With thoughtfulness, I watched Dreamtime at the ‘G at home with my son last Saturday evening.
Michael Long, a proud man and an AFL great who brings our country together, led “We Walk Together” from Federation Square to the MCG, remembering his inaugural Long Walk to Canberra, placing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples squarely on the political agenda since 2004.
Like many Australians I was concerned, perhaps even scared, that there may be boos or a lack of respect greeting the magnificent Welcome to Country ritual and indigenous pre-game war cries which rang out across the hallowed lands of the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Fortunately, it didn’t eventuate, and my faith was somewhat restored. As families of migrants, we have taken huge steps to overcome our ignorance, but we still have a long way to go.
The Sir Doug Nicholls Round, much like our attitudes, has matured as a celebration of indigenous culture and history. The acceptance and thoughtfulness that AFL clubs bring to designing their playing jumpers for this round of footy is a sign of admiration, tolerance and understanding - clearly on show to hundreds of thousands of footy fans across the country.
National Reconciliation Week began with the theme of Grounded in Truth: Walk together with Courage, a platform for truth-telling Australia’s colonial past – not blaming, just truth-telling as the basis of relationships in our country.
I was also inspired last week when Sydney’s Nine Entertainment Co. (Fairfax) news leader, the Sydney Morning Herald began a campaign for constitutional recognition of our nation’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Australian Constitution enshrines our law-making process and details how States should interact as the Commonwealth. It also recognises Australia as a Federation of States under the Queen; speaking far more of the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland than it does modern Australia.
It is difficult to reconcile why the traditional owners of the land; the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are not recognised by our nation’s Constitution.
National Reconciliation Week also made an impact following the recent Federal Election when The Hon. Ken Wyatt MHR was sworn in as the first Aboriginal man as Minister for Indigenous Affairs. He wore a traditional kangaroo skin called a booka, presented to him by the Nyoongar people of south-west WA. To watch him take the oath with such pride, cloaked in a traditional garment, was an important moment in Australia’s profess to recognition.
Grounded in Truth: Walk together with Courage requires truth-telling. It also requires the collection and sharing of stories. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have more than 50,000 years of history to share.
When I went to school, we learned of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ history from a British perspective through books and encyclopedias. It wasn’t a living culture; it was taught as the past – at times an untruthful retelling which compounded ignorance for another generation.
By comparison, as a first generation Australian, I struggle to tell stories of my family that are more than 100 years old. That doesn’t mean these tales don’t exist, rather we just must be diligent in gathering and sharing them. Listening is just as powerful as speaking. And like the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples teach us, it doesn’t always need to be written down.
Anzac Day highlights that there are still grandchildren whose grandparents landed at Gallipoli or fought on Flanders Fields – battles that defined our modern nation. Those who braved the trenches of France, the Kokoda Track and Prisoner of War Camps on the Thai-Burma Railway. And parents’ who were conscripted to the Vietnam War, returning home in secret often under the cover of darkness and not hailed as heroes until years later. There are stories of women gaining the vote, the Great Depression, escaping the holocaust, those who can remember the introduction of decimal currency, the moment when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples gained the vote in 1962, and recent accounts of fleeing persecution and war.
Sharing our stories is important. Sometimes, they are filled with disappointment, heartache and tragedy, but if Grounded in Truth our children’s children will be able to tell our history with understanding, honesty and pride.
Michael Long, a proud man and an AFL great who brings our country together, led “We Walk Together” from Federation Square to the MCG, remembering his inaugural Long Walk to Canberra, placing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples squarely on the political agenda since 2004.
Like many Australians I was concerned, perhaps even scared, that there may be boos or a lack of respect greeting the magnificent Welcome to Country ritual and indigenous pre-game war cries which rang out across the hallowed lands of the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Fortunately, it didn’t eventuate, and my faith was somewhat restored. As families of migrants, we have taken huge steps to overcome our ignorance, but we still have a long way to go.
The Sir Doug Nicholls Round, much like our attitudes, has matured as a celebration of indigenous culture and history. The acceptance and thoughtfulness that AFL clubs bring to designing their playing jumpers for this round of footy is a sign of admiration, tolerance and understanding - clearly on show to hundreds of thousands of footy fans across the country.
National Reconciliation Week began with the theme of Grounded in Truth: Walk together with Courage, a platform for truth-telling Australia’s colonial past – not blaming, just truth-telling as the basis of relationships in our country.
I was also inspired last week when Sydney’s Nine Entertainment Co. (Fairfax) news leader, the Sydney Morning Herald began a campaign for constitutional recognition of our nation’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
The Australian Constitution enshrines our law-making process and details how States should interact as the Commonwealth. It also recognises Australia as a Federation of States under the Queen; speaking far more of the Crown of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland than it does modern Australia.
It is difficult to reconcile why the traditional owners of the land; the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are not recognised by our nation’s Constitution.
National Reconciliation Week also made an impact following the recent Federal Election when The Hon. Ken Wyatt MHR was sworn in as the first Aboriginal man as Minister for Indigenous Affairs. He wore a traditional kangaroo skin called a booka, presented to him by the Nyoongar people of south-west WA. To watch him take the oath with such pride, cloaked in a traditional garment, was an important moment in Australia’s profess to recognition.
Grounded in Truth: Walk together with Courage requires truth-telling. It also requires the collection and sharing of stories. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have more than 50,000 years of history to share.
When I went to school, we learned of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ history from a British perspective through books and encyclopedias. It wasn’t a living culture; it was taught as the past – at times an untruthful retelling which compounded ignorance for another generation.
By comparison, as a first generation Australian, I struggle to tell stories of my family that are more than 100 years old. That doesn’t mean these tales don’t exist, rather we just must be diligent in gathering and sharing them. Listening is just as powerful as speaking. And like the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples teach us, it doesn’t always need to be written down.
Anzac Day highlights that there are still grandchildren whose grandparents landed at Gallipoli or fought on Flanders Fields – battles that defined our modern nation. Those who braved the trenches of France, the Kokoda Track and Prisoner of War Camps on the Thai-Burma Railway. And parents’ who were conscripted to the Vietnam War, returning home in secret often under the cover of darkness and not hailed as heroes until years later. There are stories of women gaining the vote, the Great Depression, escaping the holocaust, those who can remember the introduction of decimal currency, the moment when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples gained the vote in 1962, and recent accounts of fleeing persecution and war.
Sharing our stories is important. Sometimes, they are filled with disappointment, heartache and tragedy, but if Grounded in Truth our children’s children will be able to tell our history with understanding, honesty and pride.
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