For me, NAIDOC is about the civil and political rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is about acknowledging our survival despite the colonial history of this continent. It is about applauding our success and celebrating our people. It is about being staunch in our sovereignty, in our identity, and in our culture. We have come a long way, but we still have a long way to go to address racism in this country and to “Close the Gap.”
Frustratingly, when our people succeed in western education, we are often told, particularly by radio “shock jocks” and certain right-wing commentators, that we “aren’t really Aboriginal” anymore. We are told we are “elite” and “assimilated,” as though gaining knowledge and a piece of paper changes our heritage, our family, and our lived experience.
That’s the tension I want to sit inside for this piece. Not just the celebration NAIDOC is known for, but the harder truth underneath it.
NAIDOC Theme
Each year NAIDOC week has a theme. This year’s is “50 Years of Deadly”, celebrating five decades of culture, resilience and achievements by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and communities.
Some may ask, what does Deadly mean? Safina Stewart, an Aboriginal Christian leader from Common Grace, explains:
“Deadly is a really positive term. It actually means you are awesome, you are powerful, you are strong. So when we say 50 years of deadly, it’s like 50 years of awesome. Or 50 years of potent, powerful, remarkable resilient fire!”
When I was a young adult in the 1990’s in Sydney, NAIDOC was very much about mob getting together, either attending NAIDOC events or just gathering with family to celebrate. Some of us were lucky enough to get granted leave to attend NAIDOC Day events, usually on a Friday. In those days NAIDOC Day was very much seen as being about us, and for us, as a time to be able to breathe, laugh, and to decompress. It was a time for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to gather with family and friends, and to celebrate our survival, our resilience and the fact that, despite every effort by past Governments and colonial society, we are still here.
Today NAIDOC is still primarily about the survival and resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it has also become an opportunity for non-Aboriginal people to engage in some community activities, and to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and cultures.
NAIDOC History
Many people may not know the history of NAIDOC, so let’s do a quick review.
In 1935, William Cooper, founder of the Australian Aborigines League, drafted a petition to send to King George V, asking for special Aboriginal electorates in Federal Parliament. The Australian Government decided that the petition fell outside its constitutional responsibilities, and took no action.
On 26 January 1938, protestors marched through the streets of Sydney, followed by a congress attended by over a thousand people. This event was one of the first major civil rights gatherings in the world, and was known as the Day of Mourning.
After the Day of Mourning meeting, a deputation led by William Cooper presented the Prime Minister Joseph Lyons with a proposed national policy for Aboriginal people. The Government again rejected the proposal, saying it didn’t have constitutional powers in relation to Aboriginal people.
Following the Day of Mourning, those involved believed that the Day of Mourning should become a regular event. William Cooper wrote to the National Missionary Council of Australia in 1939 to seek their assistance in supporting and promoting an annual event.
From 1940 until 1955, the Day of Mourning was held annually on the Sunday before the 26th January, and was known as “Aborigines Day.” In 1955 Aborigines Day was shifted to the first Sunday in July after it was decided the day should become not simply a protest day but also a celebration of Aboriginal culture.
In 1957, the first National Aborigines Day Observance Committee (“NADOC”) was formed to organise and oversee National Aborigines Day. This was supported by Indigenous organisations, State and Federal Governments, and churches.
In 1974 the NADOC was comprised entirely of Aboriginal people for the first time. In 1975 the event was expanded from a day to a week.
In 1991 Torres Strait Islander peoples were acknowledged, and the committee was renamed as the National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee: “NAIDOC.”
Reconciliation Australia explains:
“NAIDOC Week is primarily celebrated by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in recognition of their culture, history and achievements. These celebrations are often open for other Australians to participate in too. NAIDOC week is a great time for Australians of all different ethnic backgrounds to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Many schools, government offices, universities, churches and businesses organise their own cultural and learning NAIDOC Week activities.”
NAIDOC Week Today
As explained above, traditionally NAIDOC has been about both civil rights, and a celebration of cultural resilience. It is an opportunity for mob to get together and celebrate our survival. However, we need to remember that NAIDOC Week is not National Reconciliation Week. I often hear frustration from mob that they are expected to organise NAIDOC events for the non-Aboriginal people in their workplaces. Most Aboriginal people are very busy in their roles, and are not paid any extra to organise office NAIDOC activities for non-Aboriginal people. Remember, NAIDOC is not historically about non-Aboriginal people, it originates from a protest by Aboriginal people about civil and political rights. So if you are asking an Aboriginal person about what the office has planned for NAIDOC Week, please be understanding if the answer is “Sorry, I don’t have time to organise anything”, or “You can go down to the NAIDOC event at the park on Friday”, or “There is a list of films on SBS you can watch.” If you are really keen to learn and have a yarn with mob, google “NAIDOC events in [insert location]” and see what public events are being held in your area. Please feel free to go along to these public events and to celebrate with us.
National Reconciliation Week (27 May to 3 June each year) is a more appropriate time to collaborate around office and community activities to build relationships and share knowledge. But even then, we should not assume that the responsibility for organising Reconciliation Week activities is solely the responsibility of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander employees. Reconciliation is a two-way street, it takes real work from both parties. In the Australian context, I believe that it is appropriate that those who most benefitted from the dispossession and oppression of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over two centuries do most of the heavy lifting to reconcile the relationship. I am also of the view that “reconciliation” as a theological paradigm doesn’t work without a component of “just reparations.”
So, “50 Years of Deadly!” What does that make me think and feel?
