WITH hopes of peace, happiness, justice and reconciliation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous people of Swan Hill have gathered to celebrate National Reconciliation Week.
Many attended the event on Tuesday as a way to connect and reconcile with each other, with this year’s theme being “now, more than ever”.
Local community leader Kiea Charles said it was important for Aboriginals, Torres Strait Islanders and non-Indigenous people to strengthen bonds between each other and “move as one in harmony”.
“If we’re all on the same page and we can all get together, we can make change for the next generation,” Ms Charles said.
Ms Kiea said that events like this were crucial for Indigenous people to build connections to their own culture and pass down knowledge of customs to the emerging elders.
Kicking off with a welcome to country and a smoking ceremony, the event was run by Mildura District Aboriginal Services at its Swan Hill hall.
Traditional owner and elder Aunty Stephanie Bourke was born and bred in Swan Hill and has seen steps towards reconciliation being celebrated since the passing of the 1967 referendum, as well as the Mabo decision.
She said there needed to be understanding before one can reconcile.
“Reconciliation is about coming together, immersing ourselves in our own culture, talking, and understanding each other’s culture as we walk towards self-determination,” she said.
“My motto has always been, ‘don’t walk behind me, don’t walk in front of me, walk together by my side so we can have an understanding of each other’s culture’.”
The event included activities such as weaving, painting and jewellery making, as well as didgeridoo playing and a dance performance from Torres Strait Islanders who travelled to Swan Hill from Cairns.
Tobias Corrie performed a traditional dance wearing a dhari headdress.
He said the dhari symbolises Torres Strait Islanders and each island’s dhari is different.
“Mine is unique to Boigu Island, where I come from,” Mr Corrie said.
It was Mr Corrie and his relatives’ second visit to Swan Hill.
Last year, they were invited to perform at St Mary MacKillop College Swan Hill to educate students about Torres Strait Islander culture.
“It’s always a great privilege to be travelling and sharing our culture and to meet elders here,” he said.
“We want to share our culture with people in the mainland and let them know that we do exist. A lot of people don’t understand that there are two very different Indigenous cultures in Australia.”
While Torres Strait Islanders are culturally different from First Nations people on the mainland, the goal towards reconciliation is shared between them.
“Our Aboriginal brothers and sisters do a lot of the groundwork here, but back home in the islands we do the same,” Mr Corrie said.
Councillor Nicole McKay and Peta Thornton were guest speakers at the event.
Cr McKay said many government policies discriminated against First Nations people.
“To me, reconciliation is about justice,” Cr McKay said.
“My family has lived here for generations. We benefited from receiving land from the soldier settlement scheme after World War II. My parents even had a grant to build a home in Robinvale back in the ’60s,” she said.
“There were only one or two Aboriginal people in our area that received that grant.
“From my experience, I’ve seen the benefits flow in one direction.”
Cr McKay said she was honoured to be asked to speak at the panel.
“It’s a privilege to be here, and I think this is really important for the peace and happiness of everyone in the community,” she said.
“When we were young, our communities were very separate because of racism and racist policies, so coming together is really important.”
Aunty Stephanie said reconciliation was more an event to celebrate.
“It’s not only about waiting for reconciliation to happen, but rather reconciling with yourself every day, about knowing who you are as an Aboriginal person and coming together with non-Aboriginal people,” she said.
“We have to make sure that we are reconciling with each other daily, instead of just once a month or year.”
