Antinuclear

January 26 – the day that dispossession of Aboriginal land began

January 26 is the day
Aboriginal dispossession began. It marks the beginning of a process of
genocide, of land-grabbing, unpaid wages, and the smashing of
traditional cultures to replace them with what we now know as
Australia.

Australia is a wealthy country because resource-rich Aboriginal land
was stolen; ….. Dispossession did not end — January 26 is not simply
an historical anniversary, it is a painful and sobering reminder of
the racism entrenched in mainstream Australian politics today…..

The struggle against racism in Australia, Green Left, January 29, 201
3 By Emma Murphy  As often happens at this time of year, in the lead-up
to January 26, commentators and activists raised the suggestion that
Australia’s national day be moved to a different date.

Writing in the January 21 Sydney Morning Herald, Aboriginal MLA in the
ACT legislative assembly Chris Bourke said: “Which nation celebrates
its national day on the date it was invaded by a foreign power? … The
answer, of course, is Australia.”
January 26 marks the day that Europeans arrived in Sydney Cove in 1788.

Aboriginal people around the continent — especially in the north — had
been receiving visitors from abroad and engaging in trade long before
then. But there was something different about Captain Cook and his
mob. They weren’t here to trade, they were here to stay, to build a
colony on behalf of the British Empire. Aboriginal people were in the
way.

Each year on January 26, there is an outpouring of national pride and
nationalism. Mainstream politicians spruik everything that is “great”
about Australia.

But, while some may ignore or downplay the ugly side of Australia’s
history, there is no escaping the facts: January 26 is the day
Aboriginal dispossession began. It marks the beginning of a process of
genocide, of land-grabbing, unpaid wages, and the smashing of
traditional cultures to replace them with what we now know as
Australia.

Is that worth celebrating? If so, it reveals something of the racism
deeply embedded in Australia’s history……..
whether survival or invasion is the theme, if January 26 is to remain
a significant date, it should be the day we formally acknowledge that
this country was — and is — built on racism.

Australia is a wealthy country because resource-rich Aboriginal land
was stolen; ….. Dispossession did not end — January 26 is not simply
an historical anniversary, it is a painful and sobering reminder of
the racism entrenched in mainstream Australian politics today…..
There is an alternative future, one that sees genuine engagement with
Aboriginal communities – on their terms: treaties negotiated,
reparations paid, original languages and cultures celebrated and
protected. It is possible to imagine a future that brings true justice
to Aboriginal people.

But it won’t come from a society that celebrates invasion and
dispossession as its national day – and that won’t change unless we,
the people with the alternative vision, make it
happen.http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/53185

January 31, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | General News