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This fortnight's thi>eNAIDOC WEEK Issue 138
 
 

NAIDOC Week: Respect the past – Believe in the future

This is an edited version of an address presented by Patrick Dodson for the Samuel Alexander Memorial Lecture. Patrick Dodson is an Aboriginal leader and Chairman of the Lingiari Foundation.

In every civilised society all members have the right to develop their gifts and skills; to seek a greater understanding of their social, spiritual and physical environment; and to have their contributions to society recognised as worthwhile.

Prior to the arrival of the First Fleet, this was not only the responsibility of the Native Tribes of this continent; it was regarded as central to the survival of our civilisation.

The arrival of Arthur Phillip and successive generations had devastating consequences for the Aboriginal people.

While the 1788 invasion was unjust, the real injustice was the denial by Phillip and subsequent governments, of our right to participate equally in the future of a land we had sustained and managed successfully for millennia.

Instead, the land was stolen, not shared. Our political sovereignty was replaced by forced servitude; our spiritual beliefs denied and ridiculed; our system of education undermined.

The introduction of superior weapons, alien diseases and a policy of racism created dispossession, a cycle of slavery, and attempted destruction of our society.

The 1997 Bringing Them Home report, which documents the experiences of Indigenous children stolen from their parents, highlights that according to the UN definition, genocide took place in Australia . The Report called for a national apology and compensation to those Aboriginal people who had suffered under valid laws which destroyed Aboriginal societies.

Despite the horrors exposed in the report, as a nation we proved unwilling to confront our past and deal with its consequences. That failure alone should have seen us condemned for a lack of courage and a denial of justice.

Aboriginal leadership must convince our governments that an agreement between us is not about division, but about bringing the nation to a greater enhancement of its own values and worth.

For some time now we have had clear evidence that many Aboriginal people have been abusing alcohol, drugs and amphetamines. The consequences of this abuse are violence, sexual abuse, premature deaths, suicides, and corruption of what is decent.

Before jumping to solutions, we need to ask the question, 'why?' Do we recognise that these same abuses are happening in mainstream society?

Generally, we recognise that depression and hopelessness are strong factors and that intervention is required. In the case of Aboriginal people, police presence and imprisonment might provide a short-term fix, but it won't answer the question: 'why is this happening?'

Without serious consideration, popularist responses will only increase arrests and imprisonment rates, neither of which has been a solution to the underlying issues.

We do come from different cultures and have different laws, but ultimately, we possess a common humanity, and it is our respective uniqueness that offers us the opportunity for reconciliation, if we have the courage to engage in dialogue.

We must delve further to discover why we have not achieved better outcomes to such challenges, and in doing so, come to a deeper understanding of why reconciliation is necessary and beneficial.

The opportunity remains for both our peoples to be a nation at peace with itself and our past. If we avoid the issues of national reconciliation, then the monster of racism and the denial we have created will engulf us and our children will be left a flawed legacy.

This NAIDOC Week, let us undertake together to build a better Australia.

    

Teaching and Learning Activities

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

1) Go to www.acmm.org.au/readarticle.php?article_id=32 and read the Creed for Australia . Discuss each of the issues raised in the Creed and comment on the changing face of Australia .

  1. The land
  2. God's care
  3. God's compassion
  4. God's steadfast love
  5. The way forward

2) Fire has been an important part of civilisations for many generations. It has been used to prepare food, send messages and provide warmth. Go to www.acmm.org.au/readarticle.php?article_id=35 and use the fire blessing as the basis for a small class prayer service looking at the use of fire in society and within the Church.

3) "The spirituality of traditional Aboriginal peoples is that humans stand in a reciprocal relationship with all of creation and the spirit world" go to: www.acmm.org.au/readarticle.php?article_id=33 After reading the article by Elizabeth Pyke, answer the following questions:

  1. How are the Aboriginal people connected to the universe and cosmos?
  2. How do Aboriginal creation stories explain the creation of humans?
  3. Discuss how the Aboriginal people were introduced to alcohol and discuss the ongoing effect that this has had on the population.
  4. d) "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." To forgive we need to create good relationships within family and others. How can this be achieved in our society?

PD/H/PE

Patrick Dodson says: "In every civilised society all members have the right to develop their gifts and skills; to seek a greater understanding of their social, spiritual and physical environment; and to have their contributions to society recognised as worthwhile."

