tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/naidoc-6420/articles
NAIDOC – The Conversation
2021-07-04T20:10:25Z
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/163362
2021-07-04T20:10:25Z
2021-07-04T20:10:25Z
‘Although we didn’t produce these problems, we suffer them’: 3 ways you can help in NAIDOC’s call to Heal Country
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409406/original/file-20210702-18-1c20in1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=16%2C24%2C5531%2C3534&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>NAIDOC week has just begun and, after several tumultuous years of disasters in Australia, the theme this year is Heal Country. </p>
<p>In the last two years, Australia has suffered crippling drought that saw the Darling-Baaka <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/ng-interactive/2018/apr/05/murray-darling-when-the-river-runs-dry">run dry</a>, <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/summer-of-crisis/">catastrophic bushfires</a>, and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-04-20/nsw-floods-break-120-year-old-rain-records/100079400">major flooding</a> throughout coastal and inland areas of Australia’s east. </p>
<p>Just two weeks ago, UNESCO’s <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/world-heritage-centre/">World Heritage Centre</a> recommended one of our national treasures, the Great Barrier Reef, be listed as <a href="https://globalvoices.org/2021/06/27/unesco-proposes-listing-world-heritage-great-barrier-reef-as-in-danger/">in danger</a>.</p>
<p>If these events, and the thought of other inevitable climate change-driven disasters sadden or madden you, consider how it impacts Indigenous peoples. </p>
<p>So with this in mind, and the rest of NAIDOC week ahead of us, let’s take a moment (most likely from lockdown) to explore the theme of Heal Country in more detail.</p>
<h2>More than a landscape</h2>
<p>For Indigenous people, Country is more than a landscape. We tell, and retell, stories of how our Country was made, and we continue to rely upon its resources — food, water, plants and animals — to sustain our ways of life. Country also holds much of our heritage, including scarred trees, stone arrangements, petroglyphs, rock art, tools and much more.</p>
<p>Indigenous people talk of, and to, Country, as they would another person. As the late eminent ethnographer Deborah Bird Rose <a href="https://www.academia.edu/4539641/Nourishing_Terrains_Australian_Aboriginal_views_of_Landscape_and_Wilderness_Australian_Heritage_Commission_Canberra_1996_">famously wrote</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Country is not a generalised or undifferentiated type of place, such as one might indicate with terms like ‘spending a day in the country’ or ‘going up the country’. </p>
<p>Rather, Country is a living entity with a yesterday, today and tomorrow, with a consciousness, and a will toward life. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>As cultural and spiritual beings, and with deep and ongoing attachments to lands and waters, the impacts of climate change interrupt and make uncertain our unique ways of life. This increasing reality is shared with Indigenous peoples <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/27/climate/climate-Native-Americans.html">all over the world</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409410/original/file-20210702-27-l98qjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409410/original/file-20210702-27-l98qjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409410/original/file-20210702-27-l98qjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409410/original/file-20210702-27-l98qjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409410/original/file-20210702-27-l98qjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409410/original/file-20210702-27-l98qjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409410/original/file-20210702-27-l98qjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409410/original/file-20210702-27-l98qjd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=565&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Torres Strait Islands are under dire threat from climate change.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>These sentiments were captured by Tishiko King, a Kulkalaig woman from the island of Masi in the Torres Strait. In her reflections on returning home in December 2020, she <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB1nzn5WlSI">explained</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I had to pick up the bones of my Elders because erosion is damaging our burial sites. As First Nations people we know that these are our spirits of our old people, and it’s a sign of disrespect. </p>
<p>It’s desecrating who they are. It’s that heart-wrenching pain in your chest.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is why the National NAIDOC Committee has sought to draw attention to our struggle. </p>
<h2>Why Heal Country?</h2>
<p>Through this year’s theme, the <a href="https://www.naidoc.org.au/news/2021-naidoc-week-theme-announced-heal-country">National NAIDOC Committee</a> invites the whole nation to embrace “First Nations’ cultural knowledge and understanding of Country as part of Australia’s national heritage”.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1410543896522805249"}"></div></p>
<p>This requires understanding the depths of Indigenous peoples’ connections to Country and treasuring our heritage values.</p>
<p>But “understanding” and “treasuring” will only go so far in the face of increased drought, more severe storms or changing seasons and animal behaviours as a result of climate change.</p>
<p>As Bianca McNeair, a Malgana woman from Western Australia and co-chair of the First People’s Gathering on Climate Change, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/mar/27/we-want-to-be-included-first-nations-demand-a-say-on-climate-change">shared with The Guardian</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>[Traditional Owners] are talking about how the birds’ movements across country have changed, so that’s changing songlines that they’ve been singing for thousands and thousands of years, and how that’s impacting them as a community and culture.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>All Australians have much at stake if radical steps to cut emissions aren’t taken. For Indigenous peoples, the consequences of climate change are much more profound.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409418/original/file-20210702-19-1bdlkm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409418/original/file-20210702-19-1bdlkm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409418/original/file-20210702-19-1bdlkm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409418/original/file-20210702-19-1bdlkm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409418/original/file-20210702-19-1bdlkm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409418/original/file-20210702-19-1bdlkm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409418/original/file-20210702-19-1bdlkm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409418/original/file-20210702-19-1bdlkm3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Country also holds heritage, including stone arrangements, rock art, tools and more.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Not all disasters are natural</h2>
<p>But talking only of climate change doesn’t capture the full reality threatening Indigenous peoples ways of life.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/rio-tinto-just-blasted-away-an-ancient-aboriginal-site-heres-why-that-was-allowed-139466">destruction of Juukan Gorge</a> by Rio Tinto in 2020 caused <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-56261514">international outrage</a> for the clear disregard for not only Indigenous culture, but human history. </p>
<p>Likewise, the notorious McArthur River mine in the Northern Territory has been damaging the environment and nearby township of Borroloola, from <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-21/nt-mcarthur-river-mine-road-train-spills/100153646">the leaking of potentially harmful contaminants</a> to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-07-27/mcarthur-river-mine-gulf-of-carpentaria-anger-smoke-plume/5625484">waste rock</a> that smouldered for months. </p>
<p>These events, as well as others, continue to be examined through the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Northern_Australia/CavesatJuukanGorge">Juukan Gorge Senate inquiry</a>. </p>
<p>Heal Country forces us to see these events not in isolation, but in a chain of disasters that continue to impact and threaten Indigenous peoples. It invites people to see the land and water through our eyes and understand that although we didn’t produce these problems, we suffer from them.</p>
<p>Heal Country seeks reflection, for all Australians to ask themselves what they treasure about being from, and living on, this land. </p>
<p>If, like us, you find peace, pride and enjoyment from our natural values — our beaches, mountains, rivers, wetlands, forests, deserts and more — then perhaps it’s time to get off the bench and become an advocate for change.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rio-tinto-just-blasted-away-an-ancient-aboriginal-site-heres-why-that-was-allowed-139466">Rio Tinto just blasted away an ancient Aboriginal site. Here’s why that was allowed</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Three ways you can help</h2>
<p>Indigenous people continue to stand up for and protect their Country. But in a nation where their connections, culture and heritage are seen by governments as being of lesser value than minerals, it is often a lonely struggle. </p>
<p>I asked people to consider the impacts on Country, culture and heritage in my <a href="https://theconversation.com/strength-from-perpetual-grief-how-aboriginal-people-experience-the-bushfire-crisis-129448">article for The Conversation</a> during the 2019-2020 bushfires. Now, I ask that you consider it against the backdrop of an uncertain future. </p>
<p>Far from being powerless to protect Country, there is much an everyday Australian can do. Here are three examples: </p>
<p>1) Make a submission to the <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Northern_Australia/CavesatJuukanGorge">Juukan Gorge inquiry</a>.</p>
<p>The Juukan Gorge inquiry is one of the most important in our recent history. The protection and management of Indigenous peoples’ culture and heritage is being thoroughly examined, with recommendations to better balance the protection of these things against future economic growth. </p>
<p>You can lend your voice — or that of your organisation — to express support and solidarity with Indigenous peoples through a submission.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409407/original/file-20210702-28-defpm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Bleached coral" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409407/original/file-20210702-28-defpm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/409407/original/file-20210702-28-defpm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409407/original/file-20210702-28-defpm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409407/original/file-20210702-28-defpm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409407/original/file-20210702-28-defpm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409407/original/file-20210702-28-defpm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/409407/original/file-20210702-28-defpm6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">If events like coral bleaching sadden or madden you, consider how it impacts Indigenous peoples.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>2) Donate to charities that support Indigenous land and sea management programs.</p>
<p>These organisations are key to advocating on behalf of Indigenous people and offer guidance, advice and support to Indigenous communities seeking to establish their own programs. Two of note include <a href="https://www.firesticks.org.au/">Firesticks Alliance</a> and <a href="https://www.countryneedspeople.org.au/">Country Needs People</a>. </p>
<p>3) Write an email to your local member.</p>
<p>Ask your local member how they’re supporting local Indigenous land and sea management programs, including ranger groups or cultural burning initiatives. If you live in the city, ask how their party supports Indigenous groups in their caring for Country aspirations.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/strength-from-perpetual-grief-how-aboriginal-people-experience-the-bushfire-crisis-129448">Strength from perpetual grief: how Aboriginal people experience the bushfire crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Heal Country invites all Australians to walk with us, to stand beside us, to support us. </p>
<p>But perhaps most importantly, it invites Australians to love, treasure and fight for this land, as we have done, and will do, forever.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This story is part of a series The Conversation is running on the nexus between disaster, disadvantage and resilience. It is supported by a philanthropic grant from the Paul Ramsay foundation. You can read the rest of the stories <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/disaster-and-resilience-series-97537">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163362/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bhiamie Williamson is a member of the ACT Bushfire Council, an Independent Expert on the NSW Forest Monitoring and Improvement Program Steering Committee, and a Director of Country Needs People. </span></em></p>
For Indigenous people, Country is more than a landscape. But climate change, and the natural disasters it produces, present a clear and present threat to Country, culture and heritage.
Bhiamie Williamson, Research Associate & PhD Candidate, Australian National University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/120231
2019-07-12T08:27:44Z
2019-07-12T08:27:44Z
VIDEO: Michelle Grattan on the government’s plans for Indigenous recognition
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<p>Michelle Grattan talks with University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Professor Deep Saini about the government’s proposal to put a referendum this term to recognise Indigenous Australians in the Constitution. They discuss whether Indigenous leaders are likely to make the concession to not include the Voice in the Constitution, and the chances of reaching a bipartisan agreement on the referendum question itself. They also canvass the ongoing John Setka saga.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120231/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Michelle Grattan speaks with University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini about the government’s plans to put forward a referendum to recognise Indigenous Australians in the Constitution.
Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/120167
2019-07-11T03:07:50Z
2019-07-11T03:07:50Z
Politics with Michelle Grattan: Ken Wyatt on constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians
<p>The first Indigenous minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, says on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-morrison-government-proposes-an-indigenous-recognition-referendum-this-term-119998">government’s proposal</a> to constitutionally recognise Indigenous Australians: “I’m optimistic about achieving the outcome because if the words are simple, but meaningful, then Australians will generally accept an opportunity to include Aboriginal people in the Constitution.”</p>
<p>But he concedes Indigenous leaders would not take the same minimalist approach he is advocating for, but says it is “pragmatic”. </p>
<blockquote>
<p>What I want is to see us make some gains. Later on as we mature as a nation, then we can have another debate of what the next phase is.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>He admits getting support for the constitutional referendum in his home state of Western Australia would be difficult but he would be looking to the big mining companies – which <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jan/31/bhp-and-rio-tinto-to-join-push-for-indigenous-voice-to-parliament">have been supportive</a> of the Uluru Statement of the Heart – to help make the case there. </p>
<p>As for issues affecting Indigenous communities, such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-we-losing-so-many-indigenous-children-to-suicide-114284">high youth suicide rates</a>, he says there is “a sense of futility for some young people. The issue of broken relationships. The way in which young people have expressed the need for their culture to be valued”.</p>
<p>On the way forward, he is looking into “support structures that need to go into place on the ground” and thinks “there is a way that we can have some of this with existing resources”.</p>
<h2>New to podcasts?</h2>
<p>Podcasts are often best enjoyed using a podcast app. All iPhones come with the Apple Podcasts app already installed, or you may want to listen and subscribe on another app such as Pocket Casts (click <a href="http://pca.st/BVa3#t=3m34s">here</a> to listen to Politics with Michelle Grattan on Pocket Casts).</p>
<p>You can also hear it on Stitcher, Spotify or any of the apps below. Just pick a service from one of those listed below and click on the icon to find Politics with Michelle Grattan.</p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/politics-with-michelle-grattan/id703425900?mt=2"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233721/original/file-20180827-75984-1gfuvlr.png" alt="Listen on Apple Podcasts" width="268" height="68"></a> <a href="https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly90aGVjb252ZXJzYXRpb24uY29tL2F1L3BvZGNhc3RzL3BvbGl0aWNzLXdpdGgtbWljaGVsbGUtZ3JhdHRhbi5yc3M"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233720/original/file-20180827-75978-3mdxcf.png" alt="" width="268" height="68"></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/the-conversation-4/politics-with-michelle-grattan"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233716/original/file-20180827-75981-pdp50i.png" alt="Stitcher" width="300" height="88"></a> <a href="https://tunein.com/podcasts/News--Politics-Podcasts/Politics-with-Michelle-Grattan-p227852/"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233723/original/file-20180827-75984-f0y2gb.png" alt="Listen on TuneIn" width="318" height="125"></a></p>
<p><a href="https://radiopublic.com/politics-with-michelle-grattan-WRElBZ"><img class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-152" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233717/original/file-20180827-75990-86y5tg.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=268&fit=clip" alt="Listen on RadioPublic" width="268" height="87"></a> <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/5NkaSQoUERalaLBQAqUOcC"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/237984/original/file-20180925-149976-1ks72uy.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=268&fit=clip" width="268" height="82"></a> </p>
<h2>Additional audio</h2>
<p><a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Lee_Rosevere/The_Big_Loop_-_FML_original_podcast_score/Lee_Rosevere_-_The_Big_Loop_-_FML_original_podcast_score_-_10_A_List_of_Ways_to_Die">A List of Ways to Die</a>, Lee Rosevere, from Free Music Archive.</p>
<p><strong>Image:</strong></p>
<p>Rohan Thomson/AAP</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120167/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Ken Wyatt says he is "optimistic about achieving [constitutional recognition] because...Australians will generally accept an opportunity to include Aboriginal people" and that he will work with "naysayers".
Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/119998
2019-07-10T03:28:39Z
2019-07-10T03:28:39Z
The Morrison government proposes an Indigenous recognition referendum this term
<p>The Morrison government <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/ken-wyatt-pledges-to-hold-indigenous-recognition-referendum-within-three-years-20190710-p525rg.html">plans to hold a referendum</a> in the next three years on whether to enshrine constitutional recognition of Australia’s Indigenous people.</p>
<p>Announcing the proposal on Wednesday, the minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, said he would: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>develop and bring forward a consensus option for constitutional recognition to be put to a referendum during the current parliamentary term.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>He said he had begun seeking the counsel of Indigenous leaders on the best way forward. But Wyatt made it clear that the final decision on whether the referendum goes ahead this term will depend on achieving a high degree of consensus and the prospect of it having a very strong chance of success.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Constitutional recognition is too important to get wrong, and too important to rush. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Wyatt stressed the importance of bipartisanship, and will establish a cross-party parliamentary working group to assist with engagement to develop a “community model” for the referendum.</p>
<p>Labor’s shadow minister for Indigenous affairs, Linda Burney “will be integral to this process”, Wyatt told the National Press Club in a major speech outlining the Morrison government’s approach to Indigenous affairs. Both Wyatt and Burney are Indigenous.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/ken-wyatt-faces-challenges-and-opportunities-as-minister-for-indigenous-australians-117896">Ken Wyatt faces challenges – and opportunities – as minister for Indigenous Australians</a>
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<p>Wyatt did not indicate how he envisioned changing the constitution, which has been highly controversial in the last few years.</p>
<p>The May 2017 <a href="https://www.1voiceuluru.org/the-statement">“Uluru Statement from the Heart”</a> called for “the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the constitution”.</p>
<p>The Referendum Council proposed a national Indigenous representative assembly be added to the constitution, but this was <a href="https://theconversation.com/turnbull-government-says-no-to-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-86421">rejected by the Turnbull government</a>. </p>
<p>Prime Minister Scott Morrison has recently shifted course and begun speaking with Labor leader Anthony Albanese about a bipartisan approach to constitutional recognition. Without bipartisanship, any referendum is doomed to failure; passage is difficult enough even with agreement of the major parties. The <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/bd/bd1977/1976bd081">last successful referendum</a> of any sort was in 1977.</p>
<p>Changing the constitution through a referendum requires an overall majority of votes and a majority in a majority of states. When Prime Minister Tony Abbott wanted to hold a referendum on Indigenous recognition, the plan slipped away amid arguments over its content and doubts about getting the necessary support.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/listening-but-not-hearing-process-has-trumped-substance-in-indigenous-affairs-55161">Listening but not hearing: process has trumped substance in Indigenous affairs</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Wyatt also promised the development of “a local, regional and national voice”. He did not spell out the detail of a national “voice”.</p>
<p>He said the concept of the “voice” in the Uluru Statement from the Heart “is not a singular voice”.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is a cry to all tiers of government to stop and listen to the voices of Indigenous Australians at all levels.</p>
<p>All they want is for governments to hear their issues, stories of their land and their local history.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>He said Indigenous communities are asking the three tiers of government to stop and take the time to listen to their voices.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The national interest requires a new relationship with Indigenous Australians based on their participation and establishing entrenched partnerships at the community and regional levels.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Wyatt also said he would work on “progressing how we address truth telling.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Without the truth of the past, there can be no agreement on where and who we are in the present, how we arrived here and where we want to go in the future.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/treaty-talk-is-only-one-problem-for-indigenous-recognition-referendum-61036">Treaty talk is only one problem for Indigenous recognition referendum</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>On the treaty issue, he said it was important for states and territories to take the lead.</p>
<p>Wyatt said the significance of symbolism must never be forgotten but "it must be balanced with pragmatism that results in change for Indigenous Australians”. He highlighted the <a href="https://www.pmc.gov.au/news-centre/indigenous-affairs/prime-minister-announces-new-national-indigenous-australians-agency">new National Indigenous Australians Agency</a>, which was set up by Morrison to oversee Indigenous affairs policy.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>With the establishment of the agency on 1 July, we began a new era for the government to work in partnership with Indigenous Australians. It will provide opportunities for growth and advancement in education, employment, suicide prevention, community safety, health and constitutional recognition.</p>
<p>The most important thing that I and the agency will do is to listen – with our ears and with our eyes.</p>
<p>I intend to have genuine conversations, not only with Indigenous leaders and peak bodies, but with families, individuals and community organisations so that I can hear their voices and work together to agree to a way forward for a better future for our children.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>He also wanted businesses “to sit with me around boardroom tables – and around campfires – and discuss how they can contribute”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119998/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Grattan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Ken Wyatt, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, announced plans to hold a referendum to enshrine constitutional recognition of Australia’s Indigenous peoples during this parliamentary term.
Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/78925
2017-07-04T20:10:26Z
2017-07-04T20:10:26Z
Read, listen, understand: why non-Indigenous Australians should read First Nations writing
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176555/original/file-20170703-32578-hod947.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Alexis Wright won the Miles Franklin award for her 2006 novel Carpentaria</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Dean Lewins</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you read Australia’s First Nations (Indigenous) writers? If not, why not? People read for many reasons: information, entertainment, escape, to contemplate in company, to be moved. Reading can also be a political act, an act of solidarity, an expression of willingness to listen and to learn from others with radically different histories and lives. </p>
<p>In his new book, <a href="http://www.xlibris.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-001133403">Australia’s Unthinkable Genocide</a>, professor Colin Tatz writes that Australia suffers from “wilful amnesia”; storytelling is a way of remembering. </p>
<p>Despite good intentions, Royal Commissions, and endless policy initiatives such as <a href="http://closingthegap.pmc.gov.au/policy">Closing the Gap</a>, conditions for many First Nations people remain unacceptable. During <a href="http://www.reconciliation.org.au/nrw/">National Reconciliation Week</a>, the <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/today/sean-kelly/2017/29/2017/1496039300/uluru-statement-heart">Uluru Statement from the Heart</a> was released, calling for “the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution”. Even if there remain differences of opinion within First Nations communities as to process and aims, the onus is on non-Indigenous Australians to respect First Nations demands to speak and be heard. </p>
<p>The time is well overdue for non-Indigenous Australians to engage with the First Nations of this country, and their narratives, on their terms. Interest in the experience and concerns of others is crucial to combating social ills like racism. Writing and reading literature can be acts of intimacy, and as such reading can be a vital form of listening.</p>
<h2>Where to start?</h2>
<p>In Australia, white writers and scholars are more read than writers and scholars of colour. Non-Indigenous Australians often simply fail to seek out other voices and perspectives. Sometimes it’s a case of not knowing where to start.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/aug/30/tony-birch-australians-ignorant-aboriginal-writing">Tony Birch </a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/australia-culture-blog/2014/oct/23/five-must-read-books-by-indigenous-authors">Sandra Phillips</a> have offered excellent suggestions for those keen to explore First Nations writing, and as <a href="http://southerlyjournal.com.au/2012/06/21/race-privilege-the-dark-side-of-the-dream/">Michelle Cahill</a> points out, literary journals are also a rich source of discovery.</p>
<p>My own list is by no means definitive or exhaustive. It is but a handful of books I view as important reading. These are unique literary voices that command attention. </p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.uqp.uq.edu.au/book.aspx/818/Don't%20Take%20Your%20Love%20To%20Town">Don’t Take Your Love to Town </a>
