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IFC January 26 Reflections

January 26, for many Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islanders, represents something very different to most - It marks the beginning and continuation of dispossession, displacement, and trauma.

For these communities, the day is a solemn reminder of the invasion of their lands and the genocide that followed. Referred to by some as Invasion Day, Survival Day or Day of Mourning, January 26th prompts an important conversation about the nation’s history and the ongoing legacy of colonisation. We have asked some of the Indigenous Futures Centre Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander team to reflect on questions on this significant date in the cultural calendar; how do you often spend invasion day? What do you wish non-Indigenous people knew ahead of Invasion/Survival Day this year? What do you hope to see over the next year?

Shane Boseley, a Gunnai man said all Australians should think deeply about the meanings of the day.

"I wish that all Australians would take time to explore these nations true history, the real history of Jan 26th and reflect on the meaning of this date for First Nations peoples," he said. 

"Be kind and check in on your First Nations friends and family during this time."

Dr Chontel Gibson, a Gamilaraay woman, says that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people spend Invasion Day/Survival Day in ways that make sense to our personal, family and community contexts. 

"Our national celebrations and advocacy for better policy and everyday life became more public in the 1930s. The first Invasion Day was held on 26 January 1938, and it was called the Day of Mourning," she siad.

 

"Whereas the national public holiday for Australia Day first began in 1994. Before then, the celebration of Australia Day changed several times, and not all the states and territories aligned their celebrations”.

Tegan Schefe, a Bidjara and Kamilaroi woman said she would like to see a day where everyone celebrates.

"If it means changing the date, then so be it," she said.

"Everyone should be able to feel part of it and not feel isolated, worried about someone looking at you differently or telling you to get over it. We all live here and we all have a role to play in taking care of our country."

Dr Krystal Lockwood, a Gumbaynggirr and Dunghutti woman says that elebrating the national holiday on January 26 is divisive.

"For many First Nations people, it is a day of mourning. For anyone who understands the history of the day, there should be an unease on celebrating on January 26 – you are building a national identity on attempted genocide," she said.

"A day that is intended to bring people together is fracturing the foundation of an Australian identity – nothing strong can be built on weak foundations."

Among these Indigenous voices, there is a clear drive to see fewer divisive conversations, and an urge for non-Indigenous people to actively consider the ongoing affects genocide, dispossession and colonisation have on Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

There is a great need for non-Indigenous people to explore collective histories and ask themselves reflective questions such as “What does it mean to belong to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nation where I live or the hundreds of multiple nations that make up the land now known as Australia?”

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The ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures is supported by its partners and funded by the Australian Government through the Australian Research Council.

Acknowledgement

The ARC Centre of Excellence for Indigenous Futures acknowledges and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land on which our Centre operates. We acknowledge Elders past, present, and emerging and recognise this was always a place of learning, teaching, and research, and that Sovereignty was never ceded.

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Email: indigenousfutures@uq.edu.au
Address: 74 High Street
Toowong QLD 4066

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