The Resilience and Survival
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples remain proud peoples, despite continuing to be subject to racism and discrimination in this country. Racism and racial vilification is most evident on social media, but it also still persists in the form of institutionalised and systemic racism, and through the actions of individuals. Australia remains deeply impacted by Eurocentric attitudes and ideologies of white supremacy, particularly the assumption that “white is right” and everyone who is from a non-white cultural background must assimilate.
A certain politician recently suggested that multiculturalism is bad, and that Australia should be a “monoculture”, using the term “assimilate.” Do not be mistaken, and don’t believe the walking back of the language since that particular speech, because the language that was intentionally written for the speech is the language of white supremacy: the “mono” in “monoculture”, the one culture we are all expected to assimilate to, is of course Anglo/Celtic (aka “white”) culture. In my opinion, Australia needs to be a better and more civilised nation than to allow far-right fascism and white supremacist ideology to take hold in this country. Those promoting ideologies of hate and bigotry must be publicly named and effectively de-platformed by the Australian government and media outlets.
The Family
For most Aboriginal people, family, “our mob”, is important. The love, laughter and friendship within our families can be the difference between succeeding in life, or giving up. When families are fractured or torn, that safety net, that place you go when the world seems against you, is removed. This is why supporting families, and addressing the removal of Aboriginal children from their families, is a critical component of Closing the Gap.
The Community
Community, who we often call “mob” too, is where we often go for support. We seek our friends, those who know us and love us, because they understand the challenges, and they can provide good and frank counsel. At worst, we have a good laugh at the adversity and situations we have to deal with, because sometimes if you don’t laugh, you cry. If our community goes down, because every individual is struggling with life’s challenges and unable to help, we are all impacted. So maintaining strong, healthy and well-resourced communities is another important piece of the Closing the Gap puzzle.
The Achievements
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are extraordinary. Despite the colonial history of this country we are excelling in sporting arenas, in academia, and in the professions. We have mob in State and National sports teams. We have mob completing University degrees and trade qualifications all over the country, including Masters and Doctorate level degrees. We have qualified doctors, lawyers, accountants, dentists, barristers, architects, nurses, social workers, teachers, judges, and psychologists, for example, working across the country, often in roles giving back to their communities and trying to help make a positive difference. This is the positive progress I see, that is rarely mentioned on mainstream media.
The Challenges
Despite the amazing achievements of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, when I go on social media, I see Aboriginal people constantly being reduced to negative racist stereotypes. Aboriginal people are portrayed as lazy, unemployed, welfare dependent, child abusing, petrol-sniffing alcoholics and drug users. This is not my lived experience as an Aboriginal person, most Aboriginal people I know, those in my family and friends network, are educated, hard working, good parents, and contributing members of society. Most. Of course, not all. Do I know Aboriginal people who are struggling, living on the poverty line, and impacted by trauma? Yes. Do I know Aboriginal people impacted by addiction? Yes. Do I know Aboriginal people who have been in prison? Yes, I do. Just as I know non-Aboriginal people who are struggling, poor, and impacted by trauma, and those who have addiction issues and have been in prison. The thing is, white folk generally don’t consider that every white person has those issues and challenges, because they know enough white people to be able to understand the broad demographics. Whereas, let’s be honest, most white people in Australia don’t actually know an Aboriginal person, all they know is what they see on mainstream media, what they see in public places (homelessness, drinking, fighting), and what their mates tell them, and all their mates know is what they see in the media and in public places too. Most non-Aboriginal attitudes about Aboriginal people are formed without actually knowing an Aboriginal person, often without ever having met one. Just think about that for a second.
I mentioned above how Aboriginal people are often accused of not being Aboriginal because they went to University. This is really just another form of continuing colonial genocide: insist Aboriginal people “assimilate” and get educated to “help ourselves”, and when we do, the colony insists we are no longer “really Aboriginal.” Of course, we will never be “white”, but we can also apparently no longer be “really Aboriginal.” Sadly, Australia still has an inherent social bias where Aboriginal people being educated doesn’t fit with the racist narrative of western colonialism, where black people are inherently inferior, unintelligent, and thus of no real consequence.
I had thought Australia was maturing and moving forward on such issues, up until the Voice Referendum. I believe we have gone significantly backwards as a nation since, with racism and bigotry worse now than I’ve ever experienced.
Let me be clear here though, not every Australian is racist, and I am not saying every Australian is racist. There are many Australians who are decent, educated people, who understand the colonial history of this country, and who walk side by side with Aboriginal people as allies. The thing is, it’s a bit like murder. Not every Australian is a murderer, but does that make any difference if you come across the one that is? Nope. It only takes one murderer to ruin somebody’s day. Similarly, it only takes one racist to ruin somebody’s day.
I note that social media plays a significant role in revealing the racism and bigotry that exists within Australian society. Social media effectively enables racism and bigotry as the platforms take almost no responsibility for moderating racist content or hate speech. If I could, I would remove the ability for people to comment on social media posts, as this is where most of the racism, bigotry and hate speech occurs. I hope one day social media companies will be held accountable for the hate speech they allow to be published, but I’m not holding my breath. I did write to the Australian Human Rights Commission suggesting that the ability to comment on posts should be removed, as this is where the majority of racism and hate speech occurs, and they were kind enough to let me know my feedback was received and discussed at a staff meeting, but I’m not holding my breath here either. Good things take time, and good things for Aboriginal people tend to take years, decades, and longer.
Thanks for staying with me. I know there are perhaps some challenging statements above, but that is my perspective.
Nathan Tyson is the Head of First Peoples Strategy and Engagement for the Uniting Church Synod of NSW and ACT
