I’ve recently had the honour and privilege to attend the Garma Festival in the red dirt of East Arnhem Land. I listened to story, sat with Elders, watched ancient dance, heard politicians, danced to contemporary indigenous bands, and experienced indigenous and non-indigenous Australians live together and interact together with a spirit of unity, two cultures working on telling the one story.
I was born in a time when indigenous Australians were still considered fauna. I was just starting school when the 1967 Referendum took place. No one at school in my time identified as Aboriginal; it would have led to bullying and discrimination. The terms ‘full blood’ and ‘half-caste’ were common. It was easier, acceptable and commonplace to claim that you were ’Spanish’ or from the sub-continent rather than Aboriginal. Aboriginal jokes were still acceptable, and we all sadly laughed. At school I learnt about the government’s policy to integrate and assimilate Aboriginal people; we were just going to ‘breed’ them out and the ‘problem’ would go away! There was no talk of stolen generation, massacres, or pride in culture. Thanks goodness we have matured! Garma is a cultural festival held at Gulkula on Yolngu country, the home of Yothu Yindi founder and Land Rights activist, Dr Yunupingu. This part of the country can be accessed by air from Darwin or Cairns, or a 700-kilometre dirt road trip to the nearest bitumen road. I flew, with sponsorship from the Catholic School Office, DoMN, as part of my professional renewal as a school leader. Garma has been going since 1999 and brings together indigenous clans from all over East Arnhem Land, indigenous leaders from all over the country, politicians and everyday Australians passionate about social justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples. The theme for this year's Garma festival was ‘Djambatj’, a Yolngu word meaning brilliance, skill and excellence. And of course, the festival took place in the shadow of the upcoming referendum of the Voice to Parliament. In fact, the referendum and its implications were on everyone’s lips. The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, flew in and reiterated his determination to bring about real change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders by giving our first Australians recognition in our Constitution and forming a permanent Voice to Parliament. With such contention amongst the voting public, arguments for the Voice in such an idyllic location with intense media scrutiny were at the fore, but at the same time at odds with our immersion in the local culture. Aboriginal language was commonplace, indigenous and non-indigenous mixed and mingled. Racism had disappeared for the endurance of the weekend. We seemed ‘one’. But as released recently, the Report on Closing the Gap disclosed that only four of the 19 targets are on track to be met: preschool enrolment, youth detention, employment and land subject to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s legal rights or interests. The ‘Gap’ was there for all to see when we visited the local township of Yirrkala and later when I visited Wurrumiyanga in the Tiwi Islands. The townships were tired, the houses falling down, and services we take for granted in the city were limited. How do these people access health services? How do they attract quality teachers and nurses? How do they get to the dentist, optometrist or chemist? The ‘Gap’ was obvious. Indigenous Australians die eight years earlier than the rest of us, and as the prime minister keeps iterating, young indigenous males are statistically more likely to go to gaol than university. As a teacher I know the importance of education in breaking the cycle of poverty. Noel Pearson, Guugu Yimithirr man, lawyer and advocate from Cape York, promotes a direct instruction approach to indigenous education as part of his Good to Great Schools initiative. This makes sense if indigenous student attendance rates are around 50%. Inquiry learning won’t work if kids aren’t in school for the whole process. While the teachers have the kids at school, direct instruction is the most efficient pedagogy if time is of the essence. Noel is putting this into practice; Good to Great Schools particularly targets schools in remote Australia and indigenous communities and is having a great impact. We need to fix the root causes of youth violence, poor school attendance, drug and alcohol abuse. Those root causes are in poor education, housing and health. No wonder youth are walking the streets when their houses are overcrowded, food is scarce, kids don’t have their own space to chill out or do their homework. How can education be successful? Part of the Garma Festival was a youth forum. Indigenous and non-indigenous youth, both local and visitors, engaged in a range of activities including songwriting, creative workshops, robotics and e-safety, and cultural activities. Educating the leaders of tomorrow is so important. The youth of today don’t see people of different races like some of us ‘oldies’ do, they just see people of one race, the human race! Our own Maitland Newcastle Diocesan Reconciliation Statement says: We believe in the value of human dignity, which provides people with the capacity to develop fully. We hope that the Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) and future RAPs, will help the Diocese deliver reconciliation actions aimed at closing social and economic gaps to ensure the human dignity of all First Nations Peoples we engage with, employ, educate or assist. In our first step in our reconciliation journey, we are committed to.... Including and listening to the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in decision making and leadership. The Catholic Bishops Conference, together with other mainstream churches in Australia supports the Uluru Statement of the Heart calling for the Voice. On May 11 this year they released this statement: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have lived in this land for many thousands of years. Their custodianship, however, is not recognised in the Australian Constitution. This is an omission which needs to be rectified... To guide all Australians at this important time, we encourage everyone to read and discuss the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which we endorsed in 2021 and which the Fifth Plenary Council of Australia endorsed in 2022. In particular, we recommend that Catholic parishes, schools and agencies arrange opportunities for people to come together to read and discuss the Uluru Statement. Today’s children learn about the rich 65000-year history of our First Nations people, the changes colonisation brought, stolen generations, and massacres. We regularly have Acknowledgement of Country. Families are proud to claim their Aboriginal heritage and know who their ‘mob’ is. We celebrate NAIDOC Week, Reconciliation Week and Sorry Day. Our Aboriginal Education Teachers do an amazing job embedding indigenous education in the curriculum and the life of the school. It is just a normal part of the rhythm of school life. One of many profound moments of the Garma festival was when local leaders invited the balanda (non-indigenous) participants to dance during ceremony. As Djawa Yunupingu, elder of the Yolngu clan said, “We are more determined than ever to find unity in our nation: to see the people of this ancient land live side by side, and walk side by side under the southern stars.” Not only walk together, but dance together! In his recent book, The Dreaming Path, Worimi man, Dr Paul Callaghan says, “Had the new arrivals (in 1788) built relationships instead of armies – listened to people born of this land and learned from them – the past two hundred and thirty years of Australian history, and current-day Australia, would be a far different story. Instead of a story of invasion, massacres, murder, disease, dislocation, pain, loss, trauma and disadvantage for Aboriginal people. There would be a story of collaboration, life, respect, growth, celebration and equity. It isn’t too late to shape the next chapters of this story.” As I return to Newcastle, I am struck by the challenges faced by our first Australians. The ‘status quo’ for ‘Closing the Gap’ is not working. It is so unfortunate that the Voice referendum has become political. In the 1967 referendum there was no ‘No’ campaign and 91% of Australians in a ‘White Australia Policy’ era voted ‘Yes’. We have an opportunity to finally give constitutional recognition to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as the first Australians. And we have an opportunity to give first Australians a permanent voice in the matters that affect them. I hope and pray that we take this ‘once in a generation’ opportunity. I am left with the words of the Peace Prayer of St Francis ringing in my ears: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. References and Further Reading: Bishops Back Call for Indigenous Voice Bishops Back Call for Indigenous Voice (catholic.au) Bishops issue statement on Indigenous Voice to Parliament Bishops issue statement on Indigenous Voice to Parliament (catholic.au) Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle Reconciliation Action Plan – Reflect: 1545-dio-reconciliation-action-plan_2022.pdf (catholic.org.au) 2022 Callaghan, P. and Uncle Paul Gordon (2023). The Dreaming Path. HarperCollins Mayo, T. and O’Brien, K. (2023). The Voice to Parliament Handbook. Hardie Grant Publishing.
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AuthorGreg Cumming is a Primary Principal in the Diocese of Maitland Newcastle, NSW Australia Archives
March 2024
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