sentiment.
They know they stand on the shoulders of giants.The Pallawah of Van Diemen's Land petitioned to the Crown in the 1830s that their treaty pleas had been ignored, and the letters from Corranderk, calling for a treaty and a voice in parliament, the Burunga Statement, the call for National Day of Mourning on the 26th of January, 1934, William Cooper et al. It goes on and on.
Anyway, after the statement being originally rejected by our then Prime Minister and kicked to the side by other ministers, who misunderstood the statement enough to say it would mean a third tranche of parliament (not true btw and some of those MPs have since apologised for 'not getting it'), the Uluru Statement is gaining traction again as a fair and true campaign for Voice Treaty and Truth.
Out of the many British colonies, Australia was never ceded to British ownership by its people. There was also never a treaty. The Uluru Statement seeks to cut through that history in really practical ways: We need a makkarata, which is a reckoning and truth telling about our history. We need an Indigenous voice to parliament and this voice has to be enshrined within our constitution, so that any Indigenous advisory mob cannot be kicked out when the government changes hands or ideologies, which has happened in the past.
These statements are the voice from our country's oldest people. Their requests are simple and a profoundly generous solution to our way forward as a nation.
Here are some explainers on why the Uluru Statement is momentous. The first one is from Dean Parkin:
And the second one is the statement itself:
Finally, if any folk want to voice their support, please visit this spot where it is all happening and you can jump on board.
https://ulurustatement.org/
It is great that you support this, but in case you didn't know - a lot of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people do not like the word indigenous when applied to them. As someone I know said: "what are we, flora and fauna".
ReplyDeleteJ
Thanks for letting me know J, I appreciate it.
DeleteNever accept the status quo. Unite. Recognition and reform is key. Dean Parkin is a fantastic leader and mobilizer.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan. I think this is a long time coming of not accepting the status quo!
DeleteThere is definitely something in the air right now. Globally, things are coming to a head I think.
ReplyDeleteIt is, you're right. It's huge.
DeleteI didn't comment earlier because this issue stresses me. It shouldn't because I'm not Aboriginal. But I find it difficult to find my place alongside these people because it's so easy to get it wrong. I'll continue to support them but feel they have to do this.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I've heard directly from Noongar people not every Aboriginal person is on board because they feel they weren't represented. I was so excited about the Uluru SOtH when it emerged a couple of years ago I printed it out at A3 size and stuck it on the wall of my classroom. I invited my Noongar students to talk about it and engage in any way they wanted to. My bad. I felt once again that I was just another white person making assumptions because they didn't want a bar of it. They hadn't been included so basically, fuck it. They don't trust the process and they don't even trust their own people who are in there engaging with the process.
I'm not saying I don't support them, but my view is that now they need to come to me when or if they ever want to talk about it. In the meantime I am up front about my motives and call them out when they don't take responsibility for their choices. I've been burnt a couple of times.
Re the 'shift' that your readers are noticing. Yes, this coincides with what I blogged about and Saturn moving out of Capricorn (the patriarch) where it has been for the past 200 years and into Aquarius. It is now a time for equity - which is why the womens movement is FINALLY gaining traction too. Synchronistically that 200 year period of Saturn rule pretty much coincides with the colonialism of Australia when the British 'fathers' invaded the place. Brilliant.
Yes,I understand this difficulty too.
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