Bunya nuts, Brothers and Sisters on Australia Day
Australia Day 2018 found me at the Nimbin Bush Theatre for the Indigenous Survival Day Festival. It was a day of listening, connection, reflection and inspiration. Music, stories and friends gave the day significance and provided me with much to ponder. I was also randomly gifted some Bunya nuts.
It’s easy to become enveloped in the typical ‘Aussie’ day paradigm and I have spent many years doing that. This year, however I found it impossible to ignore an alternate perspective of what January 26th represents. I am grateful to live in an inclusive Community where conversation between Indigenous and white Australian’s is encouraged and there exists a healthy respect for Indigenous wisdom. In recent years, I have been able to observe healthy interaction and listen to stories of connection, community and compassion, but also that of pain, deception, and survival.
Privilege is not a word I have previously associated with my upbringing but I realised whilst sitting by the creek listening to stories, ceremony and song, that actually I am and always have existed in a World of privilege. Never have I experienced prejudice, never have I been overlooked, dismissed or ignored because of the colour of my skin, my gender, sexual orientation or any other reason. I have always held the belief that if i wanted to do something I just have to decide to do it and put in the effort, and the society I live in has generally supported that belief through both action and word. Hearing stories of Indigenous families being separated and confined to Missions, not permitted to roam their traditional hunting and gathering grounds or engage in Spiritual ritual, forced to eat unfamiliar foods and separated from their family, I found it easy to become emotional about events that didn’t even happen to me. I understand the anger and resentment felt by many. I also understand the tendency to decline into reliance on alcohol and drugs to numb the pain. Clearly that’s not the answer but telling the victims to get over it is not a viable solution either (we’ve tried that, it didn’t work).
