#Indigenous Australians

[aceoffangirls]

Really disappointed in my country rn. Australia likes to act like its better than the rest of the world sometimes, compare ourselves to the shit politics in countries like the USA and UK but we are not. Australia is a very racist country, a lot of may not see but the truth came out during this referendum. My heart goes out to all First Nations Australians, you should not have to put up this.

There are some reminders for everyone:

Australia was only colonised in 1788 and we only became one nation in 1901. The First Nations people of Australia have been here for over 65,000 years. They have been here longer than some of the great wonders of the world like the pyramids.

The First Nations people of Australia where not included in the census and be counted in the constitution in 1967

The Stolen Generation only ended around 1969 with the continuing impacts being felt today.

The government only apologised for their actions in 2008

We continue to not listen to the First Nations people and destroy their sacred sites,

[brexiiton]

King Charles heckled by Senator Lidia Thorpe in Parliament house while visiting Australia.

[stormbornwitch]

Connecting with the Land ~ Australia

Most of the folklore about witches and the practice of witchcraft originates from Europe.

The idea of 'witchcraft' wasn't a thing here in Australia until Europeans brought it with them. However, Indigenous Australians (as far as my research and interviews with elders have gone) follow what Western society would describe as 'animist beliefs' and 'magic rituals' were common practices.

Modern perceptions of animism, particularly in the Western World, are quite negative and viewed as "something hippies believe in." This perception is primarily caused by ingrained racist ideologies stemming from a colonial past (i.e., in order to justify subjugating people, you have to believe you're better than them) which perpetuated beliefs in colonised countries of the "primitive savage" and the "enlightened colonist." That's also not even mentioning the demonising of indigenous beliefs by missionaries of Christianity...

I find it ironic that in Eastern countries like Japan, where Christianity was not historically allowed to spread (banned in 1580s and hundreds of Christians were cruicified), animist beliefs like Shinto are now seen (in the Western world) as cool and mystical, and all the tourists want to visit the shrines of local spirits when they visit...

I'm getting off track, but hopefully you see my point: it is really hard to connect with a land on a spiritual level that is not yours, and was stolen from its traditional custodians on both a physical and spiritual level. I was born here in Australia, and so were my parents, but my ancestry is Scottish and British. I feel torn between two worlds that are so dichotomous from one another...

So, how do I connect with the spirits of the land?

Slowly, and with permission and guidance from local elders because there is a disconnect. I don't speak the language of the land and The Dreaming or 'spirit world' that accompanies our physical one. It doesn't help that much of the local language of the Gubbi Gubbi was lost due to the Stolen Generations, but there are general rules of thumb to follow when working with the Land:

We are a part of the land, and the land is a part of us. We are born from it, and so like our mother, we must care for and protect it. If you take care of the land, the land will take care of you.

Everything is about balance - never take more than you need and always give back what you can to ensure that the land is cared for for the next generation.

Ask first. Everything has a spirit, and you must ask before you take anything (I.e. like a branch from a tree). Thank the spirit for its gift / sacrifice (especially important if you have killed something).

Our ancestors watch over us our whole lives both from The Dreaming and in the physical world in the form of a totem (normally a whole family is represented by one animal). They are our guide, and your family must never hunt/eat your family's totem animal. It is your job to protect that species.

Many of the local landmasses and animals are represented by powerful ancestor spirits or creator spirits. Mooroo-kutchi (meaning red-bill, the name of the spirit of the black swan and an aboriginal girl from The Dreaming who transformed into a black swan searching for the spirit of her beloved Coolum who was killed by Ninderry.)

Smoking ceremonies are usually conducted as part of a 'Welcome to Country'. Each mob has their own traditional plant they use for cleansing the area of bad spirits and promoting healing and protection of visitors, but most use a species of eucalyptus or gum. The ceremony invites you onto the physical land as a guest and asks the ancestor spirits of that mob to watch over and protect you while you're there.

Corroboree (storytelling gathering) ~ knowledge of the land and its spirits are told through song lines and dances, and using the traditional language helps to connect better with these spirits.

Thank you to the local Aunties and Uncles for teaching me these and so much more over the years!

