ANTaR (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation)

As you can imagine it was a difficult decision for me to make – speak in New York for NAIDOC Week or go to the ball in Canberra? Hmmmm. Warm weather, Macy’s, and a stroll through Central Park vs. potential ACT frostbite, the Canberra Centre, and a quick rush from one heated building to another. I chose New York, naturally. The city that never sleeps was perfect for this here insomniac, so extending my stay wasn’t a difficult task with the incentive of being part of the inaugural NAIDOC Week celebrations at both the UN and the Australian Consulate.

The diversity and reality of Aboriginal Australia. Left to right: Karen Oughtred, John Olsen, Anita Heiss, David Bosun and Roberto Borrero.

Coordinated by Michelle Z. Wood, Director of Media and Public Affairs Australian Mission to the United Nations, the week was launched at UN Headquarters on July 7th with the exhibition Gelam Nuguzu Kazi – Dugong my Son by Torres Strait Islander artist David Bosun. Australian Ambassador to the UN, Mr Robert Hill gave a warm welcome to the crowd of around 200 who comprised UN and Consulate staff, Ambassadors from a number of countries, and ex-pat Aussies from across the city. The highlight introduction for me on the night was meeting Dr Donatus St. Aimee, the Ambassador of St Lucia. I’d never met a St. anyone before.

Those who had never seen work from the Torres Strait before swamped David and I’m told there were many offers to buy his artwork, which will continue to adorn the UN headquarters until August. The buzz on opening night was electric, and I was excited about catching up with friends like Sonia Smallacombe who works at the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues at the UN, and who’s daughter Penny was flying in as part of the program. Penny produced One River, All Rivers (Directed by Tom E. Lewis) and Yolgnu Guya Djamamirr (Directed by Frank Djirrimbilpilwuy) and both were screened with Ten Canoes.

My ‘working’ time was speaking on a panel discussing the ‘Diversity and reality of Aboriginal Australia’. The evening at the Australian Consulate was opened by the Hon. John Olsen the Australian Consul-General in New York, and chaired by Roberto Borrero the President and Chairman of the U.S. Regional Coordinating Office of the United Confederation of Taíno People. I tried to make the point through my paper that as Aboriginal writers we are part of the same national Indigenous community, therefore the themes of our writing are often common - i.e. we are largely rewriting the history books that conveniently left out the facts around invasion, and the consequences of colonisation. And our writings often reflect the frequently similar politicised nature of our lives, and our works focus on the ways our identities are constantly being reshaped and defined for us and then analysed and categorised largely by the academic world. But it is the way in which we write that varies greatly and demonstrates our diversity.

For example -we have the Aboriginal English voices of Ruby Langford Ginibi, Vivienne Cleven and Gayle Kennedy. We have the guerrilla poetry of Lionel Fogarty; we have the urban-based poetry of Samuel Wagan Watson and the performance poetry of Romaine Moreton. We have the work of Miles Franklin Award-winning author Alexis Wright who some believe pushed the literary boundaries in Australia with her epic novel Carpentaria in 2007.

And while we are all writers with many similarities, the key one being that we can’t survive financially as writers, we have a wealth of life experiences that vary greatly. Our lives are the culmination of a diverse range of experiences that make us no more or less Indigenous than the next person.

For example, while we are poets, novelists, short story writers, auto biographers / biographers and essayists, we have been or continue to be lawyers, academics, filmmakers, dancers, stockmen and jillaroos, photographers, historians, salesmen, fraud investigators, graphic artists, labourers, actors, soldiers, fishermen and community volunteers.

And our writers tell stories about metropolitan Brisbane, the women’s movement, homophobia, the stolen generations, relationships, community politics and history, and all of them from diverse Indigenous perspectives.

I have no doubt that as a result of NAIDOC Week in New York that more people will look towards Aboriginal literature to learn more about who we are as a collective of diverse peoples in the 21st century.

I shared the panel with David Bosun who discussed the need to protect the intellectual property rights and resale royalties of Torres Strait Islander artists, and Karen Oughtred, a non-Indigenous advocate for Australian Aboriginal Theatre at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian.