  1. Construct a table with two columns and three rows listing the three types of environment (social, spiritual and physical) down the first column and examples of each environment in the second column.
  2. How do these environments affect your life?
  3. If you have no social life or no way of having time with your friends and family, how would it affect you?
  4. If you did not have any physical room to go and play sport, run around, or participate in an activity, how would it affect you?
  5. How does your environment influence who you are and who you could become?
  6. With reference to the article above, why was social, spiritual and physical environment "central to survival of our civilization"?
  7. Environment is central to the Indigenous way of life. Comment on this.

ENGLISH

1) Go to www.un.org/works/goingon/
australia/michael_story.html

  1. Describe the lifestyle of Indigenous children today.
  2. How has Michael’s lifestyle differed to the lifestyle of his half brother Jake?
  3. Comment on the skills that Michael had gained from living a traditional Aboriginal life.
  4. To find out more, go to Reconciliation Australia at: http://www.reconciliation.org.au/i-cms.isp or the Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander Social Justice Commission at www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice/
    stolen_children/index.html
2) Obtain a copy of Stolen by Jane Harrison. Go to www.humanrights.gov.au/bth/resources/seniors/
stage6.html and complete the following activity sheets:
  1. www.humanrights.gov.au/bth
    /downloads/teaching/senior_worksheets
    /stolen/characters.pdf
  2. www.humanrights.gov.au/bth
    /downloads/teaching/senior_worksheets
    /stolen/scene1.pdf
  3. www.humanrights.gov.au/bth
    /downloads/teaching/senior_worksheets
    /stolen/scene2.pdf
  4. www.humanrights.gov.au/bth
    /downloads/teaching/senior_worksheets
    /stolen/scene3.pdf
  5. There are also other activity sheets available at www.humanrights.gov.au/bth/resources
    /seniors/stage6.html     which address other interesting points related to the book.

3) Obtain a copy of Is that you Ruthie? by Ruth Hegarty and go to www.humanrights.gov.au
/bth/downloads/teaching/juniors.pdf for relevant worksheets.

4) Go to www.cafod.org.uk/resources/
primary_schools/difference/a_special_island_ks2 and complete the four questions which look at the importance of having a special place or environment to live in while appreciating that some people do not have access to things we take for granted.

5) Go to www.naidoc.org.au/activities/trivia.aspx and complete the Trivia Quiz on 'Art and Media' The quiz is about Aboriginal people and celebrates NAIDOC Week. To find out more about NAIDOC Week, go to www.naidoc.org.au/what_is/default.aspx

DRAMA

1) Go to www.humanrights.gov.au/bth/resources/juniors
/stage2/comparison.html#resources and click on Personal Stories resource sheets Select a story and after reading the story, present it to the class in a dramatic way, such as mime, freeze frames or any other creative way. Watch the rest of the class present their stories and then complete the worksheet from www.humanrights.gov.au/bth/downloads/teaching
/junior_worksheets/st2_comparison.pdf

  1. Identify and discuss the main similarities and differences between the stories.
  2. What are the recurring experiences expressed in each story?
  3. Identify and discuss how the removals had long-term effects on those people who were separated from their families.

HSIE/SOSE

1) "Our political sovereignty was replaced by forced servitude." The Indigenous people were used to living in a country where their government was free from external control. Essentially, the people controlled their actions and had a set of rules to govern their land and people.

  1. a) Go to www.un.org/Pubs/chronicle/2004
    /issue4/0404p16.html     to read about two major values in international law—an old one, respect for state sovereignty, and a more recent one, respect for human rights. In your own words explain the meaning of political sovereignty.
2) "Our political sovereignty was replaced by forced servitude." Many Indigenous people were forced into a life of servitude. A life where they were at the mercy and power of a master who controlled their lives, what they did, where they lived and how they lived.
  1. An indentured labourer is a person who is not free to live their life away from a person who "employs" them. Often these labourers are not paid but are given food, shelter and clothing as payment for work they complete.
    1. Why would indentured labourers find it difficult to get away from their situations?
    2. Once you have to become dependent on a person for food, shelter and clothing, you are at the mercy of someone else. Why could this be considered inhumane?
    3. Go to www.ncca.org.au/natsiec
      /indigenous_poverty/MIPH_overview
      /goal_8_develop_a_national_
      partnership_for_development       and comment on the importance of target 13.
  2. Go to www.ncca.org.au/natsiec/issues
    /stolen_generations     and read the response to the stolen generation.