*'Uncle' or 'Aunty' does not mean we're related. Here, it is used as a sign of respect that recognises the age, wisdom, and knowledge of aboriginal elders. Though it's recommended that non-Aboriginal people ask the elder how they would like to be referred to as normally, it's not considered appropriate to refer to them as such unless a strong relationship has been established.

[victusinveritas]

George Hairbrush Tjungurrayi aka George Tjungurrayi aka George Ward Tjungurrayi (Australian-Aboriginal, b. 1947, near Kiwirrkurra in the Gibson Desert, Western Australia, Australia) - Untitled, 2020, Paintings: Acrylic on Belgian Linen

[claraameliapond]

PSA : THE INDIGENOUS VOICE REFERENDUM 14th October 2023

The Yes Vote is literally just giving indigenous Australians A SEAT AT THE TABLE to give information and advice about issues and governmental decisions that affect them.

Indigenous information and advice for indigenous issues from indigenous Australians.

That's it . It's acknowledging their existence as the first peoples of Australia and recognising that they have valuable information to contribute about their cultures, the ways they live, what their most pressing needs are and the best ways in which to help, to enable governments to effectively help them.

The government already provides "help" each year, in an effort to close the gap on education access, healthcare access, and many other pressing needs - they are already using taxpayer money to do this but crucially, these efforts have not been successful because we are missing out on crucial information.

The Voice to Parliament gives the government access to invaluable information that enables it to create and better implement aid, education, healthcare , equal opportunity.

I have been very actively involved in many Reconciliaton efforts for the vast majority of my life -

At 16 I travelled to some of the indigenous rural communities in Australia, met elders and individuals no tourist has access to meet, learnt from them, and saw what was there.

I saw the attempts, the efforts to provide access to Western education, that the rest of the country has, to provide healthcare, housing etc.

They don't work

They are based on western ways of life, ideas of community and interaction.

It's not the same.

They don't work.

Fundamentally because even if well intentioned, your efforts to help can actually harm if you don't have access to crucial information about how indigenous communities live.

We need to accommodate our help, our efforts, our aid to the specific needs and ways of life, values and dynamics of the many indigenous communities, especially rural, that exist across Australia, so that they have access to the same human rights we all do.

The human right to healthcare and education that we all have- it's not accessible in the same ways for indigenous communities.

It's provided, but on western terms- with the western expectation that children will leave their families for 6 months at a time and travel extremely far away to attend school, for example.

This is so backwards and outdated even for western sensibilities, and an incredibly outdated mode of education that is unhealthy emotionally for any child, let alone vulnerable people who have to choose between a western run school and their culture, their families - literally being a part of their community, a present member.

There are better ways to provide access to education than this. Ways that don't disrupt their connection to community, land and culture.

And the best people to ask, to provide information that can properly inform us about these issues, and how best to navigate them, fix them, are the the indigenous Australians themselves- they are the experts.

So that our aid and help and efforts actually do - help. Actually work.

The funds are going there anyway. So we need to put it to use in effective ways.

What we have now doesn't work.

We can only make it better.

Please Vote YES for The Indigenous Voice to Parliament

It is the beginning of lasting, effective positive change for vulnerable communities, and for us all.

[areawest]

What is there to even do in Australia? lol. Waste of space. We should put a Walmart there

yeah haha it sure is strange that australia is so empty!!!

[jeannepompadour]

Gwion Gwion figures wearing ornate costumes, Indigenous Australian rock paintings from the Kimberley region, West Australia

[churropussy]

This is so badass. I’ve seen some elders say they disapprove because they think it was too aggressive and might turn more people against indigenous people but fuck, this is powerful. This country is racist af anyway so fuck them.

[chernayawidow]

Indigenous Australians ARE BLACK. I’ve just come from tiktok after seeing lots of Americans say that First Nation people are not black. THERE ARE OTHER PLACES AND CULTURES IN THE WORLD OUTSIDE OF THE USA.

I myself am white, so if any Indigenous Australians are uncomfortable with me saying any of this please let me know and I’ll take it down. Or if any terms/information needs correction please please please let me know.

I have friends who are light skinned Indigenous and they should NOT have to defend their heritage against a country of ignorant fools. My primary example is Malakai and Missy from Heartbreak High, an AUSTRALIAN show, who are having their heritage erased because they’re not “black enough”. How the fuck are people saying that in 2023?