I was a proud Blackfella in New York last week, and so was Sonia Smallacombe who said of the NAIDOC Week events, “From the perspective of one who works in the UN, the themes and issues of NAIDOC are universal because all Indigenous peoples in the world have similar experiences and are also part of bright, rich cultures.” She says the thing she enjoyed most about NAIDOC in New York was having Indigenous Australians there to celebrate with her.

I have no doubt the Australian Consulate and the UN are still buzzing with the excitement that NAIDOC Week brought to both sites. Australian Ambassador to the UN, Mr Robert Hill said of the week’s success, “This was the first time that NAIDOC Week has been celebrated in New York and the response has been extraordinary. We have had full houses at all of our events helping to spread the word about our multi-faceted and diverse indigenous culture to a new and international audience.”

My trip was made possible by the Copyright Agency Ltd and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra.

Opening Night - NAIDOC in New York. Left to right: Anita Heiss, David Bosun and Sonia Smallacombe.

In April I was surprised (and very humbled) to be one of 1000 Australians selected to participate in the Prime Minister’s 2020 Summit. In the lead up to the Summit we were all asked to come up with an idea that would help tackle the long term challenges facing the nation.

One of my ideas was an Aboriginal Healing Foundation that would help overcome the intergenerational trauma caused by forced child removal.

Fortunately, a number of other people had the same idea and the Healing Foundation survived the various editing processes of the Summit to remain in the final report.

With a Senate Committee also recently urging its introduction, the Healing Foundation now appears to be firmly on the government agenda.

However, while many people now seem to be calling for a Healing Foundation, there is less agreement on precisely what this will do. Some have even suggested fund dental and primary health care services. For an example, see the extract from a recent ABC Radio PM program below:

SENATOR TRISH CROSSIN: The National Indigenous Healing Fund would concentrate solely on the needs of members of the Stolen Generations, and it doesn’t necessarily mean monetary compensation.

In fact, it could mean quite a range of other services that are provide to the Stolen Generation that will assist and support them as they get older and progress through years when they most need reliance on services governments can provide.

BARBARA MILLER: The Committee suggests family and housing services, medical, dental and funeral costs could be covered by the fund.

When I spoke in favour of a Healing Foundation at the 2020 Summit, I wasn’t suggesting that this provide the kinds of services that citizens should already be entitled to receive from government. Instead, the Healing Foundation should concentrate on programs to overcome the intergenerational trauma caused by forced child removal. These programs would encompass both therapeutic change and cultural renewal. They would be targeted to Stolen Generations survivors as well as other Aboriginal people negatively affected by the practice like children and other family members of survivors.

In public policy terms, what is needed is:

Treatment: Culturally appropriate, preferably Indigenous led therapeutic change programs; ongoing group and individual counseling; targeted programs in prisons aimed at psychological healing and reducing recidivism; programs to facilitate cultural renewal and strengthen cultural identity.

Training and capacity building: Training specialist Aboriginal psychological trauma and healing professionals; Training health workers, teachers social workers and others in how to recognize intergenerational trauma and treat it in a culturally appropriate way; Mental health “first aid” for community members in areas like suicide prevention and how to support people seeking to overcome addictions; alcohol and substance abuse rehabilitation for Aboriginal mental health workers in need of it; debriefing and support for workers dealing with traumatized communities.

Research and public education: To identify, promote and evaluate best practice in Indigenous trauma and healing; to foster a greater understanding in the broader community of the issues confronting the Stolen Generations.

Redefining Social Norms: Support for communities and families seeking to discuss and reintroduce culturally appropriate social norms; Assistance for leaders to reassert appropriate social norms.

Much of this material comes from the work of Gregory Phillips, who summarises what healing should mean in this context:

“… at its heart healing is about restoring balance where wrong has been done – a spiritual process that includes therapeutic change and cultural renewal. It is about protection and care for the victims of violence and abuse, as well as the development of correctional services for perpetrators that are based on healing and change, not stigmatization and shame.”

From Greg’s comments, it’s clear that healing in this context is essential, not just for the Stolen Generations (whose needs are in many respects the greatest), but also for many other Aboriginal communities who suffer from trauma, violence and abuse. (For more info Greg’s chapter in the book Coercive Reconciliation, Arena 2007 is really useful).

There are no guarantees that the Government will proceed with the Healing Foundation, or that it would remain in the form that was proposed at the 2020 Summit. But there are few initiatives that could make more of a real, positive and lasting difference to the lives of Aboriginal people.