Ruby Langford Ginibi (Penguin Books 1988, UQP 2007)</strong></p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175756/original/file-20170627-6892-1ds2lul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175756/original/file-20170627-6892-1ds2lul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175756/original/file-20170627-6892-1ds2lul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175756/original/file-20170627-6892-1ds2lul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175756/original/file-20170627-6892-1ds2lul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175756/original/file-20170627-6892-1ds2lul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1148&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175756/original/file-20170627-6892-1ds2lul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1148&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175756/original/file-20170627-6892-1ds2lul.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1148&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Goodreads</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This bestselling autobiography precedes the impressive entries into the emerging 21st century First Nations canon that follow. It is a contemporary classic of Australian literature, and it was the first book I read by a First Nations writer. Published the same year of Australia’s contested “bicentenary”, Langford Ginibi’s story continues to test the learned indifference of white Australians. Written during the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, Don’t Take Your Love to Town tells the tale of a woman caught at the intersection of gendered and raced injustice with admirable and endearing honesty.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://giramondopublishing.com/product/carpentaria/">Carpentaria</a> and <a href="http://giramondopublishing.com/product/the-swan-book/">The Swan Book</a>
Alexis Wright (Giramondo 2006, 2013)</strong></p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175754/original/file-20170627-25030-fh1zao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175754/original/file-20170627-25030-fh1zao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175754/original/file-20170627-25030-fh1zao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175754/original/file-20170627-25030-fh1zao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175754/original/file-20170627-25030-fh1zao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=916&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175754/original/file-20170627-25030-fh1zao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175754/original/file-20170627-25030-fh1zao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175754/original/file-20170627-25030-fh1zao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1152&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Goodreads</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>I’ve written about Carpentaria in an essay for <a href="https://readingaustralia.com.au/essays/carpentaria/">Reading Australia</a>, and I discuss both books at length in my forthcoming academic book <a href="http://bloomsbury.com/au/the-poetics-of-transgenerational-trauma-9781501330889/">The Poetics of Transgenerational Trauma</a>. In short, these books matter. This is innovative writing forging cross-cultural trauma testimony that portrays a country in crisis and in desperate need of recovery from the devastating realities of colonialism and racism. There’s no way around it, Wright is not an easy read. These two novels are as far from literary comfort food as it gets. But those able to relax into Wright’s wildly experimental world-making are rewarded with insights and nothing less than a renewed vision of this land and appreciation for the complex communities that inhabit it. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172601/original/file-20170607-3716-l6fsft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172601/original/file-20170607-3716-l6fsft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/172601/original/file-20170607-3716-l6fsft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=867&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172601/original/file-20170607-3716-l6fsft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=867&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172601/original/file-20170607-3716-l6fsft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=867&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172601/original/file-20170607-3716-l6fsft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1089&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172601/original/file-20170607-3716-l6fsft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1089&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/172601/original/file-20170607-3716-l6fsft.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1089&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p></p><p></p>
<p><strong><a href="https://corditebooks.org.au/products/dirty-words">Dirty Words</a>
Natalie Harkin (Cordite Books 2015)</strong></p>
<p>One of my favourite books of recent years, Dirty Words is a whip-smart conceptual collection of poems about the state of the nation and the spectre of its shameful history. Authored by a Narungga scholar and creative practitioner, this slim volume may well knock your socks off and leave you questioning everything you read and hear. Harkin’s poems about the domestic servitude of her Narungga forebears might even move you to tears. </p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.uqp.uq.edu.au/book.aspx/731/Smoke%20Encrypted%20Whispers">Smoke Encrypted Whispers</a>
Samuel Wagan Watson (UQP 2004)</strong></p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176554/original/file-20170703-32612-2oh6po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176554/original/file-20170703-32612-2oh6po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176554/original/file-20170703-32612-2oh6po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176554/original/file-20170703-32612-2oh6po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176554/original/file-20170703-32612-2oh6po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=913&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176554/original/file-20170703-32612-2oh6po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1148&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176554/original/file-20170703-32612-2oh6po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1148&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176554/original/file-20170703-32612-2oh6po.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1148&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>“Childhood anxieties would eventually help me realise the power of imagination”, writes Wagan Watson in “author’s notes # 1”. This generous, award-winning collection of poems later became a <a href="http://www.melbournerecital.com.au/events/2014/australianvoices1/">multi-modal arts project</a> when its cycle of 23 poems served as inspiration for musical compositions. Poems like “white stucco dreaming” evoke familial ties within societal divides and the daily rituals of suburbia, while “a verse for the cheated” depicts the hidden tragedies of Queensland’s glamorous coastal tourist traps. At times Wagan Watson turns his muscular lyricism outward to consider the world at large, but he soon circles back to home-grown griefs and wonders.</p>
<p><strong>Other highly recommended titles</strong>
</p>
<a href="http://www.uqp.uq.edu.au/book.aspx/1312/Heat%20and%20Light">Heat and Light</a>
Ellen van Neerven (UQP 2014); <a href="http://giramondopublishing.com/product/inside-my-mother/">Inside my Mother</a>
Ali Cobby Eckermann (Giramondo Poets 2015); <a href="https://vagabondpress.net/products/lionel-fogarty-mogwie-idan-stories-of-the-land">Mogwie-Idan: Stories of the Land</a>
Lionel Fogarty (Vagabond Press 2012)<p></p>
<p>These books do the crucial work of testifying to transgenerational trauma and representing and celebrating surviving First Nations cultures and peoples. Each demonstrates, as Tony Birch puts it, the “potential for Aboriginal writing to productively shift the national story”.</p>
<h2>Witnessing trauma</h2>
<p>Australians, generally speaking, have an inadequate understanding of transgenerational trauma and underestimate the effects of the <a href="http://www.australianstogether.org.au/stories/detail/intergenerational-trauma">extreme and sustained traumas</a> experienced by First Nations communities. <a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-me-in-we/201205/how-trauma-is-carried-across-generations">Transgenerational trauma</a> is the process by which trauma is passed down through successive generations. </p>
<p>There is some debate about if and how this takes place, but transmission likely has various pathways through families, individuals, and culture at large. Colonialism and its aftermath - frontier wars, slavery, dispossession, and stolen children - proved a hotbed for severe traumas and legacies of transmission. The challenge is for non-Indigenous Australians to take responsibility for their own education and become familiar with the voices and concerns of those who have peopled this continent for eons.</p>
<p>Given the depth and scope of the inequity, clearly much more than reading alone is called for. But reading truth-telling accounts of our history and contemporary Australia by First Nations writers is one way of participating in a national dialogue.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>What’s your favourite book by a First Nations writer? Leave your recommendations in the comments below.</em></p>
<p><em>Read also: a <a href="http://theconversation.com/jukurrpa-kurlu-yapa-kurlangu-kurlu-80462">Warlpiri translation</a> of <a href="https://theconversation.com/dreamtime-and-the-dreaming-an-introduction-20833">‘Dreamtime’ and ‘The Dreaming’ – an introduction</a></em>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/78925/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Meera Atkinson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Do you read Australia’s First Nations writers? If not, why not? The time is well overdue for non-indigenous Australians to engage with the original inhabitants of the country.
Meera Atkinson, Sessional Tutor, Creative Writing, University of Sydney
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/80462
2017-07-04T20:09:51Z
2017-07-04T20:09:51Z
Jukurrpa-kurlu Yapa-kurlangu-kurlu
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176683/original/file-20170704-32624-1c2acgb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rosie Tasman Napurrurla, Warlpiri 2002, Ngurlu Jukurrpa (‘Grass Seed; Bush Grain Dreaming’), line etching on Hahnemuhle paper. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Warnayaka Art Centre, Lajamanu, and Aboriginal Art Prints Network, Sydney</span></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176684/original/file-20170704-32566-1eb3inj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176684/original/file-20170704-32566-1eb3inj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176684/original/file-20170704-32566-1eb3inj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=736&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176684/original/file-20170704-32566-1eb3inj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=736&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176684/original/file-20170704-32566-1eb3inj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=736&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176684/original/file-20170704-32566-1eb3inj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=924&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176684/original/file-20170704-32566-1eb3inj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=924&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176684/original/file-20170704-32566-1eb3inj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=924&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Jeannie Nungarrayi Herbert.
Ngarlkirdi Jukurrpa (Witchetty grub Dreaming) 1989
earthenware
20.2 x 20.2 cm diameter
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased from Admission Funds, 1991
O.9-1991</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© Courtesy of Warnayaka Art Centre, Lajamanu</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>This article is an edited Warlpiri translation of “‘Dreamtime’ and ‘The Dreaming’ – an introduction”. <a href="http://theconversation.com/dreamtime-and-the-dreaming-an-introduction-20833">Read the English version here</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>It’s <a href="http://www.naidoc.org.au/">NAIDOC Week</a> and the theme this year is “Our Languages Matter”. The Warlpiri language is co-author Valerie Napanangka Patterson’s mother tongue. Like most Australian Aboriginal languages, Warlpiri is threatened from multiple directions, including by the Australian education, health and legal systems, and the dominant culture’s general apathy and lack of support for maintaining these globally endangered languages. Many have already been lost.</em></p>
<p><em>Even today in Australia linguicide persists. As recently as February 2016 the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-18/nt-warlpiri-minister-denied-request-to-speak-indigenous-language/7178298">NT politician Bess Nungarrayi Price</a>, whose first language is Warlpiri, was ruled disorderly by the NT Parliament and prevented from speaking Warlpiri in the House.</em></p>
<p><em>For the remaining Australian languages to survive, as Valerie Napanangka stated on <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s4678265.htm">ABC’s Q&A on Monday</a>, Australians need to work as a team, and that’s what we’ve done in writing this article. To the best of our knowledge this is the first ever article written entirely in an Aboriginal language and published on a mainstream media outlet in this country. And Aboriginal languages really do matter - to all Australians. Language and identity are indivisible.</em> </p>
<hr>
<h2>Jukurrpa-kurlu yapa-kurlangu-kurlu</h2>
<p>Nyurruwiyi, ngajarra kalarlijarra tija warrki-jarrija <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/comment/obituaries/obituary-jeannie-nungarrayis-skill-in-the-warlpiri-language-made-her-an-advocate-for-bilingual-programs-20150205-136ohd.html">Jeannie Herbert Nungarrayi-jarra kuurlurla Lajamanurla (1953-2014)</a>.</p>
<p>Linguist-wiyi kalarna warrki-jarrija, ngula-jangkaju kalarna principal nyinaja Lajamanurlaju. Ngulajangkaju 2002-rla, Nungarrayirliji yirri-puraja Jukurrpa, yangka Warlpiri-patu-kurlangu.</p>
<p>Kulalpalu-nganpa yapa Warlpiri-patu purda-nyangkarla manu milya-pungkarla kardiyarlu, yikalu ngurrpa-wiyi nyina jukurrpaku nganimpa-nyanguku. Nganimpa kalu-nganpa puta pina-nyanyi, yikalu nyina Jukurrpaku ngurrpa. Kajilpalu pina-jarriyarla jukurrpaku, kajikalu-nganpa pinangkulku milya-pinyi. Jukurrparluju kanganpa yapa jungarni-mani manu pina-mani nyiyakantikantiki.</p>
<p>Kulaka Jukurrpaju nguna nyurruwarnu-mipa, jalanguju kanganpa karri kuruwarri yapakurlangu. Jukurrpaju ngulaju Warlpirikirlangu; Jukurrpaju ngulaju yapakarikirlangu-yijala. Jukurrpa ngulaju nyurru-warnu tarnnga-juku kujakarnalu mardarni-jiki nganimparluju. Tarnngangku-juku karnalu mardarni Jukurrpaju.
