The article below was published this month in Djadi-Dugarang, the Indigenous Social Justice Association's newsletter. It was written by Ray Jackson who has given his permission to reproduce it on Recoznet2. A DEATHBED RECONCILIATION Recently the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation have issued their Draft Document for Reconciliation so the Australian people can discuss the views put by the Council and can input acceptance or other ideas back to the Council. The document is in several parts. The first is the Draft Declaration followed by four National Strategies or steps to make Reconciliation possible. The future revised document will be launched in May 2000 for its final acceptance. As a concept Reconciliation and its processes are indeed a praiseworthy attempt of allowing the non-Indigenous Australians to fully accept and become reconciled to the true black history of this land. With all that that entails. Whilst I personally, as an Aboriginal man, descended from the Wiradjuri peoples, am able to accept the social need for Reconciliation I fear that what is being offered is not the type of Reconciliation as I have outlined above, but a more severe, a more debilitating Reconciliation for the Indigenous peoples of these traditionally owned lands. What I see as being offered to all Indigenous peoples is nothing less that a death-bed Reconciliation whereby we as a culture, as a people, will die whilst those whom are left, the dominant, non-Indigenous culture and peoples, will ‘accept’ the Reconciliation and everything that goes with it. And I mean everything! Our Lands, Our Culture, Our Life. Reconciliation does not and more importantly cannot mean absorption, assimilation, or being merged into the dominant culture. Reconciliation to me is total recognition of our rights as the traditional owners of this land. Reconciliation to me is non-Indigenous acceptance of our original Black History and our mixed Black and White History. Whether that History is of the black-armband view or the white-blindfold view matters not. It must be the true histories. To a certain extent the Draft Declaration does accept this but to me there appears to be the need for our mob to accept what has already happened to us and then we all march on together or to use their words - “Speaking with one voice, we the people of Australia, of many origins as we are, make a commitment to go on together recognising the gift of one another’s presence”. Whilst we are recognised as the traditional owners and custodian of the Land, and recognition is made that the land ‘was colonised’ without our consent, (not stolen, mind you), nowhere in the whole Draft Document is there any calls to return some traditional lands to the original owners and custodian of that land. Mabo and Wik do not exist. Whilst this Draft Document is being debated we have Federal, State and Territory Governments actively winding back any legal opportunities to allow Indigenous peoples access to traditional lands. The Howard Government’s active role in legally attempting to wind back the 1975 Land Rights Act in the Northern Territory is but one example. The legal machinations of the Court Government in Western Australia and the Beattie Government in Queensland are other examples. Why do these vile politicians talk of Reconciliation while they are actively removing our rights to land? Where are the Reconciliationists loudly calling on these Governments to stop this chicanery before we lose everything? Where are the Reconciliationists crying ‘shame’ to the Howard Government and the Northern Territory Government against their legal actions in attempting to strike down the legitimate claims of just two of the tens of thousands of the Stolen Generations in the Northern Territory Supreme Court? Government talk and also the words of the National Strategy for Economic Independence for Indigenous Peoples, is the talk of false prophets, forked tongues, secret English. Our economic independence is based in and on and with our Lands. We do not all aspire to becoming a Skase or a Bond, nor do we all aspire to be shop owners. Independence and our lands are as one, indivisible one from the other. The National Strategy to Address ATSI Disadvantage and the Government’s talk of better outcomes in health, education, employment, hosing, law and justice but they do not mention Land. All six areas mentioned are for the greater part controlled by non-Indigenous organisations, including Government Departments. Our medical services work, our education facilities such as Tranby and Eora College to name but two are quite successful, our people have worked for the dole for years and our high unemployment rate is white based, not black. There are some problems in housing areas but we need to work it out ourselves. We must have houses designed by and for our people. The mention of Law and Justice is a sick, sick joke. We have had over 200 years of your law and over 200 years of no Justice. I refuse to go through the statistics again, suffice to say that things have gotten worse and absolutely EVERYBODY recognises that fact. I say to the Reconciliationists that a real, true, and all-pervasive Reconciliation cannot occur until the near 300 Indigenous Families (who have experienced a death in custody) are given their fair share of that Law and Justice that is blithely quoted. Reconcile, if you can, the Pat Family whose son John was kicked to death by five white off-duty police officers; reconcile the Murray Family who are still fighting for truth as to the death of Eddie; reconcile to the Scott Family whose husband was hung twice in Berrimah Gaol in Darwin; reconcile the Family of Colleen Richman who was shot several times in the back by Victorian police. I could fill pages with such names. All washed whiter than white. A sickly and sickening white. Reconciliation can only be possible between equals. Our two societies are far from that. Make equity, allow access, strive for Reconciliation but before all that, look at the evil being perpetrated still by the Governments of this country and stop them from stealing our bones and our blood. Before there can be economic independence and an addressing of ATSI disadvantage there must be urgent recognition and practical action to stop the continuing removal of our Indigenous rights. A people stripped of everything have nothing and will become nothing. EXCEPT OUR HOPE AND THE LOVE WE SHARE????? The Declaration states:- “as one part of the nation expresses its sorrow and profoundly regrets the injustices of the past, so the other part accept the apology and forgives”. What an arrogance! Sorrow and regret do not equate to an apology. Howard, Herron, Fischer, et al attest to the truth of that. Personally, I will not accept any apology from Howard and the Coalition Government. It is too late and would not be an honest attempt for Reconciliation. I can intellectualise the