Becoming allies?

For many Australians January is becoming a time for reflecting on what and when might be appropriate for national celebration. January 26 has become awkward and contentious as a focus for celebration but it does invite reflection about our history, much of it long hidden from many of us, and current circumstances.

During 2023 Majella and I involved ourselves in the Yes campaign for The Voice referendum. We attended meetings of supporters, I leafletted around the local area, and we stood at polling booths handing out YES23 material to those willing to accept it. I posted here about the referendum or related matters three times in early 2023 in response to things I had read in the press (Mischaracterised Voice, Good intentions vs original sin, and Treaty with whom?) and again in September (Yes, not No) as the fateful date approached. Along with many others we were deeply disappointed with the outcome of the referendum.

As the referendum approached, our local YES23 group agreed to gather and debrief after the result was known. We attended that gathering of about 50 people in Queens Park on a Saturday morning a couple of weeks after the referendum. People shared their reactions to the referendum result and then discussed the potential for ongoing activities.

Two groups emerged. The first, Toowoomba Democracy Forum, was to explore ways of encouraging more people to participate actively in democracy. The second proposed to operate as allies of First Nations people, supporting their activities in the wake of the referendum result.

Majella agreed to help facilitate the second group and has worked with another member to arrange meetings of the Toowoomba First Nations Allies group. The first meeting in early December had about 30 attending and the second in mid-January attracted more plus several apologies. Planned activities include a dawn reflection on 26 January, support for Amnesty in a showing of The Last Daughter, and a visit to Gummingurru, a local indigenous site. Meanwhile email addresses have been collected and used for regular communications, a Facebook group has been established, and a Google Sheet has been created to share resources for self-education.

Majella sought contact with local First Nations people before the first meeting, hoping to find someone who could attend and help provide direction for the group. She made contact but it was not possible to get someone there. However, Fr Peter Dorfield, who has worked with First Nations people for decades, was able to attend and spoke about things that members should be aware of in seeking to work with First Nations people. In particular he noted how the availability of health and other services in Toowoomba had resulted in an influx of First Nations people from further west and consequent differences among groups living in the Toowoomba area. The meeting agreed that a priority for members should be self education about First Nations history and issues.

Following the first meeting one of the members sent Majella a PDF copy of Chapter Five – Acting politically with self-understanding from a book, Decolonizing Solidarity, by Clare Land. The PDF was circulated by email to members for reading prior to discussion at the second meeting. It addresses issues of unearned white privilege and racism associated with settler colonialism, and argues that it is important for non-indigenous people seeking to support indigenous people to develop self-understanding of their privilege and complicity in racism while beginning to engage in political action. The chapter discusses the importance of taking action, perhaps by working with other non-indigenous people to combat racism and raise awareness of issues. Coming to know local histories, supporting local action, and ‘paying the rent’ by supporting indigenous organisations and people are suggested as important directions for action.

Reading that chapter caused me to wonder if the best use of non-indigenous effort in support of indigenous issues might be education of self and other non-indigenous people. The referendum vote and some of the NO arguments probably reflected the disinclination of a large proportion of the non-indigenous population to address underlying issues. Shifting the needle among our own may be the most effective contribution that non-indigenous people can make.

Having been challenged by my reading of Chapter Five, I found a copy of the book online in the UniSQ Library and read the remaining chapters. The first four chapters recount some history of indigenous struggle in Australia and of the involvement of various non-indigenous groups (church groups, unions, communist party, students, feminists) in support, discuss the challenges of identity around indigenous/non-indigenous and colonised/colonizer categories, and question the value of ‘collaboration’ and ‘dialogue’ when there is doubt about what interests are being served. Chapters 5 to 7 address the need for self knowledge, recognition of the commonalities between indigenous and non-indigenous in the struggle for social justice, and the need for non-indigenous supporters to confront complicity in the current system.

These last chapters all relate to the challenge posed in Chapter Five to ‘decolonize ourselves’, which is described as coming to grips with colonial privilege by acknowledging the role that we, as non-indigenous and settlers, play in maintaining empire. At base, colonization is a process in which natural resources and people are extracted and exploited for the benefit of the colonizers. As a consequence colonised lands and peoples suffer stripping of resources. The results are evident in the degradation of the environment by mining and extractive farming and stand in stark contrast to the practices of care for country that enabled First Nations to live sustainably for thousands of years.

So, as January 26 rolled around again, I found myself thinking about national history and direction. First Nations people are disproportionately disadvantaged by the ongoing legacy of colonization but our national problems with climate change, environmental degradation, increasing inequality, and failure to provide adequate housing and income for all affect everybody. Those problems arise from the extractive and exploitative approaches of colonialism to the natural world and each other. They can be solved only by recognising our common humanity and working as allies with respect for people and environment.

Our recognition of 26 January began earlier than usual when we joined with others in a quiet reflection as the sun rose behind Meewah/Table Top shortly after 5;00 am. After breakfast we drove a little more than an hour to Nyalar Mirungan-ah Nature Refuge where we joined with others from Toowoomba, Warwick, and Stanthorpe to share some discussion about our common history and future.

Reference

Land, C. (2015). Decolonizing solidarity : Dilemmas and directions for supporters of indigenous struggles. Zed Books. https://ebookcentral-proquest-com.ezproxy.usq.edu.au/lib/usq/detail.action?docID=2084600