Nyampurlu walyangku ka mardani Warlpiri Jukurrpa.</p>
<p>Nyampuju yirri-puraja Nungarrayirli Jukurrpaju yapakurlanguju.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176703/original/file-20170704-13176-1l1wk1q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176703/original/file-20170704-13176-1l1wk1q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176703/original/file-20170704-13176-1l1wk1q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176703/original/file-20170704-13176-1l1wk1q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176703/original/file-20170704-13176-1l1wk1q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176703/original/file-20170704-13176-1l1wk1q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176703/original/file-20170704-13176-1l1wk1q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176703/original/file-20170704-13176-1l1wk1q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Molly Tasman Napurrurla, Warlpiri, 2003, Marrkirdi Jukurrpa, (‘Wild Bush Plum Dreaming’), on Magnani Pescia paper, image size 490x320 mm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Warnayaka Arts Centre Lajamanu, and Aboriginal Art Prints Network, Oxford Street, Sydney</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>“Dreamtime” manu “Dreaming”: nyiyaku?</h2>
<p>Kardiyarlu kalu Jukurrpa ngarrirni “<a href="http://theconversation.com/dreamtime-and-the-dreaming-an-introduction-20833">Dreamtime” manu “Dreaming</a>”. Ngurrakari-ngurrakarirli kalu mardarni kuruwarri warlalja. </p>
<h2>“Everywhen”: tarnnga-warnu</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176687/original/file-20170704-7743-4q1iwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176687/original/file-20170704-7743-4q1iwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176687/original/file-20170704-7743-4q1iwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176687/original/file-20170704-7743-4q1iwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176687/original/file-20170704-7743-4q1iwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176687/original/file-20170704-7743-4q1iwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176687/original/file-20170704-7743-4q1iwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176687/original/file-20170704-7743-4q1iwt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Valerie Patterson Napanangka, circa 1986. Napanangka was also a major contributor to the translation of Storm Boy by Colin Thiele - the first English language novel to be translated into the Warlpiri language.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Jukurrpaju nyurru-warnu, jalangu-warnu. Kamparru-warnu-paturlu kalalu mardarnu. Jalangu-warnu-paturlu kalu mardarni-jiki.</p>
<p>Anthropologist-rli yirdingki W.E.H. Stanner-rlu kala-jana kardiyaku yimi-ngarrurnu nyurruwiyi 1956-rla yapakurlangu Jukurrpa. Ngarrurnu “everywhen”. Yirrarnu pipa-kurra nyanungurluju, kuja: “One cannot ‘fix’ The Dreaming in time: it was, and is, everywhen”.</p>
<p>“Kulalpa nganangku wurduju-mantarla kuruwarriji. Tarnnga-juku ka nguna. Jalanguju.” (Valerie Napanangka Patterson, 2017)</p>
<h2>Yirdikari-yirdikari Jukurrpa-kurlangu</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176686/original/file-20170704-32624-1q0x9tp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176686/original/file-20170704-32624-1q0x9tp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176686/original/file-20170704-32624-1q0x9tp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176686/original/file-20170704-32624-1q0x9tp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176686/original/file-20170704-32624-1q0x9tp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=604&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176686/original/file-20170704-32624-1q0x9tp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=759&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176686/original/file-20170704-32624-1q0x9tp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=759&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176686/original/file-20170704-32624-1q0x9tp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=759&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Louisa Lawson Napaljarri (Louisa Lawson Napaljarri, c.1926-1931 -2001 ), Warlpiri, Lajamanu N.T., Yunkaranyi (Yurrampi) Jukurrpa (‘Honey Ant Dreaming’), 1986, acrylic on Belgian linen, 76 x 76cm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">© the artist’s estate, courtesy of Warnayaka Arts, Lajamanu</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Jukurrpaju kalu yirdi-mani yirdi-kari yirdi-kari Yapangku jarukari-jarukarirli.
Kardiya-wangurla-wiyi kalalu Yapa wangkaja jarukari-jarukari nyanungu-nyangu warlarlja, ngulaju panu, panu-nyayirni 250-pala-rlangu. Jaru warlalja kalalu wangkaja. </p>
<p>Kardiyarlu kalu Jukurrpa ngarrirni “Dreaming” manu “Dreamtime”, kala kulakalu purda-nyanyi Jukurrpaju yapa-piyarlu, lawa.</p>
<p>Warlpirirli kalu ngarrirni Jukurrpa nyanungu-nyangurlu jarungku. Kakarrara-malurlu Yapangku, Yarrirntirli (Arrernterli) kalu ngarrirni Altyerrenge manu Altyerr (kujalu nyurruwiyi yirrarnu pipa-kurra Althira manu Alcheringa). </p>
<p>Karlarra East Kimberley-rla kalu nyina Kija-patu. Nyanungurrarlu Kijangku kalu Jukurrpa ngarrirni Ngarrankarni; panukarirli kalu ngarrirni Ungud manu Wungud jarungku Ngarinyinirli, nyanungu-nyangurluju.</p>
<p>Pilbara-wardingkirli kalu ngarrirni Manguny jarungku nyanungu-nyangurlu. Yatijarra-malurlu kalu panukarirli ngarrirni Wongar, yangka kujakalu nyina Arnhem Land-rla, kakarrarni-nginti. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176688/original/file-20170704-7743-1gfb37i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176688/original/file-20170704-7743-1gfb37i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176688/original/file-20170704-7743-1gfb37i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176688/original/file-20170704-7743-1gfb37i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176688/original/file-20170704-7743-1gfb37i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=596&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176688/original/file-20170704-7743-1gfb37i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=749&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176688/original/file-20170704-7743-1gfb37i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=749&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176688/original/file-20170704-7743-1gfb37i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=749&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Maisie Granites Napangardi, Karnta-kurlangu/Kana-kurlangu Jukurrpa (‘Women’s Digging Sticks Dreaming’), 2000, acrylic on canvas, 120 x 122 cm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image courtesy Warnayaka Arts Centre Lajamanu, Peter Böhm Collection, and Burrinja, Melbourne.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Yirdikari-yirdikari Jukurrpa-kurlangu</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176692/original/file-20170704-15991-p4ytad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176692/original/file-20170704-15991-p4ytad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176692/original/file-20170704-15991-p4ytad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=805&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176692/original/file-20170704-15991-p4ytad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=805&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176692/original/file-20170704-15991-p4ytad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=805&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176692/original/file-20170704-15991-p4ytad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1012&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176692/original/file-20170704-15991-p4ytad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1012&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176692/original/file-20170704-15991-p4ytad.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1012&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ronnie Jakamarra Lawson (c. 1928- 2012), Warlpiri/Pintupi, Lajamanu, 2003, Karnta-kurlangu Jukurrpa (‘Women’s Dreaming’), print on Magnani Pescia paper, image size 490 x 320 mm.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Image courtesy of the Lawson family, Warnayaka Art Centre, Lajamanu, and Aboriginal Art Prints Network, Sydney.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Warlpirirli kalu yirri-purami Jukurrpaju yimingki nyanungu-nyangurlu. Yirdi panu kalu mardarni yangka Jukurrpa-kurlanguju. Kamparru-warnu ngulaju kuruwarri. Kuruwarrirli kajana yapaku milki-yirrarni Jukurrpa-warnu. Kuruwarri nyanjarla kalu yapa pina-jarri Jukurrpakuju, manu kalu-jana panukariki milki-yirrarni Jukurrpakari-Jukurrpakari kujakalu kijirni malkarri-rlanguju manu puwarrilypa-rlanguju.</p>
<p>Yirdi panukari ngulaju pirlirrpa, yiwirnngi, kurruwalpa. Kajilparla yapaku jurnta-yantarla pirlirrpaju, kajika yapaju nyurnu-jarri. Pirlirrpa-kurluju ngulaju ka wankaru-juku nyina yapaju. Yiwirnngi karla nguna yapaku kuja palka-manu ngatingkiji, yangka kujarla miyalu-kurra yukaja kurruwalpaju. Yirdi panu kalu mardarni Warlpirirli Jukurrpakurlanguju.</p>
<h2>Pina-jarriya Australia!</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176693/original/file-20170704-32624-lt2nvd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176693/original/file-20170704-32624-lt2nvd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176693/original/file-20170704-32624-lt2nvd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176693/original/file-20170704-32624-lt2nvd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176693/original/file-20170704-32624-lt2nvd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=738&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176693/original/file-20170704-32624-lt2nvd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=928&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176693/original/file-20170704-32624-lt2nvd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=928&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176693/original/file-20170704-32624-lt2nvd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=928&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Henry Cook Jakamarra (‘Pardi Pardi’), Lajamanu-wardingki, born circa 1917-22, Yumurrpa.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photograph by Christine Nicholls, 2002; reproduced with permission from Neil Jupurrurla Cook & family.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Yungulu Australia-wardingki-paturlu, kardiyarlu manu panukarirli, pina-jarri yapakurlanguku Jukurrpaku manu kuruwarriki.
Jukurrpa-juku kajana nguna panuku yapaku, yangka Australia-wardingkiki. Kala kuruwarrikari-kuruwarrikari kalu-jana jarnku-jarnku mardarni warlalja-nyayirni, yangka kujakalu nyina ngurukari-ngurukarirla. Yapangku kalu purami nyanungu-nyangu Jukurrpa yangka warlalja yilpalu-jana pina-yungu kamparru-warnu-paturlu, nyurnu-paturlu, Jukurrpaku-ngarduyurluju.</p>
<p>Jalangu-jalangurlu yungulpalu kardiyarlu yampiyarla <a href="http://theconversation.com/dreamtime-and-the-dreaming-who-dreamed-up-these-terms-20835">“Dreaming” manu “Dreamtime”</a> ngarrirninja-wangurlulku. </p>
<p>Yungulpalu marda pina-jarriyarla yapakurlanguku yimiki. Yungulpalu Jukurrpa yirdi-mantarla yapa-piyarlulku.</p>
<p><strong>NGULA-JUKU</strong> </p>
<p>Dedicate-mani karnalurla Pardipardiki</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was co-authored by Valerie Napanangka Patterson, a Warlpiri woman who lives in Lajamanu, NT, and currently works in the Learning Centre.</em></p>
<p><em>This article was amended on July 5 2017 to restore a section inadvertently removed in the editing process.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80462/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
The theme of this year’s NAIDOC week is “Our Languages Matter”. Aboriginal languages under threat across Australia. Read a Warlpiri introduction to Dreamtime and The Dreaming.
