🖤 💛❤️ National Reconciliation Week 2021 - Week long discussion

@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.

Very true my sister @utopia , we must xx

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.

@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.

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?

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.

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

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.

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.

reconciliation
1. the restoration of friendly relations.
2. the action of making one view or belief compatible with another.

1. I think it may be difficult to restore something that may never have
existed.
2. I think it may be difficult to make a belief compatible with
another, when beliefs are so solidly embedded that they do not change.

The story of the original people of my area is a strong but sad one as
I imagine it is in all areas - not just in this country, but the world.
The original people here fought valiantly & very intelligently for
17 years. They did not focus on attacking the settlers, instead they
disrupted the supplies, livestock {especially the horses} & the
fences. For over a decade & a half they were very successful, but
eventually a special force was formed & all but 100 of those proud,
intelligent people, were wiped out. Those that were left scattered.
Their language is now extinct & to be a part of their people you
must be descended from 1 of only 4 families.

The name of the little town I live outside of, is in an original
language, but not that of those who lived here. It is from a group
of nomadic people that used to regularly travel through. The
name of my closest town means 'eye' 'to look out', kind of funny
really as my area is very flat; it's believed that the name is referring
to the one pimple on the plum in this area, a unique natural rock
formation, that although not particularly high, due to the flatness
of the area, gives a 360 degree overall view for many miles. It
was a place where many original groups of people would gather
on a regular basis to exchange goods & knowledge.

I think reconciliation between the descendants of the original people
& the descendants of the settlers in this country {& most others,

everyone in this country is a settler if you go by the text books, we

all come from the Ethiopian area of Africa!} is about acknowledging

the atrocity of the past & accepting that it cannot be changed, but the

future can be better.