past mistakes by both our societies, perhaps I could even reach some level of forgiveness. I can and do hope and work for a better future. What I cannot and will not accept is the cynical and callous acts perpetrated on us every day in every way in YOUR name by politicians absolutely determined to neutralise our culture and existence merely to force us into some tourist-base economic plan. The flat earth economics of the, totally misnamed, economic rationalism, unless we accept that it is quite rational and proper that the “assets” of the poor are taken by the rich. I, for one do not accept this and never will. The third National Strategy to Promote Recognition of ATSI Rights is a collection of “Motherhood” statements which sound fine but do and mean little. The call for equality has been the scream of our peoples, especially since 1938 at Australia Hall. Equality can only be possible when all in this land are equal. Fro equality to occur we must be brought to the same starting line as everyone else. The call for recognition of our ‘unique status’ as the original custodians of our Land shows that we are on the one hand finally and legally, thanks to the Mabo High Court Decision, seen as the remnants of our proud ancestry. The other hand though, the Governments and Mining hand, cares not for such recognition. They believe we have been defeated in our wars. WE have not and we will not be defeated whilst ever our culture, lore, law and land runs through our bodies. We have never ceded our lands and never will. Merely because we cannot. The Strategy talks of our mutual rights under the Common Law. Our peoples the lash of such a law every day of our being, much to our detriment. In NSW alone some 1,500 Indigenous persons of a total of 7,500+ persons are held in custody. Over one hundred of these are Indigenous women. Our children make up between 25% to 40% of juvenile detention centre detainees. The greater majority are incarcerated for petty crimes. There is talk of the Carr Government supporting the building of a new 300-bed ‘purpose-built’ women’s prison at Windsor. The madness continues. Our Communities are sitting on a population time-bomb, a Common Law time-bomb. Sixty percent of our people - we are less than 400,000 nationally - are under the age of 25 years. With the continued manic push for Zero Tolerance, +++++++ Street Laws and Curfews guess who gets targeted? Guess which Communities pay the price? We all do one way or another. Whilst on the theme of Common aw it must be remembered that the Governments of this country are active in winding back our so-called Common Law rights. The Howard Coalition is actively attempting the legal wind back of the RACIAL Discrimination Acts that currently stop them from introducing racist laws and continuing with their racist land grabs. The Howard Government argues strongly against every Human Rights law, both nationally and internationally. Nothing must get in the way of his final solution, a return to Terra Nullius and an equality based on stripping us of everything so we can become equal with the ever-growing numbers of ‘have-nots’ in his society. The call for increased representation in the Parliaments of Australia is farcical. We do not live in a democracy, we live under an elective oligarchy who once elected are safe for another three or four years to so what they want. It is a somewhat extremely cynical ‘benevolent’ dictatorship. Our way was the Elders in Council with the input of all and conciliation as the desired outcome. Gaols were an unknown concept, an alien concept, a white concept. Our way was use of the spear, not to kill but to maim. The aggrieved Family held the spear, the Family of the accused were part of the process. Each received satisfaction and life moved on. Only in extreme circumstances would banishment be used. Who indeed were the savages? We did not flog, we did not gaol. We utilised shame not barbarism. The fourth strategy quite rightly talks of Sustainability for the Reconciliation Process. This of course is a very important step to allow all Australians of good intent to nurture the process along to an eventual gaol of true Reconciliation. The cultural diversity of Australia’s peoples has already been recognised under the ideals of Multiculturalism and apart from the odd Hansonite hiccup, it works well. It works because each culture is left intact to that culture’s norms. One way or the other, whether by birth or choice, we are all Australians. The same but different. Our culture must be treated differently and without wishing to be charged with being a culture chauvinist we must be treated differently to all our other multicultural Australians. We have a religious affinity to this land, an affinity that goes back at least 180,000 years. We claim back to the Dreamtime. That affinity must be recognised, accepted and become a practical reality. That means putting a moratorium on the continuing genocide of our people. The Draft Document for Reconciliation does not go anywhere near to satisfying there legitimate claims of our people. It is filled with statements bordering on a New Ageism, a new mysticism. Whatever the label it leaves the custodian of this land with a lot of nice fluffy and warm sentiments but very little else that is positive. In a previous issue of Djadi-Dugarang (newsletter of the Indigenous Social Justice Association) I called for action from the Reconciliation Groups to bring pressure to bear upon the Governments of Australia, that enough was enough and the cultural genocide needed to end. What happened? The silence was deafening. One lone Aboriginal woman’s voice was heard in support. Nothing came from the Reconciliation Groups, many of whom receive our newsletter, to my knowledge. It must be said that the need for Reconciliation is more yours than ours - the Draft Document proves that. Please read it and consider it well. Open up your social consciousness and judge whether we, as Indigenous people, have been treated with Justice, and more importantly whether that lack of Justice still continues. To go forward together can only be possible with mutual respect. I really see very little of that around - from both sides. The Federal Government continues to insult our Elders and Leaders. They continue to malign our true history. They continue to steal the land. All with impunity. Yet they talk of Reconciliation. Where are the calls by the Leaders of the Reconciliation Movement, both black and white against this most evil of Governments. It is evil because they know what the do but care not. We do not want a Reconciliation based on power games. WE do want a Reconciliation based on truth and equality. Please help us to save and protect the little that we now have. ------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/ To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." RecOzNet2 is archived for members @ http://www.mail-archive.com/