Christine Judith Nicholls, Senior Lecturer in Australian Studies, Flinders University
Mary Laughren, Honorary Senior Research Fellow, School of Languages and Cultures, The University of Queensland
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/79348
2017-07-02T20:09:37Z
2017-07-02T20:09:37Z
Indigenous girls missing school during their periods: the state of hygiene in remote Australia
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175945/original/file-20170628-16411-1nnzrvi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A new report paints a disturbing picture about the lack of hygiene in Aboriginal communities, that particularly disadvantages girls.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bixentro/6711602383/in/photolist-be5Hyt-4xLYfa-d7m9f9-UTEgxq-VZdjZE-fABWSY-W99cvp-fPxGqz-tCDjx-nLNkcR-k5eGaa-4xRbPA-cyszGb-bvyceu-dArxBd-prMgTz-fz2Pbj-ci34jQ-fz2XbA-fUfXdX-dAm7J4-MQvbY-55DmaD-dAm5kt-TNjX-dAm5WT-ppJLMA-A8zQK-fzAmLC-c99Mss-nLPyi8-o2eDhU-nPAaam-VZdi5C-fzAkLh-nLLPpr-oBfkAQ-fAbcEb-fPxNm2-fGDybe-fzm1vk-nMekYM-qKom5A-4qWRX8-rD3GNH-dAm5Lg-qZDEzU-oTt85M-RKp2Y3-bFeoWC">bixentro/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Basic sanitary products can be unaffordable, unavailable or too shameful to buy for girls and women in Australia’s remote Indigenous communities. A <a href="http://gci.uq.edu.au/un-sustainable-development-goals-water-sanitation-and-hygiene">report</a> released today, containing interviews with organisations working in multiple remote Australian communities, reveals anecdotal evidence girls are missing school during their periods. </p>
<p>The interviews indicate women and girls may use toilet paper, socks and rags instead of expensive sanitary products, which were reported to cost A$10 a packet. Girls and women might not buy the items if a male relative is serving in the shop. Underwear is expensive, and there are some cultural taboos around washing and drying underwear in a visible place. </p>
<p>A representative from one of the 17 organisations interviewed told us:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>they don’t want to change [pads] at school […] often there’s no soap, […] there are often no rubbish bins or there’s one rubbish bin outside the toilet, which is really embarrassing to use. In terms of the infrastructure that we can put in place to help girls, it’s rubbish bins, it’s soap, it’s running water and toilets that flush, and privacy.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Complicating the picture might be the difficulty of changing or bathing in privacy because the toilet or shower might not work, or bathroom door might not lock. Girls don’t always receive traditional or conventional education about their bodily changes and functions, and how to manage menstruation hygienically. Contraceptive implants, which often cause disruptions in the monthly cycle, can lead to girls being unfamiliar with their cycle, particularly those who had them inserted before they began menstruating.</p>
<p>The report on remote communities in mainland Australia, conducted by the University of Queensland in partnership with <a href="http://www.wateraid.org/au">WaterAid</a>, has been released to coincide with <a href="http://www.naidoc.org.au/">NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee)</a> Week. We found local health services had a limited capacity to respond to these challenges due to the focus on higher-priority diseases, such as rheumatic heart disease and diabetes. Perpetuating the situation is non-functioning hardware (toilets and taps) as a result of poor-quality materials, lack of maintenance and <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/4714.0">overcrowding</a> in homes.</p>
<h2>Addressing basic human rights</h2>
<p>Australia is a signatory to the <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/sdg6">United Nations Sustainable Development Goals</a>, which include targets for access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all; as well as ending open defecation and paying special attention to the needs of women and girls.</p>
<p>Access to sanitary items, water and washing facilities, as well as education about menstruation are basic human rights. Water and toilets are <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001962">essential for women to manage menstruation</a>. Yet it’s shocking to find not all Australians enjoying the same access to these fundamentals.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175946/original/file-20170628-12943-5i12n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175946/original/file-20170628-12943-5i12n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/175946/original/file-20170628-12943-5i12n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175946/original/file-20170628-12943-5i12n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175946/original/file-20170628-12943-5i12n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175946/original/file-20170628-12943-5i12n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175946/original/file-20170628-12943-5i12n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/175946/original/file-20170628-12943-5i12n6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Indigenous Australian girls are being denied basic human rights.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/k-girl/10106555/in/photolist-TNjX-dAm5WT-ppJLMA-A8zQK-fzAmLC-c99Mss-nLPyi8-o2eDhU-nPAaam-VZdi5C-fzAkLh-nLLPpr-oBfkAQ-fAbcEb-4qWRX8-fPxNm2-fGDybe-rD3GNH-fzm1vk-nMekYM-dAm5Lg-qKom5A-qZDEzU-oTt85M-RKp2Y3-bFeoWC-p1sJc1-o4atTA-fz34YY-qKvWn6-gVjRa-jZzWi-rmB2rr-r2S6ff-cMUAsJ-qKn9g5-6nD8K-dAm5oz-7acMGB-nKrVD2-dAm5rp-prK4mw-2Hwdw4-nLNAUo-pagvFK-fUeute-fyxZr8-nFkpfY-qKurbK-nLMovj">Kristy/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The situation isn’t difficult to address, but the connections between the various aspects are crucial to understand first. The logistical, financial, cultural and educational barriers are similar to those experienced in developing countries around the world. These are covered by UNICEF under its <a href="https://www.unicef.org/wash/schools/files/MHM_vConf_2014.pdf">menstrual hygiene management</a> campaigns.</p>
<p>In Australia, programs are already under way that address pieces of this puzzle. The community group Central Australian Youth Link-Up Service has created a <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/50061cbb84ae216bb5cb9339/t/580d7649ebbd1a2239a1a6ee/1477277277211/MHM_brochure_e-version.pdf">practical toolkit</a> aimed at developing more “girl friendly” spaces. These include girls having access to privacy, toilet paper, running water and informed staff who are conscious of the problems.</p>
<p>The service works with clinics, local youth programs and schools to ensure access to information, pads, underwear and safe disposal bins. One teacher at a school in central Australia’s Barkly region <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/50061cbb84ae216bb5cb9339/t/580d7649ebbd1a2239a1a6ee/1477277277211/MHM_brochure_e-version.pdf">told the service</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I have tampons and pads, and undies available for the girls in the classroom, and I have a key which some girls get from me so they can get pads or tampons from the cabinet in the toilet.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The NSW government’s <a href="http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/environment/aboriginal/Pages/housing-for-health.aspx">Housing for Health</a> program has repaired taps, toilets and showers in almost 3,500 houses, to support <a href="http://www.healthabitat.com/the-healthy-living-practices">healthy living practices</a>. The NSW Aboriginal Land Council has partnered with the state government to provide <a href="http://www.alc.org.au/nswalc-in-the-community/water-and-sewerage.aspx">water and sewerage infrastructure</a> operation and maintenance to 61 communities. This is funded with A$200 million for 25 years.</p>
<p>The Queensland government is <a href="http://www.hpw.qld.gov.au/Housing/SocialHousing/CommunityHousing/Indigenous%20Housing%20Programs/Pages/default.aspx">building new homes</a> and upgrading others in 34 remote communities. </p>
<p>These and other programs need to work together to address the bigger social and economic picture, including the links between overcrowding, housing infrastructure and health living practices. These operate in the context of cultural, social and political imperatives of Aboriginal people who wish to live on country, which can mean living very remotely. There also remains a traumatic legacy from colonisation that continues to impact these communities.</p>
<p>The interviewees in our report stated it was time to raise our expectations for the standard of services in all Australian locations. One interviewee said:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Non-Indigenous people who go out to communities quickly lower their expectations to what’s the prevailing norm […] You’re in Australia […] the benchmark [should be] an urban clinic in Darwin or Sydney.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>We will celebrate Australian Indigenous culture during this year’s NAIDOC Week and continue to work towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for water and hygiene. When doing so, let’s act to ensure girls have access to affordable sanitary items, girl-friendly toilets and washing facilities. This will enable them to manage their monthly periods hygienically, privately and with dignity.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>This article was co-authored with Chelsea Huggett, WaterAid Australia, and Leyla Iten, Central Australian Youth Link Up Service.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79348/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nina Lansbury does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Our report shows poor hygiene in remote Indigenous communities is responsible for girls missing school during their periods due to lack of products and knowledge, and feelings of shame. .
Nina Lansbury, Lecturer, Environmental Health Unit, School of Public Health, The University of Queensland
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/42607
2015-07-06T20:10:45Z
2015-07-06T20:10:45Z
Indigenous culture and astrophysics: a path to reconciliation
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/87413/original/image-20150706-20493-1hxjvao.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Every culture derives a different meaning from our common wonder at the mysteries of the universe.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP Image/Supplied by Natasha Hurley Walker (Murchison Widefield Array telescope in Western Australia) </span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It has been my privilege over the last six years to work on a project that combines an Indigenous Australian perspective of the universe with astrophysics. This has led to an astonishing series of global art exhibitions and opened a dialogue that has promoted the principle of <a href="https://www.reconciliation.org.au/">reconciliation</a> between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.</p>
<p>The culture of Indigenous Australia is tied to country, a connection to ancient knowledge, tradition, and spirituality. Less well known, perhaps, to non-Indigenous Australians is <a href="https://theconversation.com/speaking-with-duane-hamacher-on-indigenous-astronomy-35671">the connection to the night sky</a> that also runs deep in Indigenous culture.</p>
<p>The night sky is part of the shared heritage of all people on Earth. Every culture derives a different meaning from our common wonder at the mysteries of the universe. Indigenous Australians have carried this meaning within their culture for tens of thousands of years.</p>
<p>Astrophysics provides a scientific interpretation of the universe – and one of the major future tools for astrophysics research is the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-square-kilometre-array-finally-has-a-home-or-two-7274">Square Kilometre Array</a> (SKA), a massive telescope to be built on the traditional lands of the <a href="http://ymac.org.au/tag/wajarri-yamatji/">Wadjarri Yamatji</a> people in the remote <a href="http://www.murchison.wa.gov.au/">Murchison Shire</a> of Western Australia. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83642/original/image-20150602-7006-12utj2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83642/original/image-20150602-7006-12utj2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=287&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83642/original/image-20150602-7006-12utj2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=287&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83642/original/image-20150602-7006-12utj2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=287&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83642/original/image-20150602-7006-12utj2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83642/original/image-20150602-7006-12utj2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83642/original/image-20150602-7006-12utj2h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Part of the SKA in Western Australia, consisting of hundreds of thousands of simple, low frequency dipole antennas.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">SKA/Curtin University/LFAA consortium/Swinburne University of Technology</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The SKA will look back in time to the origin of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/unlocking-the-mystery-of-the-first-billion-years-of-the-universe-37368">first stars and galaxies</a>, seeking answers to fundamental questions in physics. </p>
<h2>Making a connection</h2>
<p>In 2009, during the <a href="http://www.astronomy2009.org/">International Year of Astronomy</a>, I started working with Indigenous artists from <a href="http://www.yamajiart.com/">Yamaji Art</a> in <a href="http://www.cgg.wa.gov.au/">Geraldton</a>, the largest town close to the SKA site. Katherine Moroz and Charmaine Green co-initiated the project with me.</p>
<p>Many of the artists are from the region in which my colleagues and I are <a href="http://www.mwatelescope.org">building telescopes</a> in advance of the SKA. Our goals were to explore Indigenous and western interpretations of the sky and discuss the telescopes taking form in the Wadjarri Yamatji country.</p>
