Happy Tuesday! It’s coming up to that time again in Australia – January 26. You know, ‘Australia Day’. The date marks that day Arthur Philip raised the Union Jack at Port Jackson in 1788, establishing Australia, then known as New South Wales, as a British Settlement. It’s essentially Australia’s birthday? But like, it’s kinda not Australia’s birthday, and actually also marks that day that our First Nations peoples lost their land to Europeans, starting a whole tidal wave of mistreatment that still exists today, over 230 years later. White Australians know the day as ‘Australia Day’, but our First Nations peoples know it as ‘Invasion Day’, ‘Day of Mourning’, and ‘Survival Day’. And it’s a day that a lot of people want changed. So I’ve written about why we have the #ChangeTheDate debate year in year out in the past, but essentially, it boils down to the fact that the day is meant to be about celebrating Australia, and yet we’re “celebrating” on a day that holds so much sorrow for an entire segment of our population. We spend the day celebrating how great we are and glorifying the colonisation of the country, but we never want to acknowledge the extremely dark era of history that colonisation brought about. So the push is to move our national day of celebration to a date when it can be way more inclusive and we can actually celebrate all the things we love about our country. Although, even then, given the state of some areas of our country, there’s still not a lot of glory to celebrate. Hence why there is also a push to abolish the day completely. In the grand scheme of Indigenous Australian issues, it’s not really ranked that high, but it’s a small change that would be the step in the right direction – the baby steps needed for our government to actually make a real change and help bridge the gap that still exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. It’s the Change The Date debate that helps make many other Australians realise the severity of issues still facing Indigenous Australians. And at the very least, it helps give a good portion of the population a much-needed history lesson and racism check. So while a good portion of Australians ‘celebrate’ Australia Day, here’s how you can celebrate January 26 without subscribing to the mainstream patriotic big-noting that doesn’t really celebrate all Australians. 1. DEEP DIVE INTO AUSTRALIAN AND ABORIGINAL HISTORY The Australian school curriculum has changed a lot in recent years, but not that long ago when I was in primary school and high school during the noughties, we didn’t really cover too much early Australian history, and very little history focusing on Indigenous Australians. In fact, it wasn’t until 2014 when I was in my first year of university that I really got a good overview of early Australia history in relation to the Indigenous population, and that’s only because I was studying a history degree. So it’s safe to say that anyone my age and older probably doesn’t have the greatest historical knowledge prior to Federation. So rectify the issue by diving into Australia’s history. And not just Australia’s history, but the history of Indigenous Australians since colonisation, and their history before European settlers showed up. I’m not saying you need to research like you’re about to write a university essay, but even just spending some time reading Wikipedia articles will be enough to give you a bit of a deeper understanding and knowledge of Australia’s history. But definitely try to dig a little deeper, even if it’s just into a certain event, time period or person. You’ll be so surprised by the amount of amazing historical stories that are out there that we just never seem to learn about – some stories which would have been amazing to learn in school. But let me start you off with five facts:
If anything, just look into the region that you live in and learn a bit about the Aboriginal peoples who call the land their home. Check out the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies for more information. 2. WATCH, READ, LISTEN There are a LOT of amazing Indigenous stories out there in film, television and books, not to mention a tonne of fabulous musicians. Why not spend the next week, and January 26, consuming their content, learning a little something along the way and supporting all the wonderful creators behind these projects, many of whom are Indigenous Australians. The following are just some of the films, TV series, documentaries and books you should definitely be checking out this week: FILM
TELEVISION
DOCUMENTARIES
BOOKS
3. GET CAUGHT UP ON CURRENT ISSUES Think it’s all peaches and cream these days? Yeah, not so much. There is still SO much divide between Indigenous Australians and the rest of the country, and there are still many battles being fought for equality, a fair go, and much-needed change. I don’t want to list out all the specifics of current issues surrounding Indigenous Australians, because I don’t want to accidentally leave anything out, but they include the likes of deaths in custody, land rights, treaty, Constitutional change, representation, media, over-policing, healthcare, racism, Governmental policy, and SO MUCH more. There’s nation-wide, state-wide and regional issues that we all need to get the tiniest bit caught up on. With the whole world having focused on the pandemic over the last twelve months, and also dipping in and out of the shit-show that has been America, there have been many news stories swept to the side, forgotten, or not even reported on, so take some time to catch up on what has been and what is still going on. There’s a reason the Black Lives Matter movement is continually growing here like it has been in America, so it’s also important to understand its growing importance within our society. Resources to check out: 4. START A CONVERSATION At some point in recent years you’ve no doubt been in a conversation with someone who was adamant that Australia Day shouldn’t change – that it’s tradition; that you can’t change history; that it’s un-Australian; that it’s not our fault for something that happened over 200 years ago. While I’m not suggesting getting into arguments with people (because that never works in trying to get someone to see the other side of the argument), do have a conversation with someone, sharing things you’ve learnt and where you stand on the issue. Point them in the direction of where they can learn more about why there’s a fair chunk of the population wanting the date to change. How’s this for starting a conversation? In 2017 I was named my local Shire Council’s Young Citizen of the Year and so was invited back the following year as one of the guest speakers. My speech brief was essentially a little bit about myself, what I’ve been up to in the past year, and what Australia Day means to me. I started off my sharing some historical facts about early Australian history, which led into me talking about how I wrote a local history book the year before. I then concluded by talking about why people need to be open about the need to change the date of Australia Day. I shared the whole speech in a blog post back in 2018, which you can read here. So here I was, 22 years old, at an official Australia Day event on Australia Day, telling around 100 people, most of whom fell in the 50+ age bracket, why changing the date of Australia Day is a good thing. If I can do that, you can totally have a bit of a chat with a friend, family member, neighbour, or even a complete stranger in the supermarket, about where you stand on Australia Day. If you can open just one person up to the idea that we need to make a change, then it’s been a good day. But also, don’t be afraid to tell Karen that she’s being just a little bit racist and ignorant. 5. CONTINUE ENGAGING LONG PAST JANUARY 26 So January 26 has come and gone, which means you can just put all this away until next year, right? Not one little bit. Don’t stop engaging, learning or talking once January 26 is over. These issues don’t stop being issues come January 27. The conversation doesn’t come to a halt next Wednesday. Self-education doesn’t finish when the Public Holiday ends. Keep the momentum going for the entire year. Continue to keep up-to-date with current events and issues. Spread awareness. Be supportive. Amplify voices. Sign petitions. Donate time, energy and money, if and where possible. Be an ally all year, not just in January. You don’t have to be the biggest and loudest ally and activist – a room full of whispers can be as loud, if not louder, than just one voice. So add yourself and your voice to the conversation and be part of the change. BONUS: GET YOUR FEET ON THE GROUND Every year, in nearly all the major cities, are Invasion Day events, most of which are open to non-Indigenous attendees. If you're in a position to attend any of these events, then I encourage you to do so. Of course the pandemic will affect how these events are conducted this year, so do be mindful of restrictions and keeping safe. At the end of the day, the goal isn’t just to change the date of Australia Day, it’s to make a real change for Indigenous Australians now and for years to come. So start with Australia Day, and continue to be involved for the next 365 days until we’re back here and have to do it all over again.
So, what are YOU planning on doing January 26? Always Was, Always Will Be. Victoria :) |
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