Five figures in the history of First Nations Media you should know about
This year, on the 6th Birthday of IndigenousX we were keen to acknowledge some of the figures, organisations and publications on whose shoulders we stand. There are many, and to be frank, without them we wouldn’t be doing what we do today.
I was inspired by young blackfullas making media for black audiences
My nan Sandra Onus and my mum Tracey Onus would always take me to rallies or protests. I remember when I was 19, I went with my mum and aunties and jumped in the car and we drove to Ngunnawal country (Canberra) for Invasion Day and the 40th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy.
Jacinta Price under fire from Aboriginal women
Alice Springs town councillor Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has been at the receiving end of community criticism from groups in Alice Springs recently. Last week a petition was circulated on social media to protest against mainstream media’s representation of Ms Price as a community leader.
We must listen to Indigenous voices. Social media is a good place to start
January is increasingly becoming a time for fierce debate about Indigenous identities and Australian nationhood. And each year the debate is gathering more attention. Indigenous voices, especially on social media, are getting louder.
It’s convenient to say Aboriginal people support Australia Day. But it’s not true
Opponents to Australia Day are invariably criticised in two ways. The first is a favoured manoeuvre for establishment media pundits: claim the focus on 26 January is trivial while more pressing Indigenous issues are neglected.
Abolish Australia Day – changing the date only seeks to further entrench Australian nationalism
We cannot seek an end to the oppression of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by cajoling the broad majority of Australians with soft entreaties of ‘change the date’. As rightly pointed out by many, changing the date of Australia Day – without the achievement of social justice or legal restitution in the form of Land Rights and Treaty – only moves the celebration of unfinished business to another date.
A change of date will do nothing to shake Australia from its colonial-settler triumphalism
Least anyone become overly concerned, the date chosen to mark Australia Day has historically been a movable feast. For instance, July 15 was once the favoured date. While many believe that the current date – January 26 – commemorates the landing of the so-called “First Fleet” (which itself is historically inaccurate), I would expect that the date was moved from the gloom of a southern winter to mid-summer for the sake of devotees of the barbeque and patriotic lamb advertisements.