If your country cared enough to acknowledge the existence of others in the world, you would know that Indigenous Australians were subjected to the Stolen Generation. What’s that, you ask? Where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were stolen from their families by governments, churches and welfare bodies to be raised in institutions, fostered out or adopted by non-Indigenous families, as a way of white washing them and erasing their culture and heritage.

TW: Racism, Death/Murder, Abuse - sexual and physical - (not graphic but mentioned)

They were abused, killed and raped by white people, as well as being forced to have their children as a way of “breeding out the black”. So when you guys say “they’re not black enough”, it’s one of the most disgusting and insensitive things you can say. The amount of pain Indigenous Australians have suffered is astounding, and they’re finally getting some on-screen representation. But here come you Americans, just shitting all over them. African American representation is extremely low, now guess what? Indigenous Australian representation is even lower. To the point where you guys don’t even know they exist.

To this day, they experience systemic racism at the hands of government, and especially the police. Not only that, but Australia is still fighting to change the date of “Australia Day” so that it doesn’t fall on Invasion Day. They’re trying to reclaim land that is rightfully theirs, as well as protect and maintain the preservation of what little history they have left. So before you go shitting on the oldest and longest running Indigenous culture in the world, do your fucking research.

[dwellerinthelibrary]

The Gadigal people are the traditional custodians of the land Sydney University and the Chau Chak Wing Museum are built on.

[tenth-sentence]

The local people soaked the seeds overnight to leach a toxin, but Burke and Wills ignored this process and suffered because of it.

"Country: Future Fire, Future Farming" - Bill Gammage and Bruce Pascoe

[frostbytemyrik]

Land back is literally Nazi 'blood and soil' ideology. The idea that a certain people have a unique connection to the land of a certain region and are the only rightful rulers of it. Every group of 'indigenous' people killed or forced some other group of people off of that land they're on before they took over it. Everyone is a colonizer if you go back far enough. It's totally incoherent.

Posting this publicly so other people can see this too to confirm I'm not just going completely mad. Are y'all seeing this? Did someone really just roll up to my inbox and claim the Land Back movement is comparable to Nazi ideology? Am I making up this clownery?

Anyway, cite your sources. EVERY group is a bold claim. And even then, that doesn't excuse the atrocities committed unto them by the European colonizers, nor the devastation that said colonizers continue to bring upon the planet and Her people.

From an ecological standpoint, stewardship is crucial to many environments. Native humans have tended to the land, and when colonizers "settled" it, they disregarded any care that it may need and, through a mix of killing Natives off and forbidding them from lands they were on first, keept and still keep them from tending it and never bothered learning to tend it themselves. It's the major reason why the Australian wildfires were so devastating.

But we aren't looking at this from a purely ecological standpoint, are we? We're looking at it from a humanitarian perspective, too. When we show up where other people already are and violently remove them from where they've lived for countless generations, make them houseless, starve them, defile their sacred spaces, mass murder their main sources of food and fabric, forcibly convert them to our religions, separate them from their families, and punish them for speaking their own languages... is it right? Does the fact that some of these nations have warred with others in the past make this okay? Does that make this treatment justified? (I'd think this is a rhetorical question, but considering this anon showed up I feel the need to specify: the answer is OBVIOUSLY NOT.)

This is just the list that I, a white man in the US, came up with on the spot, and this is only about a few of the abuses committed by the US alone. There's a lot more to be added here. No people deserve such mistreatment and no people ever will.

The continued persecution of Native peoples around the world will not end until the rights to stewardship of lands they had stolen from them are acknowledged.

LAND BACK NOW

Edit: Whenever I come back to edit this, Tumblr deletes all my sources in that big block of atrocities, so I'm just posting them all here below. TW for racism, genocide, and...just about everything else.

[mengjue]

Oh what? Overwhelming remote indigenous support for the voice? The No campaign lied about that? What a shock!

And the most damning line of all:

“Those remote communities have now spoken and polling place results reveal that many wanted the Voice, and in some areas, overwhelmingly so.

The rest of Australia said no.”

I sure hope every no voter has a good fucking idea of how we’re gonna listen to these communities now that they’ve told them they don’t want to hear their voice

[aruellelite]

FUCK'S SAKE AUSTRALIA

[claraameliapond]

For Australia, 26th January is invasion day, and that's literally it.

