I went to the Naarm (Melbourne) Invasion Day rally for the first time this year, and from it, a new depth of seeing and understanding was anchored into my being in ways I didn't expect.
Reflecting on it, what I saw and felt the most that day were the people; the Aboriginal people.
Their voices,
Their language,
Their leadership,
Their pain.
Their experiences,
Their frustration,
Their culture,
Their vision.
The First Nations people at the rally were loud, proud, frustrated and angry. There was no holding back; it was both awesome and devastating to witness. The sharing was exceedingly above and beyond (my expected) “not a date to celebrate” vibe, and I left with a deeper perspective and understanding of not only Aboriginal culture, but also the multitude of ways society is stacked against Blak folks. Hearing the voices of many leaders in the Aboriginal community, it's clear the issues facing their people are woven so, so deep into the fabric of society, and to change it, we desperately need an entire culture shift.
First Nations people are dying; either because of direct and overt racism, or, by a neglect that the unconscious racial biases of a racially constructed society weaves into its systems and frameworks - and we're talking big ticket institutions like the police, the social support system, the education system, the medical system and the legal system. These are all pretty big pieces of the societal pie, all with deep racial biases ingrained into them.
Aboriginal people are angry - how could they not be? There’s no way you or I wouldn’t be either if our experience was the same, it’s enraging. It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact there were a people, with their own culture, on this massive island, for 65,000+ continual years. Thriving. I can barely trace my ancestry back a few hundred years, let alone have a connection to a culture so long and rich. And here we are, not even valuing it.
Their land was taken away, their culture and identity devalued (by the colonisers), their population genocided... and these underlying patterns continue to this day.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are a beautiful, intuitive, powerful and intelligent people. They love their community, their culture, and this land which gives them life. What i witnessed at the rally only affirmed more deeply that the Indigenous people of any land are the ones who hold answers for how we need to interact with the environment which sustains us. The way white culture treats the environment is the very thing which will lead to the demise of life on earth as we know it.
The white way takes, ravages and destroys; the indigenous way listens, cares for and nourishes. And the current dominance of the white way has us teetering on the edge of the cliff of doom.
Without the leadership, knowledge and guidance of Indigenous peoples across the globe we will all suffer greatly as the natural environment around us collapses. And eventually, it will wipe out this iteration of humanity. The Earth will recover, but we will be gone. Therefore, with calm immediacy, we each must consciously work to awaken to issues which continue to marginalize and exclude Indigenous communities, and help remove the barriers to full inclusion and respect - both in our own subconscious and in society.
Indigenous voices must be heard, Indigenous communities must be allowed to thrive, so we must do the work to get out of their way, and stand up for what is right.
ab.
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