Ideas@TheCentre
A day of transformation
This National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) week, July 3–10, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders all over the country are celebrating their culture with a host of activities. The annual event had its beginnings in the early 1900s when Aboriginal rights groups boycotted Australia Day to protest the status and treatment of Aboriginal people.
Known originally as the ‘Day of Mourning,’ it was changed to ‘Aborigines Day’ in 1955 with a focus not only on remembrance, but also on celebrating Aboriginal culture and heritage. At the same time, the date to mark the day was changed to the first Sunday in July. Later it became known as NAIDOC.
The message behind the ‘rebranding’ was: abandon the negativity of the past and celebrate the good.
It is a message that the Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore and city councillors have failed to heed. Their decision to describe the beginning of white settlement in Australia as an ‘invasion’ and ‘illegal colonisation’ rather than ‘European arrival’ is regressive.
Opponents have labelled these word changes as ‘divisive’ and argue that it could ‘fan hostility and hatred’ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.
Aboriginal dance choreographer Stephen Page believed years of blame-shifting have crippled the potential of many Indigenous Australians. His latest show ‘ID’ fuses traditional music and dance with contemporary styles and explores what it means to be Aboriginal in the twenty-first century. His aim is to re-educate the next generation of Australians to have a positive attitude about Aboriginal culture. To do that, he argued Aboriginal people have to move away from communicating negatively and inspiring white guilt.
‘There needs to be a lot stronger communication between all Indigenous people to come up with a way of communicating a true voice of closing the gap. I don't think the Government is responsible to put the bandaid over that,’ he said in an interview to the ABC.
Perhaps NAIDOC week is the vehicle for that new ‘voice.’ Its theme this year was ‘Change: The Next Step Is Ours.’
Celebrations continue until Sunday, with non-Indigenous people encouraged to attend the various events taking place to mark the week.
As one Aboriginal woman said, the celebrations are not ‘just for Kooris.’
Rather than dwelling on the failures and problems of the past, it is time to come together to celebrate Australia’s Indigenous culture and look towards a more hopeful future.
Sara Hudson is a Research Fellow with the Indigenous Affairs Program at The Centre for Independent Studies.
