Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!
UNE Student Speaker - Kiah Eveleigh
Good morning, everyone.
I will also acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land and the Elders past, present and future.
Please excuse me as I would like to quickly introduce myself in Gathang. Barraba Yitirr Kyia Eveleigh, ngathawa Warrimay guri.
My name is Kyia Eveleigh, I am a Worimi man.
I have been asked to speak on this year’s NAIDOC theme from a student’s perspective. As a current PhD candidate and having completed my bachelors with honours here at UNE, I figured I could share my thoughts.
To start with I recognise that each person’s experiences are what shape and inform their outlooks on life and how they interact with the world. Each of those are unique to every person. This, and that studying does not occur in its own isolated bubble; our life experiences before and alongside influence our studies.
I am a proud Worimi man; but for a long time have been privately proud. I grew up in Gloucester, which is a relatively small country town and I quickly learned that being Aboriginal was not always met with the kindness and excitement I expected as a child.
I started primary school in the year 2000, where I was bullied; chased, called names, and whipped with skipping ropes, because I am Aboriginal. This influenced my approach to life early on; keep your head down, power on through and hope for a better future.
I kept up this attitude, which kept me safe through to me moving to Armidale in 2014; where as an adult and just starting university I thought it would be good to try and open up again.
My first experience was at Centrelink, where I was denied ABSTUDY and put on the mainstream Youth Allowance, for reasons I still do not understand. I initially thought there was a simple confusion or communication error, in which I stated, “I am Aboriginal”. The clerk simply said; it’s the same amount so it doesn’t matter. Whilst the amount was the same, in that moment I was denied who I am. Hurt, confused and reliant on the financial support of said payments; I didn’t argue.
My second experience was with a friend group I had made in my undergrad. We were all learning about each other, so naturally it came up that I am Aboriginal. Initially they thought I was pulling their collective leg, which I was not hurt by, I am used to my fair complexion catching people off guard. What I was not prepared for, was them to continue not believing me when I said I wasn’t joking. It got to the point, where in a bout of frustration I showed them my CoA “Here is proof, I am Aboriginal”. Most conceded, but again one thought it was a photoshopped document.
When it came time to start interacting with the Oorala Aboriginal Centre; I was scared, I was not ready to be hurt again, and even worse the thought of being denied who I am. So, I didn’t engage.
I chose to be safe; privately proud of who I am, but not publicly talking about it. My entire bachelor’s and honours, I kept my head down and powered on through.
It was only this year, in the final year of my candidature I realised I couldn’t keep going about life the way I had. I have spent a lot of time this year reflecting, after the sudden and unexpected deaths of my brother and sister. Simply life is too short to only hope for a better future. I made the choice to become an active agent in this world. I have always loved the environment, loved my community and loved helping and educating people.
So, I am putting myself out there; risking hurt and humiliation. I enrolled myself and my father into a Gathang Language school – constantly making mistakes, trying to encourage others it’s a safe place to learn, and there is no shame in learning. I finally got in touch with the Team at Oorala, something I should have done long ago. My own fear kept me from the wonderful community here. I am now working with Oorala as both a tutor and a casual student engagement assistant; actively helping new and current students in their own studies.
It may not seem like I spoke much about the student experience and this year’s theme. That is because I was the example of not standing up. So, by sharing these experiences today I am trying to focus on truth telling and calling out racism. This is me getting up, standing up and showing up, in my own way and hoping that it encourages others to do so.
Guest Speaker - Fiona Lovelock
Given this year’s NAIDOC theme is Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! I think people are so brave to show up each year as its always so cold up here on the hill.
Out of respect to our Elders who do not like the use of the word Indigenous I will use First Nations people or Aboriginal throughout my speech today to respectfully encompass the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and identities.
One of the first things you read when you go to the official NADIOC page is… “we all must continue to Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! for systemic change and keep rallying around our mob, our Elders, and our communities. From the frontier wars and our earliest resistance fighters to our communities fighting for change today – we continue to show up…” and we do!
Whether it’s seeking cultural and heritage protection, constitutional change, treaties, calling out racism or showing up for community we must do it together.
Given that we are standing on the grounds of what some may consider the ultimate educational institution let’s talk about education too.
Over the years I have noticed a tendency to not use certain words or to mention certain things like land rights, culture and deep spiritual connections, racism, discrimination and effects of them and the importance of opportunities that will assist our people like access to quality health, education, and housing. These needs did not go away they are just not spoken about in plain and simple terms anymore.
Most of our national celebrations encourage people to reflect on the Australian principle of a “fair go” and to consider the inequalities still experienced by First Nations peoples in Australia.
I believe our previous PM Scott Morrison’s mantra about getting a fair go was very conditional and fuelled the push towards mainstreaming all of us – He often said ‘a fair go for those who have a go’ well for First Nations people who have had to live through so many policies of protection and assimilation and discrimination a fair go was never in our sights, it was always a struggle and always a fight for a fair go. Let’s hope our new government will show up for us this time round.
We are still demanding equity we are still wanting equality we want to live free from bias and oppression and we want social justice, peace, and genuine security.
Nothing in isolation will create the changes we need to truly live together, that will take a whole of society approach and a huge effort to achieve.
But we have to do it together and “It must be a genuine commitment by all of us to Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up! while supporting and securing institutional, structural, collaborative, and cooperative reforms.” and “We need to move beyond just acknowledgement, good intentions, empty words, promises, and hollow commitments…”
We don’t need saving or anyone’s missionary zeal, we need self-determination and equal rights!
We are custodians of some of the most biologically diverse territories in the world. We are responsible for a great deal of the world’s linguistic and cultural diversity, and our traditional knowledge has been and continues to be an invaluable resource that benefits all of mankind.
