Australia Day 2019

To celebrate or not to celebrate!  I have to be honest with you here for a moment, I am torn between both!  Although I am leaning more towards NOT, well not on Jan 26th anyways!

Here is my reason why NOT to celebrate!

When colonisation occurred in Australia in 1788, white dominance relegated the first inhabitants of this land to reserves and missions (Foley, 2005). Stripped from the fabric of their traditional ways, and forced to adapt to a foreign way of life, the health and wellbeing of Indigenous Australians declined in tumultuous proportions (Gracey & King, 2009). Hundreds of years later, the effects of this troubled history due to a plethora of injustices such as; segregation, displacement, dispossession and cultural destruction, is still having a devastating impact (Foley, 2005).

So, I know that we have Sorry Day on May 26th, which is all about coming together as one and taking the steps towards healing past wrongs; the atrocities experienced by the Stolen Generation.  But I don't think it is enough to heal past wounds, the deep sorrow experienced from the litany of injustices of colonisation.  

What needs to be done?  I don't know, but surely there is a way for all Australians, Indigenous and Immigrant to come together as one and celebrate the fact that we all live in this beautiful country.

I would personally love to see Indigenous culture made to be a compulsory component of every school curriculum, so that it can be preserved and respected, so that the 'real' history of this countries first inhabitants is known by all!  

I also think the Indigenous flags should be flown alongside the Australian Flag whenever it is flown.  Better yet, why not a flag that incorporates both, so that we can show the unity between us.

I would love to see more Indigeous events and community exposure that could possibly help to break the barriers of misunderstanding...not just on certain days, but everyday!  

I would also love for the inequalities and injustices to be eradicated, for there to be an even playing field for all of us!

And you know what, why can't we change the date to May 8, sounds like as good a day as any to me, hey Mate?!  I get that Australia was founded on this day by the 'white man', and if that wasn't the case then we wouldn't be here living the life that we do now.  But, if its not a day of celebration for ALL AUSTRALIANS, then why not change the date?  Why not show that we are truly sorry for the actions of those before us, and actually take the step to proving it!

Ok, so now that has been said here is my reason TO celebrate!

Whilst I am still not technically an "Aussie"(I need about $250.00 to make it happen and it WILL happen this year), my reason to celebrate isn't based upon the day Captain Cook made his discovery and turned the lives of those already here to wreck and ruin...

It is to celebrate the fact that I am proud to call this land my home!

So to end this blog post...

“I/We Acknowledge and give our heartfelt gratitude to the Ancestors, Traditional Custodians, Elders past, present, future and emerging of the many lands that make Australia - the place that I/We call home”.

REFERENCES:

Foley, W. (2005).  Tradition and change in urban indigenous food practices.  Postcolonial Studies: Culture, Politics, Economy, 8(1), 25–44.  

        https://doi.org/10.1080/13688790500134356

Gracey, M., & King, M. (2009).  Indigenous health part 1: determinants and disease patterns.  The Lancet, 374(9683), 65–75.  

       https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(09)60914-4