HSIE/SOSE/SCIENCE

1) "The introduction of superior weapons (and) alien diseases …attempted [to destroy] society."
  1. What are the 'superior weapons’ that have been brought to Australia in the past 200 years?
  2. How has the introduction of these weapons changed the way Aboriginal people lived and dealt with problems?
  3. What diseases have been introduced in Australia in the past 200 years?
  4. How have these diseases affected the lives of the Indigenous people?
2) Diabetes is a disease that affects many Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders. Go to www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf
/pages/Aboriginal_health_issues_diabetes?open and answer the following questions:
  1. Where are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders ranked in the world for the presence of Type II diabetes?
  2. What is Type II diabetes?
  3. What are some of the health implications that can happen is diabetes is left unmonitored?
  4. What are some of the causes of diabetes?
  5. How does lifestyle affect your chances of developing diabetes
  6. What percentage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders people have Type II diabetes?
3) The taking of Indigenous children from their families is referred to as the "Stolen Generations". This happened over several generations and Indigenous people continue to feel the effects of this policy today. Go to: www.humanrights.gov.au
/bth/resources/seniors/stage2/effects.html#res and click on "Effects across the generations resource sheet." Explain how taking children from their families affects them as children but also impacts upon their adult lives.

4) Go to the following website: hsc.csu.edu.au/ab_studies/rights/investigation
/social_justice_comparative/sjcieconomic2cd.htm
  1. In your own words describe what is meant by the term "dispossession".
  2. Go to The United Nations – "Doctrines of Dispossession" Racism of Indigenous peoples www.un.org/WCAR/e-kit/indigenous.htm to read about dispossession and the long lasting effects it can have on people. Answer the following questions:
    1. Why would indentured labourers find it difficult to get away from their situations?
    2. How have the effects of the treatment of the Indigenous people conflicted with the way that Indigenous people lived before colonisation?
    3. "Historians and academics agree that the colonisation of the New World saw extreme expressions of racism – massacres, forced-march relocations, the "Indian wars", death by starvation and disease. Today, such practices would be called ethnic cleansing and genocide. What is the UN definition for "ethnic cleansing" and "genocide"? Explain how the Stolen Generations is an example of genocide.
  3. For further information about dispossession see:www.liswa.wa.gov.au/wepon
    /settlement/html/dispossession.html

HISTORY

1) Go to www.humanrights.gov.au/bth/timeline/index.htm and use the interactive timeline to construct a timeline of your own which displays an accurate insight into the history of Aboriginal people, their trading partners, relationships with Europeans and their changing lifestyles.

2) Go to www.humanrights.gov.au/bth/geo/index.htm and click on the map of Australia . Select the ' Australia ' option and scroll down to the heading 'Unoccupied land'. Read the information and then write a brief report about the occupation of the land we call Australia with reference to the original inhabitants, and people who came across the land while exploring.

3) Go to www.naidoc.org.au/activities/trivia.aspx and complete the Trivia Quiz on 'History'. The quiz is about Aboriginal people and celebrates NAIDOC Week. To find out more about NAIDOC Week, go to www.naidoc.org.au/what_is/default.aspx

4) Go to www.naidoc.org.au/default.aspx to see the theme for NAIDOC Week and check out the activities that are happening. Explain your understanding of what the theme means.

LEGAL STUDIES

1) Go to www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/treaties
/genocide.asp and read the UN definition of genocide.

  1. Define genocide in your own words.
  2. How will people who are charged with genocide be tried?
  3. Why is it important that "those found guilty of genocide will be punished for their crime, regardless of whether they are or were legally constituted ruler, public officials, or private individuals"?

2) Go to www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus
/humanrights/stories/thea.asp and read about Thea Uwimbabazi, a teacher at Kinyinya school in Rwanda , a country devastated by genocide in 1994.

3) Go to www.cafod.org.uk/var/storage/original/application
/203dbcfcc3c0a7a694c6b954572f177f.pdf and read about the forgiveness in Rwanda after genocide.