<p>Indigenous artists and astrophysicists are two groups that would not normally interact. Nobody was quite sure what to expect. So, we took it slowly. In March 2009, we organised a visit to the SKA site.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83696/original/image-20150602-19252-1a2iak5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83696/original/image-20150602-19252-1a2iak5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83696/original/image-20150602-19252-1a2iak5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83696/original/image-20150602-19252-1a2iak5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=412&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83696/original/image-20150602-19252-1a2iak5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83696/original/image-20150602-19252-1a2iak5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83696/original/image-20150602-19252-1a2iak5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=517&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The location of the SKA (CSIRO’s Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory) in the Murchison Shire of Western Australia. Marked are some of the locations referred to in the article, including Geraldton, Mullewa, and Boolardy Station.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">CSIRO</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On the 350-kilometre trip from Geraldton, we stopped in Mullewa. We invited the community of the small town to come out and look at the stars that night. For many of the artists, this was the first time they had looked through a telescope, for a close-up view of Saturn and clusters of stars such as the <a href="http://www.wired.com/2009/10/jewel-box-stars/">Jewel Box</a>. It was a great way to break the ice.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83639/original/image-20150602-7003-1cddnu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83639/original/image-20150602-7003-1cddnu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83639/original/image-20150602-7003-1cddnu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83639/original/image-20150602-7003-1cddnu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83639/original/image-20150602-7003-1cddnu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83639/original/image-20150602-7003-1cddnu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83639/original/image-20150602-7003-1cddnu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wide Field Image of the Jewel Box.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wikimedia Commons</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>From Mullewa, we moved on to the SKA site with accommodation at Boolardy Station. We had a chance to walk over country with elder Edward (Tedo) Ryan, a Wadjarri Yamatji man who was born at Boolardy Station. Tedo explained the relationship between the people and the land. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83644/original/image-20150602-7003-nflhau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83644/original/image-20150602-7003-nflhau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83644/original/image-20150602-7003-nflhau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83644/original/image-20150602-7003-nflhau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83644/original/image-20150602-7003-nflhau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83644/original/image-20150602-7003-nflhau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83644/original/image-20150602-7003-nflhau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Tedo Ryan (right) and the author (left) at the SKA site, Tedo’s country.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Dr Megan Argo (Curtin University)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We were able to talk about the telescopes we were building on that land. Striking concepts started to emerge. The ancient land of the Wadjarri Yamatji forms a connection to the past, to ancestors, to traditions. The land is a way to look back into origins.</p>
<p>And the astronomers, building ultra-modern telescopes in this ancient landscape, were also looking for a connection to origins, by looking back in time to the beginning of the universe.</p>
<p>After a long day, as evening fell, the artists started plans for new works of art.</p>
<p>With no moon to brighten the clear skies, the Murchison night engulfed us. The stars and planets revealed themselves in a horizon-to-horizon panorama of the sort that can only be found in outback Australia.</p>
<p>Around the campfire, the group came alive: reservations fell away and stories about the stars flowed naturally.</p>
<p>We traded Indigenous and western stories. We learned about the different ways we view the same patterns in the sky, such as the <a href="http://aboriginalastronomy.blogspot.com.au/2011/04/coal-sack-and-emu-in-er-i-mean-llama-in.html">Emu in the Sky</a> that lies within the Milky Way. And we learned about striking similarities, such as the story of the Seven Jilas – which is known as the <a href="http://earthsky.org/favorite-star-patterns/pleiades-star-cluster-enjoys-worldwide-renown">Seven Sisters</a> (Pleaides) in western astronomy.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83646/original/image-20150602-6997-1c2e46c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83646/original/image-20150602-6997-1c2e46c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83646/original/image-20150602-6997-1c2e46c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83646/original/image-20150602-6997-1c2e46c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=432&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83646/original/image-20150602-6997-1c2e46c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83646/original/image-20150602-6997-1c2e46c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83646/original/image-20150602-6997-1c2e46c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=543&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Pleiades star cluster – the Seven Jilas or Seven Sisters.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NASA, ESA, AURA/Caltech, Palomar Observatory.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We journeyed home the next day, inspired by what we had experienced.</p>
<h2>Indigenous art and astrophysics</h2>
<p>The dozen artists who made the trip spread the word and, within the Yamaji Art community, more than 150 new pieces of art work were produced. Some pieces showed traditional stories, some were inspired by the science or looking through telescopes for the first time, and some were an interesting fusion of ideas.</p>
<p>The art was curated into an exhibition, called <a href="http://astronomy.curtin.edu.au/ilgarijiri/index.html">Ilgarijiri – Things Belonging to the Sky</a> (you can see example pieces of art from the link), which opened at the <a href="http://artgallery.cgg.wa.gov.au/">Geraldton Regional Art Gallery</a> in 2009; more than 500 people attended the opening – their biggest event ever.</p>
<p>The exhibition toured Perth, Canberra, Cape Town, and Washington DC during 2009 and 2010. The entire inventory was sold. The artists continued to refresh the artwork and the exhibition toured again, in Den Hague (the Netherlands), Berlin, and at the EU Parliament in Brussels, in 2012.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83648/original/image-20150602-6960-dbo946.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83648/original/image-20150602-6960-dbo946.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83648/original/image-20150602-6960-dbo946.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83648/original/image-20150602-6960-dbo946.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83648/original/image-20150602-6960-dbo946.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83648/original/image-20150602-6960-dbo946.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/83648/original/image-20150602-6960-dbo946.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The Ilgarijiri exhibition on display at the EU Parliament in Brussels during 2012.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Steven Tingay</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The exhibitions have exposed many thousands of people around the world to this fusion of science and ancient culture, the artists have achieved global sales of their art, and the artists and astronomers have formed a close relationship around the ongoing project.</p>
<p>The relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures in Australia is a highly complex and charged issue, with a sad and tragic history. We all need to take steps toward reconciliation. Sometimes those steps are via unexpected channels – such as astrophysics and art.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/42607/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Steven Tingay receives funding from the Australian and Western Australian Governments. He is affiliated with the Australian Labor Party.
I acknowledge the Wadjarri Yamatji people as the traditional owners of the land on which we conducted this project and thank the Wadjarri Yamatji for permission to access country. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images of deceased persons in photographs.</span></em></p>
The night sky is part of the shared heritage of all people on Earth. A project to bring Indigenous Australians and astrophysics together reveals our common wonder at the mysteries of the universe.
Steven Tingay, Professor of Radio Astronomy, Curtin University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/27184
2014-07-10T20:15:00Z
2014-07-10T20:15:00Z
Indigenous recognition in our highest law is the right thing to do
<p>Later this year, we expect to see draft recommendations from a <a href="http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Constitutional_Recognition_of_Aboriginal_and_Torres_Strait_Islander_Peoples">parliamentary committee</a> on recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian constitution and ensuring there is no place for racial discrimination in our founding document either. </p>
<p>It’s instructive to look at how this next step forward sits in the history of other seminal moments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – and how those moments, in recognising historical truths, have helped our country to mature and heal. </p>
<p>This is not a new aspiration – many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders have been calling for constitutional recognition for decades – but the rising momentum is noteworthy. It’s heartening to see that more than 200,000 Australians are now part of the <a href="http://www.recognise.org.au/">RECOGNISE movement</a> that is building public support for a referendum to do this.</p>
<h2>Heed the lessons of history</h2>
<p>The opportunity of such a referendum does not sit alone in the course of Australian history. Other crucial steps in past decades have taken our nation along the path to a more just and reconciled future together. </p>
<p>History tells us that watershed moments take discipline, stamina, resilience and unity. <a href="http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/collections/exhibitions/dayofmourning/26jan.html">The 1938 Day of Mourning and Protest</a> – the 150th anniversary of the landing of the First Fleet – was the product of shared aspirations for equality and recognition. Aboriginal people from up and down the eastern seaboard protested in silence for justice and equality in the face of government control and policies of discrimination and exclusion. </p>
<p>Those leaders and their bravery led to conversations that paved the way for the successful <a href="http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs150.aspx">1967 referendum</a> almost three decades later. More than 90% of Australians voted Yes for Aboriginal people to be included in the census and to remove two discriminatory references from the constitution. Almost 50 years on, that referendum result remains Australia’s most successful.</p>
<p>We should remember that the process was not always supported universally. Those campaigners were sometimes subjected to ridicule and obstruction. </p>
<p>Yet their persistence achieved results that are still important today. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Section_51_of_the_Constitution_of_Australia">federal head of power</a> that they won for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is the one on which modern native title laws rely, for instance. But perhaps their greatest legacy can be found not just in the words that were changed, but in the way it brought Australians together to begin the nation-building work of forging a more united future out of the separated and searing parts of our past.</p>
<p>Look at some other touchstones: the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-07-10/yirrkala-bark-petitions-50-years-on/4809610">Yirrkala bark petitions</a> in 1963, the <a href="http://indigenousrights.net.au/land_rights/wave_hill_walk_off,_1966-75">Gurindji walk-off</a> in 1966 and the Northern Territory <a href="http://www.nlc.org.au/articles/info/aboriginal-land-rights-northern-territory-act-1976/">Land Rights Act</a> of 1976, the Royal Commission into <a href="http://www.naa.gov.au/collection/fact-sheets/fs112.aspx">Aboriginal Deaths in Custody</a> (1987) and the <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/bringing-them-home-stolen-children-report-1997">Bringing them home</a> report on the Stolen Generations (1997). Each played a moral and important role in the slow but crucial healing of relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.</p>
<p>In 1992 and 1996, the <a href="http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/AboriginalLawB/1992/32.html">Mabo</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wik_Peoples_v_Queensland">Wik</a> judgments were handed down. I remember the profound relief of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and of many other Australians in those moments. </p>
<p>I can also recall the hype and hysteria from a few loud voices at the time. Some said recognising native title would lead to people losing their backyards; that native title would ruin the mining and pastoral industries and Australia would become a nation divided. All of those fears were unfounded. </p>
<p>More than 20 years on, almost 900 <a href="http://www.nntt.gov.au/Indigenous-Land-Use-Agreements/Pages/default.aspx">Indigenous land use agreements</a> have been registered and the sky has not fallen in. As Professor Patrick Dodson <a href="http://www.reconciliation.org.au/nrw/event/2014-lowitja-odonoghue-oration-by-professor-patrick-dodson/">noted</a> in his Lowitja O’Donoghue Oration in May, the mining and pastoral industries, two of the most vocal opponents of native title, are now among the biggest advocates of reconciliation. Such advances make us a better and stronger nation.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ouVodUzysXc?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/our-people/apology-to-australias-indigenous-peoples">The 2008 Apology</a> by then-prime minister Kevin Rudd was another momentous event. Our parliament finally acknowledged that past policies of forced removal of generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children systematically cut at the ties that Indigenous people have to a homeland and a people. It brought Australians together once more in relief that a truth of our past had been spoken.</p>
<p>These campaigns have a history for us all. They are part of our national story and the people involved deserve our gratitude and thanks.</p>
<h2>Heal old wounds, build a better future</h2>
<p>Each result, while it hasn’t achieved everything for everyone, has helped us all understand our past a little better, so we can create a better future together. </p>
<p>Fixing the Constitution will do this too. It will go some way to healing old wounds, helping us to repair some of the damage caused by past policies of exclusion and discrimination.</p>
<p>Furthermore, it places the power in the hands of the people. Referendum campaigns are not decided by what politicians want. Active participation must come from every Australian.</p>
<p>We cannot be complacent about this; we all have a role to play. There is a risk of failure. If we want a better future for our own country, it’s up to us to make it happen. </p>
<p>When the Apology was delivered, some naysayers derided it as mere symbolism. Some said it wouldn’t change a thing; wouldn’t educate a single child; wouldn’t create a single job and wouldn’t improve health, life expectancy and living standards. They argued that money could be better spent elsewhere, focusing on closing the gap in health, education and life expectancy. </p>
<p>But symbols and practical efforts are two sides of the same coin. One reinforces the other.</p>
<p>All of them are essential to a more inclusive future. As Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner in 2006, I was one of the leaders in setting up the <a href="http://www.naccho.org.au/aboriginal-health/close-the-gap-campaign/">Close the Gap</a> initiative. It remains a priority for me, as it should for every Australian, to see our countrymen and women share in the promise of full citizenship.</p>
<h2>Goals of reconciliation are intertwined</h2>
<p>All these goals are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they are deeply interconnected. Medical authorities including the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association, the Australian Medical Association, the Australian Psychological Society and the Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association all say constitutional recognition and the removal of racial discrimination from our highest law would help to improve the health and well-being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.vichealth.vic.gov.au/%7E/media/ResourceCentre/PublicationsandResources/Discrimination/Mental%20health%20impacts_racial%20discrim_Indigenous.ashx">One recent study</a> surveyed 755 Aboriginal people from Victoria and found 97% of respondents had experienced at least one racist incident in the past 12 months. One in two participants and two-thirds of those exposed to 12 or more incidents reported experiencing high or very high levels of psychological distress. </p>
