Will you be on the right side of history?
Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 128, 25 August 2023, page no.16
Micheal Beale, the QTU’s Project Officer – Voice Campaign, explains why he'll be voting yes in the forthcoming referendum.
First and foremost, I am a Wailwan man through my matriarchal grandmother’s line, with connections to the Wakka Wakka people through my father’s matriarchal line and the Gamilaraay/Kamilaroi people.
A primary trained teacher who has had the privilege of living, working, and playing on the lands traditionally known as Gurrumbilburra for more than 13 years, I have worked across the primary, secondary, and tertiary education sectors.
I believe it is important to share why I am invested in the campaign for Yes.
During the Easter holidays, I had the privilege of journeying to the red centre with my partner, making the 2,400km trek to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park. Upon leaving Alice Springs on the final leg, we drove for three hours before coming across Mount Conner. I was in awe of Fool-uru, as it is colloquially known. It was at this point I started pondering the gravity of the potential constitutional reform, and it started to weigh heavily on my mind. An hour later, Uluru finally emerged behind the rolling red sand dunes leading to Yulara. Something about these ancient lands compelled me to ponder the experiences of family members and why I am choosing to vote Yes in this year’s referendum to: 1) recognise Aboriginal Peoples and Torres Strait Islander Peoples as the First Peoples of the land now known as Australia, and 2) enshrine a representative advisory committee, The Voice, within the nation’s rule book.
My mother was born near the traditional country of our people, yet was not counted as a human, let alone a citizen of the country where she was born. For the first two years of her life, she was counted as flora and fauna. My grandparents, great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents were not afforded the right to vote in the 1967 referendum deciding whether they could be counted as humans and citizens in their lands, lands which our families have maintained connection to for more than 65 millennia. Instead, they relied on the will of the Australian people to right this wrong.
As a teenager I learned of the struggles faced by my Great Aunty, who was institutionalised due to the conflict created by historical government policies and her innate desire to learn about Culture and cultural practices. When faced with the choice between Culture and Christianity, she experienced immense culture shock until she mastered the ability to reconcile both concepts and improve her mental health and wellbeing.
Walking the base of Uluru, the winds whispered to me, making me think about how these experiences have moulded me. How what my family and ancestors endured because of poor government choices continues to shape my worldview.
I have not gained or mastered knowledge and understanding of my Wailwan culture. I do not speak my traditional language fluently. I have not learned the ancient ways of my people in order to pass this knowledge onto future generations.
What I have learned is how to walk in the Western world, successfully navigating my way through a world designed to oppress me and my people. However, not all in my family, or other First Nations families, can navigate Western systems or gain mastery of tools designed to ensure the cycle of pain and poverty continues for First Nations Peoples. How can this be?
How is it that in 2023 we:
- continue to be the most researched peoples on Earth
- continue to have policies implemented for us
- continue to have laws legislated for us, including those that do not need to be beneficial?
Yet our voices remain silenced, and some First Nations Peoples continue to live as third world citizens in the “lucky country”.
After the ballots are counted, I hope to wake up in a country where we are on the right side of history. An Australia where the voices of First Nations people are valued and heard by governments when they develop policies and laws that affect us.
Will you join me and, at the referendum, will you be on the right side of history?