4) For lessons on race and discrimination go to: www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/discrim
/race.asp#mp Then obtain the following handouts:

  1. Definitions: www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/
    discrim/dh_print.asp
  2. Introduction to race: www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/
    discrim/race_a_print.asp
  3. Understanding discrimination: www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/
    discrim/id_8_ud_race.asp
  4. Beliefs underlying racism: www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/
    discrim/race_b_bur_print.asp
  5. Introduction to apartheid: www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/
    discrim/race_b_ita_print.asp
  6. Introduction to the holocaust: www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/
    discrim/race_b_ith_print.asp
  7. Positive steps against racial discrimination: www.un.org/Pubs/CyberSchoolBus/
    discrim/race_c_print.asp

CIVICS/MATHS

1) Go to www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice
/info_sheet.html
  1. What is social justice?
  2. What are some of the distinctive rights that Indigenous Australians hold?
2) Go to www.humanrights.gov.au/info_for_students
/australia/index.html#aus then click on Statistics of social disadvantage and then click on Population figures
  1. Look at Graph 1: Estimated resident population, comparing Indigenous and non-Indigenous age structures, 2001 and comment on the shape of the graph.
3) The current state of Indigenous disadvantage
Read the information below and use the table to answer the following questions:

Indigenous Australians continue to suffer very high rates of disadvantage both relative to non-Indigenous Australians and absolutely in global terms. According to the Productivity Commission Report 2005, Indigenous male life expectancy at birth, at 59 years, remains 18 years lower than other Australians and for females, at 65 years, is 17 years lower than other Australians.
These rates are consistent with many developing countries at the lower end of human development. Taking the average life expectancy for Indigenous Australia as 62 years, the comparisons, drawn from the 2004 UNDP Human Development Report, are as indicated below:

COUNTRY AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY (in years)
Vietnam, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu
69
Indonesia
67
India
64
Bolivia and Bhutan
63
Indigenous Australia
62
Bangladesh and Pakistan
61
Cambodia
58
  1. What is the average life expectancy of Indigenous Australians?
  2. Go to www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf
    /mediareleasesbyReleaseDate
    /543C8451189FA8EBCA2568A90013636B
    ?OpenDocument     and obtain the life expectancy for non-Indigenous Australians.
  3. How do the life expectancies for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people compare to each other?
  4. What do these life expectancies say about the quality of life in Australian society?

Parish/Community/Social Justice Groups

1) NAIDOC ( National Aborigines And Islanders Day Observance Committee ) Week is celebrated in Australia from 2 – 9 July 2006.

2) 'Treaty. What's sovereignty got to do with it?' Go to www.gtcentre.unsw.edu.au/publications/docs
/treatyPapers/Issues_Paper2.pdf

3) To find out more about self-determination go to: www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice/sjreport_02
/chapter2.html

4) Caritas Australia supports the Dreaming Project which is linked to this year's NAIDOC Week celebrations. Go to www.caritas.org.au/newsroom
/news_from_field_20060529.htm for more information.

5) World Refugee Day is celebrated on June 20. Go to www.unhcr.org/cgi-
bin/texis/vtx/events?id=3e7f46e04 to read about it, click on the multimedia options to view video footage. Then go to www.unhcr.org/cgi-
bin/texis/vtx/doclist?page=events&id=446055c92

A poster can be downloaded from www.unhcr.org/cgi-
bin/texis/vtx/events/opendoc.pdf
?tbl=EVENTS&id=44369b4a2 to be displayed in your meeting area or Church.

6) Make Indigenous Poverty History

For more information about the Permanent Forum and the Draft Declaration of the rights of Indigenous People:

7) NATSIEC has a great education Kit with worksheets which address the Millennium Development Goals and present facts about the current situation for Indigenous Australians. Go to: www.ncca.org.au/natsiec/indigenous_poverty
/resources

8) Upcoming events with NATSIEC

Further details will be made available on the web as they come to hand. Or contact Graeme Mundine for details gmundine@ncca.org.au

  • July 9, 2006 – Melbourne Make Indigenous Poverty History Launch, Collins Street Baptist Church.
  • September 23, 2006 – Brisbane Make Indigenous Poverty History Launch, venue to be announced.
  • • October 16 – Poverty week NSW Parliament House Event NSW Sydney.

9) Refugee and Migrant Sunday, August 27, 2006. This is a celebration of the contribution refugees and migrants have made to Australia. Each year a parish kit and a schools CD containing education and action sheets and liturgical resources are available. This year BURMESE REFUGEES are especially featured. See: www.ncca.org.au/cws/rdp/rms

 

  
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