Content Warning – post mentions colonial violence.
Photo credit: Tamara Watt
For First Nation’s community and an increasing number of non-First Nation’s Australians, the 26th of January is a day of mourning. The day marks the beginning of the colonisation of Australia – the beginning of frontier wars and widespread massacres of indigenous peoples, and the loss of sovereign rights to their land and severing of cultural and spiritual connection to country.
When we learn of the atrocities behind what this day truly represents and commemorates, it’s baffling to consider why we still celebrate it at all, particularly in a time where work is being done to move towards healing, acknowledgment and reconciliation.
The unwillingness from the government to change the date is a difficult thing to understand.
We need to be strong allies along this journey. We need to be the kind of people who stand up and speak up to make our collective message louder and clearer until it can no longer be ignored. Learning about the true and painful history of Australia is a crucial part of being an ally, of being an Australian.
There are many avenues of learning you can take, and a plethora of resources available to begin this journey. I’ve included some links below to…
Reconciliation Victoria: http://www.reconciliationvic.org.au/ Koorie Heritage Trust: https://koorieheritagetrust.com.au/ Maggolee: https://www.maggolee.org.au/
And our upcoming Wyndham Building Blocks Allies in Community Leadership program. ‘A journey of cultural sharing, understanding and reconciliation’: https://www.hothouseprojects.org/courses-1
Please consider joining us.