<p>This view from the front line of community health is exemplified in a powerful piece for the Medical Journal of Australia. Tammy Kimpton <a href="https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2014/200/11/racism-health-and-constitutional-recognition">wrote</a> that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Recognising our rightful place as First Nations people in the constitution lays a strong foundation for the health, well-being and unity of all Australians. While it will not wash away the grave injustices of the past, with such recognition there is capacity to heal the deep wounds that affect health outcomes and continue to weigh heavily on Australia as a nation.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I see both the symbolic and the practical as imperative for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the Australian nation as a whole to make progress. </p>
<p>We can learn from our history on this journey. Like Mabo and the 1967 referendum, there is nothing to fear here. This next step is for our constitution to recognise a simple truth – someone was here – and to ensure that racial discrimination has no place in our nation’s highest law. </p>
<p>Let’s make history by fixing our constitution to reflect our long history in this land and remove the discriminatory elements of it for all time. </p>
<p>This movement reflects our country’s growing desire for the rightful recognition of our first peoples; for a national moment that is unifying and meaningful; and for the next step towards a more reconciled future.</p>
<p>Above all, it’s just the right thing to do. Happy <a href="http://www.naidoc.org.au/">NAIDOC Week</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>NITV’s Awaken show broadcast a panel discussion last month on on what progress has been made to advance the discussion on constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians. The Awaken: Constitutional Recognition special can be <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/256069187571/Awaken">viewed here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/27184/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tom Calma is co-chair of Reconciliation Australia.</span></em></p>
Later this year, we expect to see draft recommendations from a parliamentary committee on recognising Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian constitution and ensuring there is…
Tom Calma, Chancellor, University of Canberra
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/28886
2014-07-09T01:01:56Z
2014-07-09T01:01:56Z
Indigenous identity is settled and must be seen as a positive
<p><a href="http://www.naidoc.org.au/">NAIDOC Week</a> is a time to celebrate many things as blackfellas and as the First Peoples of Australia. This is also a week of reflection. It is a week to reflect on our collective resilience; a time to be who we are as First Peoples and as Australians.</p>
<p>Prime minister Tony Abbott’s <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/07/04/abbott-slammed-saying-australia-unsettled-british-colonisation">recent remark</a> that before colonisation our nations were “unsettled” stands as a testament to the very resilience NAIDOC Week seeks to celebrate. The rejection of the doctrine of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_nullius#History_in_Australia">terra nullius</a> by the High Court in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/advocates-or-activists-what-can-lawyers-learn-from-mabo-7443">Mabo decision</a> declared that prior to 1788 the continent was indeed inhabited and therefore recognised our laws, customs and nations.</p>
<p>That is settled. It is unsettling that our prime minister is unaware of the impacts of his words on other Australians who believe in the supremacy of whiteness in our colonisation process and that life in Australia <a href="https://theconversation.com/australia-day-nationalism-walks-in-the-footsteps-of-ugly-precedents-21951">began in 1788</a>. </p>
<p>Long before 1788, our nations have been connected to our places since time immemorial: that is settled. Since 1788 our nations remain connected to our places in the face of previous attempts by settlers to deny who we are and our connection to our places: that is settled. Our identities as cultural collectives and as individual blackfellas is solid: that is settled.</p>
<p>Non-Indigenous Australians deciding who we are is long gone: that is settled. What is “unsettling” about Abbott’s comments is his unwillingness to accept that our nations, our histories, our cultures, our stories and our families and communities are no longer interested in his particular view of Australia’s narrative. We know who we are and where we are from.</p>
<h2>Blackfellas know who they are</h2>
<p>The interesting thing for us about discussions about identity of blackfellas by blackfellas is that it is now a time of reconnecting to each other and to our places. It is accepted that every blackfella, irrespective of skin colour, place of residence or cultural identity, has their own unique voice and unique story. Each story is told openly and passionately in the hope and expectation that our stories do not require legitimisation but will be embraced rather than disparaged. </p>
<p>We do not need to prove anything to anyone outside of our families and communities about who we are. We are obligated as blackfellas to connect us back together. We have the collective knowledge to work out who we are and where we are from by living it, listening and knowing and connecting those of us that, through no fault of their own, do not currently possess the knowledge to find their place.</p>
<p>As a western-trained lawyer, I (Mark McMillan) know that there is a legal test for <a href="http://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/36-kinship-and-identity/legal-definitions-aboriginality">“Aboriginality”</a> developed by non-Indigenous people to classify and label me and every other blackfella. I have fulfilled those requirements at law because the Federal Court of Australia has said so. So I am a court-ruled Aborigine. </p>
<h2>Identity is a source of strength</h2>
<p>That does not make me “black”. Nor does that “legal” test make anyone a blackfella. What makes me black and gives me that identity as a <a href="http://www.wiradjuricondocorp.com/wiradjuri-study-centre-wsc/">Wiradjuri</a> man is my family, my community and the Wiradjuri nation.</p>
<p>I am comfortable being labelled by settler law (as an Aborigine) as it matters not one iota to my family or community that non-Indigenous people can recognise me as the other, the Aborigine. What matters to my family and nation is that I am “them” and I live their values and aspirations and that I take my Wiradjuriness seriously and responsibly. </p>
<p>That is the identity worth celebrating. We cannot for the life of us see the problem with Indigenous identity.</p>
<p>Indigenous identity is a positive way of strengthening our nations and their structures. We hold those rights to strengthen our nations because we <em>are</em> blackfellas, not because non-Indigenous people say we can. They are our rights as Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/un-declaration-rights-indigenous-peoples-1">Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples</a> clearly states this is so. This is a time of rebuilding and affirmation. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>Dr Mark McMillan joined a guest panel to discuss what it means to be Aboriginal in Australia in front of a studio audience at the Sydney Opera House. NITV screens the event as a <a href="http://www.nitv.org.au/fx-program.cfm?pid=283C1AEE-A5DB-519E-331EEB442B63762E&pgid=969A8100-00B3-A30B-FF0FBA518B60F13A">NAIDOC Awaken Identity Special</a> at 8.30 tonight (Channel 34 free to air and Channel 144 Foxtel).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28886/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr Mark McMillan is a Wiradjuri man from Trangie and a board member of the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples and the Trangie Local Aboriginal Land Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter West does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
NAIDOC Week is a time to celebrate many things as blackfellas and as the First Peoples of Australia. This is also a week of reflection. It is a week to reflect on our collective resilience; a time to be…
Mark McMillan, Senior Lecturer, Melbourne Law School, The University of Melbourne
Peter West, Lecturer, Media and Communications , RMIT University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/28274
2014-07-08T01:30:32Z
2014-07-08T01:30:32Z
Finding that first job is hard, and cultural hurdles make it extra hard
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/52991/original/zx3jxkkm-1404439531.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">With mentoring and industry traineeships, young Indigenous people are making their way into steady employment.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/sydneyalliance/pages/72/attachments/original/1394596303/DSC_2812b.JPG?1394596303">WorkingStart!</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A few years ago in a quiet corner of Sydney’s <a href="http://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/explore/facilities/community-centres/redfern-community-centre">Redfern Community Centre</a>, I interviewed a young Aboriginal man, Scott, about his life for a research project. Like many of his contemporaries he grew up in a home without a father and with a mother who had struggled to keep him in check.</p>
<p>Scott was a bright kid but left school early – hardly any Koori boys made it past year 10. He spent much of his childhood moving between Redfern, Mt Druitt and “up home”, his people’s traditional country on the north coast of NSW. So when Scott finally settled and tried to get work, he wasn’t really qualified for anything.</p>
<p>Scott’s family had first moved to the city in the 1970s during the great wave of urban Aboriginal settlement that followed the <a href="http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/chresearch/ReserveStation.htm">closure of government reserves</a>.</p>
<p>The tragedy was that this demographic shift corresponded with the world economic recession, which killed off many of the city jobs in which Aboriginal men might hope to be employed – manual labour, trades, waterfront work, railway workshops, manufacturing.</p>
<p>For Aboriginal women, the move was less traumatic. Urban housing, even in rundown inner-city terraces, freed them from the struggles of raising families in improvised substandard housing on riverbank camp or reserves. They have been the mainstays of community and family life.</p>
<p>Scott’s father was unable to cope with the move. He was often away chasing bits of farmwork in the bush until he eventually disappeared.</p>
<h2>A generation short of mentors</h2>
<p>Scott was part of a generation of Aboriginal youth who grew up without fathers around and with few role models for steady wage labour. The lucky ones were shepherded through the turbulence of youth by uncles or older siblings and cousins. Many others suffered <a href="https://theconversation.com/bad-news-negative-indigenous-health-coverage-reinforces-stigma-24851">addiction, prison or early death</a>.</p>
<p>Those who survived into their mid-to-late 20s would then try to find stability through employment but were handicapped by lack of qualifications and work experience.</p>
<p>The Aboriginal population has low life expectancy, drug and alcohol problems and high levels of exposure to the criminal justice system. This means that the sorts of catastrophe that rarely afflict non-indigenous middle-class families are disturbingly frequent for Aboriginal people.</p>
<p>This creates a level of precariousness that makes commitment to long-term steady work, the hallmark of a respectable conformist citizenship, particularly hard to manage. Young people are often reluctant to communicate the details of these crises, especially to employers, partly because they are often <a href="http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-1-4614-1403-2_12">a source of shame</a>.</p>
<p>This does not just affect wage labour, but also other forms of commitment that require time discipline and punctuality: such as study, meeting people in official roles, or participating in government or community organisations.</p>
<p>It is important to understand stories like Scott’s in order to address the chronic failure of governments to <a href="https://theconversation.com/closing-the-gap-or-making-it-wider-putting-a-value-on-indigenous-jobs-7022">“close the gap”</a> between indigenous and non-indigenous Australia, as measured in statistics like unemployment and education attainment rates. </p>
<p>The recognition that many indigenous youth, especially boys, have experienced a “paternity deficit” suggests they might require additional mentoring and support to assist them to enter and remain in the workforce.</p>
<h2>Bridging gaps in understanding and expectations</h2>
<p>This is the motivation for the <a href="http://www.sydneyalliance.org.au/workingstart">WorkingStart! program</a> initiated by the <a href="http://www.sydneyalliance.org.au/about_us">Sydney Alliance</a>, which has provided support to a modest number of Aboriginal youth. The program provides for limited public funding for employment support workers to liaise with employers to ensure they understand the challenges facing their young Aboriginal employees.</p>
<p>A pilot has been established in Sydney’s Glebe. Mirvac (which is redeveloping the <a href="http://haroldparkbymirvac.com/">Harold Park site</a>) is providing indigenous traineeships in the building trades.</p>
<p>Many Aboriginal youth are not what employers would usually call “dependable”. They are prone to turning up late or not at all, and leaving work early with little warning. Some are called away to meet family obligations. The Working Start program recognises that what is frequently seen as lack of reliability is the product of complex social forces.</p>
<p>Additionally, for those in their late teens or early twenties, the call of the street, and the “trouble” that often comes with this, is hard to resist. Their friends will often evolve subcultural responses to long-term unemployment, prioritising hanging with the crowd over employment or the search for employment (despite feeling the blowtorch of <a href="https://theconversation.com/unfinished-business-reducing-indigenous-incarceration-17227">“zero tolerance” policing</a> in deprived neighbourhoods). The process of breaking free of these influences can be long and complicated.</p>
<p>Conventional employment relations do little to enhance the prospects of Aboriginal people. For most, an early exit from formal education means they are only qualified to perform unskilled casual jobs.</p>
<p>As one 30-year-old, who had lived in Redfern Waterloo, said to me:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m over all this casual work; give me a steady job and I’ll be there.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But being there and staying there often requires more than commitment; it requires structures of support that most employers are disinclined to provide.</p>
<h2>With political will, there’s a way</h2>
<p>The WorkingStart! model offers hope to Aboriginal youth. The program is now being extended to other areas of Sydney – Blacktown and Granville – to assist youth from other disadvantaged backgrounds who experience comparable problems.</p>
<p>However, such programs <a href="http://www.sydneyalliance.org.au/workingstart_faqs">require solid public funding</a>. For every dollar that governments spend, the public purse will be more than compensated by the lower costs associated with policing, health and social welfare services.</p>