Today is a horrifically sad day in Australian history. Invasion day.

That's literally all it is.

Please please please do not join in the chorus of racism wishing anyone a "Happy Australia day" on the 26th of January

We can, have and are moving forward together as a country,

But we cannot truly do so if a celebration of our country and identity is held on the literal anniversary of the brutal and long-standing invasion, massacre and occupation of Australian aboriginals, the first peoples of Australia.

This invasion and subsequent violent Colonisation was full of many horrors that lasted well into the late twentieth century, and the long-standing repercussions of which have lasted to this day.

The stolen generations , in which generations - multiple generations of young aboriginal children were literally stolen by white colonists from their families, sent to missions, (detention boarding "schools ") , in which they were converted to Christianity and prepared for menial jobs, punished if they ever spoke their own languages, and subsequently put into the service of white families, with the intention to be bred out, never to see their families again. Never to be educated about their home, their families, their land, their culture, their languages, their history; they are the oldest continuing culture on earth. The last of these missions were in effect until 1969. By 1969, all states had repealed the legislation that allowed the removal of Aboriginal children under the policy and guise of "protection".

The indigenous health, longevity and poverty gaps still exist. Access to medicine, medical care, healthcare, a western education, all things we deem human rights by law, are not accessible to many rural communities still. They are provided, but in western ways, on western terms, with a gap of understanding how best to implement those services for an entirely different culture , that we do not have a thorough understanding of - that was what the referendum was about: , how best to implement the funds that are already designated to provide those services, because it's not currently working or usable by those communities. Our aboriginal communities are still not treated equally, nor do they have the same access we all enjoy to things like healthcare services, medicines and western education.

It is horrific and insensitive to therefore celebrate that day as our country's day of identity, because it's literally celebrating the first day and all subsequent days of the invasion, the massacres, the stolen generations, the subjugation and mistreatment, the inequalities that still persist today. It celebrates that day, that act committed on that day, of invasion , violent brutal massacres of Aboriginal people, as a positive, 'good' thing. As something that defines Australia's identity and should define an identity to be proud of.

That's nothing to be proud of.

Our true history is barely taught in our school curriculum, in both primary and secondary school. Not even acknowledged.

It needs to be.

We cannot properly move forward as a country until that truth is understood by every Australian, with compulsory education.

January 26th is Not 'Australia day'. It's Invasion day. It's a sorrowful day of mourning.

Please do not wish anyone a "happy Australia day " today.

It's not happy and it's not Australia day.

Australia day should be at the end of Reconciliation week that is held from the 23rd May to 3rd June.

A sentiment that is about all of us coming together as a shared identity within many identities, accepting and valuing each other as equal, a day that actually acknowledges Australian aboriginal peoples as the first Australians - because they are.

This is literally about acknowledging fact - that is the truth of Australian history. Aboriginal cultures should be celebrated and embraced, learnt from, not ignored, treated as invisible and especially not desecrated by holding celebrations of national identity on anniversaries of their violent destruction.

Australian aboriginal peoples, cultures and histories, should be held up as Australia's proud identity of origins, because it literally is Australia's origins.

That's a huge, foundational integral part of our shared identity that must be celebrated and acknowledged.

Inclusivity, not offensive exclusivity. Australia day used to be on 30th July, also 28th July, among others. Australia Day on the 26th January only officially became a public holiday for all states and territories 24 years ago, in 1994. It's been changed a lot before. It can certainly be changed so it can be a nonoffensive , happy celebration of our shared Australian national identity for everyone, that respectfully acknowledges and includes the full truth of our whole shared history, not just the convenient parts.

There is literally no reason it can't be changed, and every reason to change it.

#Always Was Always Will Be

[areawest]

usamericans most of the time: haha I love aussies (said in that obnoxious american way) so much! i would never visit because the wildlife freaks me out but the people are great! tim tams! vegemite! did you know they call flip-flops “thongs” down there? haha so quirky! chuck another shrimp on the barbie, amiright?

first nations person: yeah, so I’ve actually written this article about indigenous deaths in custody, it’s really shocking how—

usamerican: woah buddy that sounds too much like a real problem for me to be comfortable listening to you. can you just put on an akubra and make a joke about spiders for me? thanks ❤️