I am fortunate enough to be able to say that I have loved almost every writing project I have ever been part of. And in their own ways, they each hold special meaning, memories and significance to me, not only as an Aboriginal woman, but also as an author.

But the release of the groundbreaking volume The Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal literature this week is without doubt, one of the highlights of my professional career.

Just under four years ago I had a conversation with Elizabeth Weiss, Publisher at Allen and Unwin, about the need for such a volume as this. Around the same time, my mate Peter Minter was having the same conversation, also with Elizabeth. We hadn’t actually had the conversation with each other though.

Four years later, we have had many conversations – about the evolution of our writings in English since Bennelong’s first letter in 1796, right through to the Miles Franklin Award winning novel Carpentaria in 2007. We discussed the role of Aboriginal literature in world literatures, and also how a text like this could be incorporated into many different academic courses (nationally and internationally) including Australian Studies, Cultural Studies, Indigenous Studies, Race Studies, Australian History, Australian Politics, Australian Literature and so on.

On putting this anthology together, Peter and I embarked on a journey of discovery, revelling in much of the unknown writings by Aboriginal people over the past 200 years and how they contribute to the bigger story of who we are as a nation today. The writings included in this anthology are pieces of journalism, letters, petitions, political manifestoes, song lyrics, poetry, play excerpts, short stories, fiction, autobiography, biography and social commentary. It is safe to say there is something for every reader of every genre known to the reading community.

In fact, because of the variety of work we have included in this book, I believe there will be a whole new dialogue about the way in which literature is defined in Australia. For all the works included in this volume tell stories and give voice to the First Nations people of this land who have by-and-large remained voiceless.

Some of those showcased in The Macquarie PEN anthology of Aboriginal Literature include: * David Unaipon * Pearl Gibbs * Oodgeroo Noonuccal * Charles Perkins * Ruby Langford Ginibi * Sam Watson * Archie Roach * Jimmy Pike * Doris Pilkington * Alexis Wright * Mick Dodson * Wesley Enoch * Samuel Wagan Watson * Kim Scott * Jackie Huggins * Larissa Behrendt * Tara June Winch and many more.

The hardest thing for us as editors was culling an extensive list of top quality writing that could easily have been included, but due to space constraints, just couldn’t be.

We are excited and confident that this anthology will go a long way to engaging Australian students in both schools and universities with Indigenous voices, ideas, world views, diverse experiences, and most of all, the sense of dignity we have maintained while continuing to struggle for not only equal rights in Australia but in many instances, basic human rights.

Read William Cooper’s Petition to the King, read the Yirrkala Bark Petition of 1963, read the 1938 ‘Aborigines Claim Citizenship Rights’ manifesto, read Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s ‘Aboriginal Charter of Rights’, and then marry it with Mick and Patrick Dodson’s writings, and the poetry of Lionel Fogarty and Barbara Nicholson, and you will see the politics of a people who have used literature since not long after the point of first contact. And, as you will see in the second half of the volume, we continue to do so.

The Macquarie PEN Anthology of Aboriginal literature is published by Allen and Unwin, and is available for $39.95 at all good bookstores, including Australian airports!

For more info and to access the on-line Teachers’ Notes, go to: www.macquariepenanthology.com.au

This week I attended the launch of the Indigenous Literacy Project (ILP) to improve literacy in remote Indigenous communities. A joint effort between Australian publishers, booksellers and authors in conjunction with the Fred Hollows Foundation, the project includes an annual Indigenous Literacy Day on September 3.

Last year’s goal of $100k, was exceeded when $250k was raised through events, a reading challenge and the generous contribution by participating booksellers nationally that donated a percentage of their takings on the day.

In 2008, the project has a new lease of life with the introduction of Therese Rein as the ILP Patron. Also known as the wife of our Prime Minister, Therese (I can call her that because we met at the launch and so now we’re sistas in the cause!) brings to the project not only her name and standing in the Australian community, but also a real desire to improve the literacy of our children. In her speech at the media launch held at Allen and Unwin in Sydney, she said the project offered an opportunity for all Australians to get involved in a simple and effective community activity.

Also part of the project this year are Author Ambassadors. These include yours truly, the Miles Franklin Award winning author of Carpentaria, Alexis Wright, multi-award winning author of Swallow the Air, Tara June Winch, the owner of every bum joke on the planet Andy Griffiths, Australia’s patriarch or literature David Malouf and Geraldine Brookes.

