🖤 💛❤️ National Reconciliation Week 2021 - Week long discussion

[Appleblossom]

I live on country of the Kulin Nation also, but will not say more about my location.  It does give me a lovely sense of being grounded when I learn about Indigneous names of the places, and also respect ... they now refer to Melbourne as Naarm.

Good to read this thread.

I will not speak of my personal actions, but acknowledge it is important to put substance behind words of reconciliation for it to have meaning.

Apple

[utopia]

@Shaz51 For me reconcilliation means listening to their truths and acknowledging the pain that was caused them.

I think it also means, walking alongside them, and demanding our Governments listen to what the First Peoples want. It is not enough just to sit at home and agree they need their representatives in Parliment. We must vote. We must petition. We must stand along side our brothers and sisters.

[Shaz51]

Very true my sister @utopia , we must xx 

[Mazarita]

Hi @Former-Member and everyone, I researched the indigenous people and stories in the coastal area I live when I first came to this region about 12 years ago, and the history of white settlement in this area, looked at lots of old photos. 

The Yugambeh language people are the traditional custodians here. There is an indigenous cultural centre that exhibits a lot of local art and shares information, fostering understanding in our local community, and more widely all over Australia because there are a lot of tourists to this region.

I am glad to have been reminded of this by comments from other members in this thread including @Appleblossom and @utopia.

@Former-Member asked us all: what does reconciliation mean to you?

Goodwill between people, generosity of spirit, openness to new learning, recognising common humanity, looking to our equality, bringing healing to our nation. I love when @eth said:

To me reconcilliation means listening to each other and finding  a way forward that works in a healthy and healing way for all parties involved.

I also love when @Shaz51 said:

...for me being friends with all cultures...

I saw tonight that @ArraDreaming started a new discussion about reconciliation. Hi Jay, just letting you know there's this one here as well.

[Former-Member]

@utopia  started some research over the weekend, via Reconciliation Australia’s website and my local council’s website and found out more about the history and places of significance near me.

@eth @Shaz51 thank you for sharing with us what reconciliation means to you both. I agree, listening and taking specific actions are important initial steps for healing and reconciliation to happen.

@Appleblossom - I wholeheartedly agree with you. I think what you said ties really well with this year’s theme for National Reconciliation Week- More than a word. Reconciliation takes action.  

@Mazarita  yes – photos, arts, and artifacts are great ways for us to learn more, and pass on the history to younger generations and the world. Going to museums and exhibitions displaying local arts and history personally helped me learn and appreciate that I live on the land of the oldest living and continuous culture on the planet.

For me, reconciliation is also about truth-telling. It is about shining the light on injustices that happened in the past, injustices that continue to happen in present-day, and acknowledge the impacts they continue to have on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.  

[Former-Member]

Thank you everyone for your contributions to this discussion ❤️ A common theme I can see from everyone's responses was around the importance of taking meaningful action 🙌  

So for today's question (Monday 31/05), I would like to ask :

What can we all do? How can we be an ally to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people? 

[Former-Member]

We must never forget the past, but we also need to walk together as a multi cultural society. To heal the wounds of the past we have to stop the 'them and us' mentality. Just by thinking of others as different we are creating a negative mindset. We are and should all be equal no matter who we are. Let's unite and show love and equality to everyone.

[utopia]

Well done @Former-Member . A couple more months of further research and you will be hooked.

[Mazarita]

I agree, @Former-Member, about looking to all of us everywhere being human, equality, goodwill in general, especially in real ordinary life, crossing the fences between us.

[eth]

Hi @Former-Member @Mazarita @utopia @Former-Member @Shaz51 @Olga  and anyone else here on this thread.

For me to be an ally the best thing I can do is listen and show respect.  To listen fully without already forming our response - relational listening.

Relational Listening

This style of listening focuses on building emotional closeness with others. Relational listeners are attentive, friendly, and aim to understand how the other person feels. Relational listeners tend to be nonjudgmental and aren't interested in controlling or evaluating what is being said to them.

____________

And to stand beside rather than try to help from a superior position;  to make it easier for aboriginal people to have their own people developing and providing services, including medical and educational, and to have their own businesses.