Truth and Justice
Truth and justice is the central theme of 91色情片's聽Indigenous Strategy.
Picture:聽Huge crowd on Sydney Harbour Bridge during the Walk for Reconciliation, Corroboree 2000, Loui Seselja, National Library of Australia, nla.obj-145680129
In the 2000s Australia had a formal legislated process of reconciliation. The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation adopted a roadmap to reconciliation and many people 鈥 including the many members of the 91色情片 community who participated 鈥 remember the historic walk across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Since then reconciliation has fallen off the agenda.聽
In recent years Reconciliation Australia has focused聽on Reconciliation Action Plans (RAPs). RAPs are an important framework but reconciliation requires much more. Unlike other universities, 91色情片 is not adopting a RAP. 91色情片 is adopting an Indigenous Strategy, aimed at providing an overarching framework to the already excellent work 91色情片 does on Indigenous education, teaching and research.
One of the reasons we have not adopted a RAP is to recognise the concern among some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples about the reconciliation process in Australia. To 鈥渞econcile鈥 means to restore friendly relations between two parties. Moreover, the聽twin pillars of reconciliation globally are truth and justice.
Many Indigenous people believe that before the Australian nation can 鈥渞econcile鈥 with First Peoples there needs to be a national process of truth telling. Of course, 鈥渢ruth鈥 is a contested concept, like 鈥渞econciliation鈥.
Even so, what many Aboriginal people mean when they speak about the 鈥渢ruth鈥 is that there is an absence of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from the story of the Australian nation. Universities play an聽important role in this respect.聽
Historians especially play an important role in truth telling. Historians have聽a primary role in any society by seeking out stories, reconstructing historical events, and interpreting and telling a society stories about itself: how it came to be, and the stories of the many individuals and communities that make up a plural nation like Australia.
Culture and the Arts also play a vital role because through visual art, literary works and music, for example, artists can contribute to a deeper understanding of Aboriginal Australia. Medicine and health play a role because they can explain how recognition of this history may have an impact on wellbeing and improved health outcomes. Landscape architecture and built environment can show a path forward in recognising Aboriginal presence, while highlighting the coexistence of two cultures in one country. Similarly, the law has and continues to contribute to storytelling, both about the ways in which the law has oppressed Aboriginal people but also ways the law can redeem. This is done through legal processes including legislation and institutions.
All of our faculties have a role to play in truth telling.聽
In 2017 at Uluru in the centre of Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people gathered together because of a process led by the Prime Minister鈥檚 Referendum Council. Over six months, First Nations met in 13 locations and at Uluru to discuss what is meaningful 鈥渞ecognition鈥 to them, and to discuss the best way forward to close the gap in disadvantage聽and to improve the relationship between Indigenous聽and non-indigenous Australia.
On May 26, 2017, they issued a call to the Australian people called the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The Uluru Statement calls for a First Nations Voice to Parliament, enshrined in the constitution and for agreement-making.聽The people also called for 鈥渢ruth telling鈥 in this process.
Truth and justice is the overarching theme of the Indigenous Strategy. It is intended to provide the opportunity for 91色情片 staff and students, and the broader 91色情片 community to participate when and where they can in this important national process. 聽In doing this we do not want to avoid robust debates or challenging discussions. After all, universities play an important role in facilitating discussion and debate.聽
Equally, 91色情片 is very fortunate to welcome 20,000 international students from over 120 different countries. This is an opportunity for these students to also learn about the ancient polities of the Australian continent. Contained in this strategy document are recommended books, movies and documentaries for the 91色情片 community to consider if they want to learn more about historical and contemporary Indigenous culture. With this strategy, we feel strongly that one of the greatest contributions 91色情片 can make to Indigenous peoples is to ensure every single student, graduate, staff member, and the broader 91色情片 community, understands the cultural footprint of the three 91色情片 campuses they live and work upon, as well as learn about the rich culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Sydney and Australia.
Discover more