Without self-determination it is not possible for us to fully overcome the legacy of colonisation and dispossession.
We still, however, suffer racism, discrimination, marginalisation, extreme poverty, and institutional violence. We are still being dispossessed of our traditional lands and we are constantly being undermined and our belief systems, cultures, languages, and ways of life continue to be threatened. Do we really deserve to be dealing with these issues in 2022?
We are doing the best we can, and we have some amazing work being done by our people who are working hard to revive and reclaim land, language and culture.
🌀the recent joint management agreement between Anaiwan LALC, Armidale LALC and NPWS with the handing back of Bulagaranda (Mount Yarrowyck) thanks to the advocacy, resilience, and perseverance of the traditional owner they are helping to protect our cultural heritage.
🌀the Descendants of Frank Archibald who are currently lobbying local council to have their ancestor King Bobby remembered in Armidale should be supported and acknowledged.
🌀and the fantastic work being done by the Newara Aboriginal Corporation with the recent buy back of nearly 600 acres of bushland the largest patch of Anaiwan country reclaimed and owned outright by Anaiwan people with no strings attached.
These are all proud achievements that should be acknowledge, supported, and applauded.
So how can we do more to support each other locally within our own communities. There are lots of good people doing lots of good things and we should be showing up for them and standing up for them and getting involved.
I was initially notified about this event via Facebook messenger from a welcomed old work colleague and friend. Which made me think about how we use social media.
Social media platforms, like Facebook for us oldies, and the many platforms the younger generation use, there are a multitude, but one thing in common is that First Nations people around the world use them and they have served as venues for staying connected, for political engagement and social activism, exposing injustices to the world and putting our communities on the global map for all to see.
As much as I enjoy these platforms and find them very useful, I would encourage local community members to physically return to community organisations to participate and support each other face-to-face.
A huge part of our culture is how we interact with each other, the roles we are designated as part of a family unit and the roles we take on as part of the community in which we live. Each one of us is important and we need to hear what each other has to say.
So, get involved in your local organisations, support them, and play your part however that may look like.
My paid work involves supporting Aboriginal adult offenders, victims, and community while they are at court. My wish list is endless but to keep it real and brief, I would like to see less of our people incarcerated, more of our people in jobs, less of our children in care and more of our parents and families being supported. There’s a lot of work to do.
Which brings me to the importance of education - Education can mean different things to different people, some see the education system as classroom training, while others see it as a life-long journey of life changing experiences found outside a classroom. For today I am talking about classroom education.
Having a good education is central to our economic, social, and cultural development. A good education strongly determines our health, literacy, employment, social status, and productivity in the world we live in now.
We expect State and Territory governments, non-government education authorities and First Nations communities to work in collaboration to close the gap between the outcomes of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students.
However, all institutions have trends that move up and down ebbing and flowing with the economy and demographic shifts. I think for us as First Nations peoples our needs are simple yet delivery of what we need is complex and those trends that remain stagnant,
are ever-present reminders of the work that still need to be done.
I think UNE do it well, I think Oorala do it even better in its support of our kids in school and our young people who are entering university. I purposely make that distinction between the two, I believe when things are done for Aboriginal people by Aboriginal people it just works.
Our mature aged learners and early school leavers are a largely neglected group. We should be supporting them also.
Many of our local Aboriginal leaders and important people in my life were denied the opportunity of a formal education purely because they were Aboriginal. Even in my generation curriculum content, and education policies and practices were never developed with us in mind and the support we needed just wasn’t there.
Our old people were already intelligent, but many were not afforded the privilege to obtain a formal education. They fought for the right to be taught as mature aged learners on top of everything else they fought so hard for.
Courses like the Associate Diploma in Aboriginal Studies (ADAS), Chris Stafford and Anne Eckerman are names that come to mind when I think back and the General Certificate and Tertiary Prep courses offered through TAFE all those years ago assisted mature aged learners and early school leavers to obtain their certificates, diplomas, and eventually degrees. I don’t see a lot of those types of courses offered locally the way that they were when I was growing up …they worked!
We do however have Oorala’s entry pathway programs, Tracks and ISP and the support provided by Oorala staff, which is encouraging and much needed, but there is a lot more that we can do to close the gap in education – for me personally I would like to explore the idea of locally run block release programs designed for mature aged
learners and early school leavers who may otherwise not go down the education path.
University and TAFE attract students with different intentions and interests - one’s hands on and the other a strong hold of academic endeavours, we can support both.
We need culturally specific and appropriate alternative education programs for our people to get back into education through to completion. Much has changed in a good way, but we still need to help everyone over the line to make real change in our communities.
I would never give a public speech without acknowledging our Elders and leaders, my parents Bill and Vera Lovelock and the many community members who have fought so hard for what we all have today.
They paved the way for us, and we must honour their struggles and achievements, acknowledge their failings, and celebrate their victories through them we will learn how to do it right.
Our National celebrations like NAIDOC are not about attributing guilt to the current generation of Australian people. But if you are supportive of societal systems that produce and perpetuate inequalities for racial minorities then you should feel guilty.
Our traumatic history should not be spoken about in a way that sooth anyone’s soul.
While there is no precise prescription to eradicate racial injustice a critical first step is a clear commitment to acknowledging: -
🌀your own implicit biases as racism doesn’t just show up in its most extreme form all the time,
🌀you should embrace the difficult conversations and uncomfortable truths with each other, and
🌀demonstrate to us that our voices are being heard.
I believe we can all work together side-by-side in all aspects of life, if there is REAL respect, honour, integrity, and trust.
Thank you😊