<p>With greater funding support from governments, programs like WorkingStart! would be able to move from crisis management to encouraging resilience and self-sufficiency. For people like Scott and his friends, that is life-changing.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28274/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>George Morgan was engaged by the Sydney Alliance to evaluate the results of its WorkingStart! program.</span></em></p>
A few years ago in a quiet corner of Sydney’s Redfern Community Centre, I interviewed a young Aboriginal man, Scott, about his life for a research project. Like many of his contemporaries he grew up in…
George Morgan, Senior Lecturer, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/28838
2014-07-07T02:00:39Z
2014-07-07T02:00:39Z
NAIDOC Week: a time to be proud and celebrate, but also to reflect
<p>Within Aboriginal Australia there is currently much to celebrate. We have several prominent <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indigenous_Australians_in_politics_and_public_service">Aboriginal politicians</a>, an <a href="http://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/honour-roll/?view=fullView&recipientID=1144">Australian of the Year</a> who is Aboriginal (Adam Goodes), people <a href="http://caepr.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/Publications/WP/WP89LahnWeb.pdf">employed in prestigious occupations</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indigenous_Australian_sportspeople">great sportspeople</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indigenous_Australian_musicians">many talented</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indigenous_Australian_performing_artists">entertainers</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australian_art#Contemporary_Indigenous_art">artists</a>. They are all outstanding contributors to making Australia a great nation.</p>
<p>Mostly, however, their successes have been achieved by playing by the same rules as most other Australians who have achieved success: do not isolate yourself from society; offer others respect and treat them as equals; engage in learning (whether it be formal or informal); make valuable contributions to the community in which you live; aspire to be a role model for others; and adhere to a personal moral code. Our young Aboriginal people have no shortage of excellent Aboriginal role models to inspire them.</p>
<p>Being <a href="http://www.naidoc.org.au/">NAIDOC Week</a>, it is appropriate to reflect on Aboriginal matters such as achievements, health and well-being, reconciliation and progress towards closing the gap. While it is important to recognise and celebrate the successes, we need to be aware of those matters which, though important, many are reluctant to discuss. </p>
<p>Two such issues that are little-discussed are violence and sexual abuse within Aboriginal communities. Although these problems are over-represented in the Aboriginal population, they are often not discussed as openly as they could be.</p>
<h2>An epidemic of sexual abuse</h2>
<p>The Australian newspaper recently featured a <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/crisis-as-sex-abuse-epidemic-hits-cape/story-e6frg6nf-1226969562240">story about the epidemic of sexual abuse</a> in North Queensland. Shocking statistics were presented – a repeat of what we have been hearing for many years in Aboriginal communities throughout the country. But despite many reports over the years, the problem continues.</p>
<p>Why? Several reasons contribute to this state. Firstly, treating Aboriginal people as if they are separate from their fellow Australians and somehow more special than other citizens is certainly a major contributing factor. These people (which includes children) are Australian citizens. They are therefore entitled to the same rights and standards of care as non-Aboriginal Australians.</p>
<p>Secondly, claims from those believing in a romanticised Aboriginal culture that the abuse is non-existent, or at least no worse than that experienced in the general population, further ensure that this problem of abuse continues.</p>
<p>Finally, claims that exposing the abuse stigmatises communities are pathetic. This only creates a haven for the perpetrators. On the contrary, much like the problem of <a href="https://theconversation.com/diabetes-among-indigenous-australians-at-crisis-point-10644">high rates of diabetes</a> among Aboriginal people, discussing it does not stigmatise anyone but only creates awareness so that the problem can be tackled.</p>
<h2>Communities torn by violence</h2>
<p>Much of the above about sexual abuse applies also to the problem of physical violence. Northern Territory politician and Aboriginal leader Bess Price (a tireless campaigner against violence) <a href="http://www.alicespringsnews.com.au/2014/05/01/my-sister-was-killed-allegedly-in-an-alcohol-fueled-incident/">recently said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Violence of any type is an issue that we as a community cannot remain silent about. It is a conversation we must have, for the sake of our families, friends and colleagues.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Although this statement was made after the murder of her sister, where the accused herself is Aboriginal, it is a message Bess has been delivering for a long time. It is a message that has not made her popular with many, but a message she knows must be delivered.</p>
<p>In case some think that the story in The Australian was cherry-picking statistics, consider that senator Nova Peris has been <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/nova-peris-pushes-ama-to-campaign-on-alcoholrelated-domestic-violence/story-fn59niix-1226845912107">reported as saying</a> that in the Northern Territory, an Aboriginal woman is 80 times more likely than other Territorians to be hospitalised for assault. A <a href="http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/current%20series/rpp/100-120/rpp105.html">2010 report by the Institute of Criminology</a> notes that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Indigenous people are 15 to 20 times more likely than non-Indigenous people to commit violent offences.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Given victims’ real fears of payback, being ostracised, not being taken seriously and being ridiculed in court under cross-examination, I believe the full extent of the problem is larger than what is presented in these statistics.</p>
<h2>These problems are everyone’s business</h2>
<p>These are serious problems within Aboriginal communities – and are occurring far more frequently than in the wider community. The good news is that a critical mass of people, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, has had enough. They have made their concerns known and are acting.</p>
<p>As a nation we have made great strides in helping Aboriginal people achieve a quality of life equal to that of the general population, as evidenced by the many thousands who are not only surviving, but thriving and leading. Let’s continue. </p>
<p>But to continue, we must acknowledge the good, the bad and the ugly. Aboriginal Australians are Australians first and Aboriginal second. Therefore the problems facing them are, quite simply, everyone’s business.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/28838/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anthony Dillon does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Within Aboriginal Australia there is currently much to celebrate. We have several prominent Aboriginal politicians, an Australian of the Year who is Aboriginal (Adam Goodes), people employed in prestigious…
Anthony Dillon, Lecturer, Faculty of Health Sciences, Australian Catholic University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.
tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/14001
2013-07-12T23:04:08Z
2013-07-12T23:04:08Z
After a decade of new dawns, Indigenous policy vision burns out
<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/26358/original/cqtcxdnz-1372379347.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=4%2C0%2C995%2C664&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Stolen Generation apology represented a highwater mark for Indigenous policy, but silence has settled on this policy area.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Five years ago, prime minister Kevin Rudd took to the nation’s driving seat with the historic Stolen Generation <a href="http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/our-country/our-people/apology-to-australias-indigenous-peoples">apology</a>. </p>
<p>With the theme of this year’s NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee) Week the <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/federal-election-2013/yirrkala-remembers-bark-petitions-20130710-2pqfx.html">50th anniversary</a> of the presentation of the Yirrkala Bark Petitions to federal parliament, there is renewed focus on relationships with indigenous Australia. But how far have we really come in this difficult policy area?</p>
<p>And as Rudd takes the wheel once more, what moves will he and the government make in a policy area that has been strangely quiet?</p>
<p>Other than the past week, the lead-up to the federal election has seen a dearth of Indigenous policy proclamations, and in May the budget made no significant changes to Indigenous policy funding. This is all in marked contrast to previous years’ rhetoric over the <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1658795/Factbox-The-Stronger-Futures-legislation">Northern Territory intervention</a>, apology and <a href="http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/our-responsibilities/indigenous-australians/programs-services/closing-the-gap">Closing the Gap</a>.</p>
<p>Is the current silence due to bipartisanship on basic issues of social policy and political recognition? Perhaps it is, but there has been substantive bipartisanship for many years on Indigenous policies like the intervention. Today’s silence reflects a deeper exhaustion after too many cycles of crisis and reform.</p>
<h2>The long decade of Indigenous policy</h2>
<p>The first of many changes to recent Aboriginal policy began when John Howard abolished the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission in April 2004. At the time, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2005/s1380199.htm">he declared</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>I’m not going to talk about new dawns in reconciliation. We’ve had too many false dawns in the past and these approaches are always doomed to produce disappointment.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But within a year, the Coalition government had initiated a “quiet revolution”, telling us that Aboriginal people were enjoying their first taste of governments listening to them. The policy was <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/social-justice-report-2005-fact-sheet-2-shared-responsibility-agreements">Shared Responsibility Agreements</a> (SRAs), where Indigenous communities would volunteer to participate in governance and health initiatives in return for one-off funding for minor community projects.</p>
<p>As dismal reviews started to pile up in 2006, the government quietly ditched SRAs. But there was no new model waiting to go – the vision of self-determination was discredited and the representative infrastructure of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) was long gone. In the vacuum, the Howard government declared the most radical new dawn of all – the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER).</p>
<p>Whether in an effort to avoid being wedged, or in genuine agreement, the Labor opposition supported the NTER. When it arrived in power originally, the Rudd government continued the intervention, but sought to water down its divisive political rhetoric. It further offset this exclusionary policy by offering the long-awaited government apology to the Stolen Generations.</p>
<h2>Where are we now?</h2>
<p>Under the label of “Stronger Futures”, the former Gillard government extended the basic elements of the NT intervention but left behind the political rhetoric. But without this political drive to “fix” remote Aboriginal communities - however objectionable many found it - the intervention doesn’t really make sense. It is a piecemeal set of paternalistic restrictions and administrative reforms that is only held together by the political vision of turning Indigenous communities into “normal suburbs”.</p>
<p>Indigenous policy under Labor has revolved more and more around the catchphrase of “Closing the Gap” in Indigenous disadvantage. But this is a performance measurement rather a policy vision. Closing the Gap tells us that inequality is bad – an uncontroversial proposition – but not where this inequality came from or how we might change it. </p>
<p>To answer these questions, the government has relied on well-worn ideas of Aboriginal dysfunction. Julia Gillard <a href="http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/gap-wont-close-if-you-dont-act-julia-gillard/story-fn59niix-1226003313411">told us</a> that she saw Closing the Gap as:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>…a call for changes in behaviour…to take care of your children. To take a job when you find one…To send your kids to school, pay your rent, save up for a home. To respect good social norms and to respect the law. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This can no longer be framed as fresh thinking or the shattering of a politically correct silence. It has simply become the new standard line - and there are no indications that Rudd has a fresh take.</p>
<p>In a recent edition of <a href="http://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2013/march/1362349246/judith-brett/taxing-year">The Monthly</a>, Judith Brett suggests that the broader poverty of current Australian political debate is due to the absence of a new vision: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Today’s politicians, like generals fighting the last war, are still clinging to the neoliberal verities that served them so well in the past decades; they are applying yesterday’s solutions to today’s problems.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The same might be said of Indigenous policy.</p>
<h2>Policy is politics</h2>
<p>An example of the government’s fragmented policy narrative is the way it’s pursuing constitutional recognition of Indigenous culture and history, while its social policy is telling Aboriginal people how to behave. But even if Indigenous cultures are recognised, will this change the way the government works with communities, or how it makes policy that affects those cultures? There is a disconnect between policy and politics, but in this area the two cannot be productively separated.</p>
<p>Federal Indigenous policymakers carry a double burden. They grapple with levels of disadvantage beyond those in any other area of policy. And the way they deal with Indigenous issues reflects on who we are as a nation.</p>
<p>Maybe too much vision can be a problem – often Indigenous issues have become a political football used to score party political points. But we cannot escape the fact that Indigenous policy narratives tell a deeper story about the Australian political community. And if you don’t have a story to tell, then this confusion becomes the story itself. At the moment both our political parties are only tinkering at the edges of an unsatisfactory status quo.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/14001/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Elizabeth Strakosch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>
Five years ago, prime minister Kevin Rudd took to the nation’s driving seat with the historic Stolen Generation apology. With the theme of this year’s NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance…
Elizabeth Strakosch, Career Development Fellow (Research), Western Sydney University
Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.