Jailed at 10, Sheltered at 16: The Double Standards of Growing Up in Australia
Children as young as 10 can be jailed, and this is a symptom of a systemic failure that criminalises Aboriginal children and makes them more vulnerable to an unfair justice system. But in this recent discourse on teenagers’ interactions with social media, children are seen as impressionable, in need of protection, and too young to understand the potential harm of their actions. Shawna Pope writes, why is there such a stark difference in how Australia views kids, based on their race?
Sovereignty is a coloniser concept. We need Law in Country
Uncle Jim Everett - puralia meenamatta Elder and philosopher has been defending native forests in Tasmania from logging. In the face of colonial law, Uncle Jim writes, First Nations people need to honour our commitment to Country, and fight for the future of our lands, before colony-imposed climate change becomes a death sentence for our world.
Survivance: How can mob protect cultural narratives in our arts and practices?
Earlier this year, Wiradjuri Blak Queer artist Clinton Hayden was confronted with cultural and professional harm at the hands of an arts organisation he was commissioned to exhibit with. His experience, Clinton writes, is not an isolated incident, and shows a need for not just acknowledgement of cultural significance, but guaranteed survivance for First Nations artists and cultural practitioners in so-called Australia.
Keeping the Fire Burning: Collective Resistance, Sharing Culture, Creating Community and Speaking Truth to Power
From colonised Australia to the ethnic-cleansing of Eelam Tamils and the occupation of Palestine. University students across the world have expressed their solidarity in standing against the genocide in Gaza. Here in so-called Australia, university students have been doing the same, with the establishment of camps on campuses. Udaya Shanmugam and Jaala Ozies share the stories behind the solidarity.
Beyond the Horizon: Imagining Utopian Indigenous Futures
There’s been a lot of talk about Indigenous futures lately, particularly faraway futures beyond the immediate time horizon. Indigenous futurism has been described as a form of activism that dismisses the idea of a still-colonised future, unsettling settlers by breaking free of colonial conditioning and refusing to be frozen in time. When asked to forecast the life for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in 2050, most of us are lost for words—this silence is telling, this silence is troubling, and this silence needs examining.
Yoorrook Justice Commission: Jarvis’ Story
The Yoorrook Justice Commission has been travelling across Victoria as part of its work to put the true history of the state since colonisation on the public record. The Commission has heard from thousands of First Peoples during the truth telling process – the first of its kind in Australia. Commissioner Maggie Walter shares one of the testimonies being presented today, from a First Nations man named Jarvis. Commissioner Walter has shared this with his permission.
The power of Aboriginal literature in the wake of Australia’s ‘No’
So-called Australia has a long history of white voices being the ones who speak on First Nations stories, and how we’re represented. Thankfully, Blak voices have been emerging in academia and literature, and more stories are being told our way. These Blak voices are especially important now, Darby Jones writes, in the wake of a failed referendum, where 60% of the nation expressed their desire for our silence.
Stand Back Waleed: Sovereignty is more complex than an oath
The danger of Aly’s assertions is that it oversimplifies a very complex notion in political and legal philosophy and, by reducing the act of ceding sovereignty to a singular oath, it reveals a lack of critical insight to what sovereignty can mean and how it can operate for First Nations peoples.