There is also a newly designed Reader’s Quest designed to assist schools in participating in the project. The Reader’s Quest involves reading at least seven books from the specially prepared Readers Quest booklists, recording each book you read, and then receiving a Reader’s Quest certificate.

As for me, having just returned from the NT myself as part of a role modelling tour, I can see so many ways to engage our young people in books. One of the key ways is for us as adults to be “Reading Heroes” for our young people. We need to read to our kids, we need to be seen to be reading alone and enjoying it, we need to instil in our young people that books and reading should be part of our every day lives and routines. And at least in the cities, we need to be exploiting our libraries for everything they can do to engage, educate and entertain our kids through books.

What you can do for the project: Members of the general public can participate in this important project by buying a book at one of the 400 participating bookshops. So, check and see if your local bookshop is part of the ILP and then go out and buy lots of books on September 3!!!

All of the funds raised will go directly to the Fred Hollows Foundation to buy books and literacy resources for Indigenous communities.

For more information about the Indigenous Literacy Project, please contact Karen Williams on (02) 9388 0087 or go to: www.worldwithoutbooks.org

Next week I am attending the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in New York. This year’s topic is climate change. The Indigenous Law Centre has a research project that is examining the human rights implications of climate change for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

UN meetings on Indigenous issues are always exciting. It is amazing to see so many Indigenous human rights defenders from around the world dressed in beautiful and intricate traditional costumes and gathered together to share stories of success and failure in Indigenous law and policy.

I was once an Indigenous Fellow with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva. My fellowship group consisted of a Sami Parliamentarian from Sweden, an Indigenous man from the Yakutz republic and a Biak man from West Papua. The two blokes couldn’t speak English very well so we all communicated in French!

The Permanent Forum was created in 2000. Its existence is a triumph of Indigenous advocacy at the UN. Its establishment was one of two main goals of the first UN International Decade of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, the other goal being the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The primary role of the forum is to raise awareness of indigenous peoples human rights issues within the United Nations system and to integrate indigenous issues into the many agencies and programmes of the UN system. It is unique in its structure with its membership being divided equally between eight state members and eight indigenous peoples representatives.

Professor Mick Dodson is the extremely hardworking and dedicated Indigenous representative for the Pacific. Another hard working and brilliant Aboriginal woman working for the UN Secretariat for the forum is Sonia Smallacombe. Sonia is a member of the Maramanindji people in the Daly River region of NT. Sonia has also held the roles of Head of the School of Australian Indigenous Knowledge Systems at Charles Darwin University and was the manager of the Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Taskforce at ATSIC. Sonia is such an inspiration to me and many young Aboriginal women and it’s really thrilling to see so many Indigenous people working in important postings at the United Nations.

One major development Indigenous peoples are expecting in the next two weeks is the Rudd government’s long awaited endorsement of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The Declaration is a non-binding legal instrument of the General Assembly. It doesn’t have to be signed or ratified. And because it is a declaration of the General Assembly, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities can use the declaration in their work and daily lives immediately.

And while it doesn’t have to be endorsed to be used, endorsement is important for Australia in signalling its renewed commitment and emphasis on human rights and multilateralism. That should be done contemporaneously with taking office along with other commitments to human rights such as the Optional Protocol to CEDAW.

It is important for the Rudd government to endorse the declaration as it is necessary to make concrete the Federal government’s commitment to Indigenous peoples. Of course their ongoing commitment to the suspension of the RDA and the willingness to support the inadequate legal justification for violating peoples rights on the basis of race (until their annual review of the NT Intervention) sits uncomfortably with an endorsement of a declaration that is based on the right to self-determination and rule of law.

While the federal government is at pains not to break economic promises that will bolster the wallets of many Australians, it will be interesting to see whether this promise to endorse the declaration was real or just hollow words spoken in election time to juxtapose rights “cred” against the Howard agenda.

But before New York, I am off to 2020 … I will be participating in the 2020 Summit in the Indigenous stream.

Murri cricket

Finally, I have to congratulate the victorious Queensland team for their victory in the Imparja cup!! My brother Will was one of the champion Murris who won in Alice - Imparja Cup is being rotated on NITV for those who want to check it out.