Transcription
[Music] Hi Auntie Die, how are you?
I'm good, thank you.
That's good. Do you mind if we have a bit of a chat about NAIDOC Week? I just feel like I need an elder navigating two worlds.
Yeah, if I can answer the questions and not too hard, I'd love to. Thank you.
So, what does NAIDOC mean to you?
NAIDOC means to me about us coming together as community, celebrating, celebrating what we've done during the year. And especially this year, it's the first time for two or three years that we've, we've been allowed to come together. So everybody's very excited. And plus, we have the National Network here this year as well as the Victorian NAIDOC, and it's going to be very, very busy. I can't see it being a week, I think it'll take two weeks because there's so much on and everybody's talking about it so much. So it's to me about celebrating.
And as an elder, and someone we look up to and who has seen a lot over the years, what do you think has changed in those last 10 years since our last national NAIDOC?
The change has been very effective. There's a lot of people now that want to celebrate with us, you know. It was about all the Aboriginal community and Torres Strait Islander community coming together. Now other people want to sit with us and celebrate that special week.
And when you're talking about bringing everyone together, obviously we live in two worlds. We've got our mob, and then we've got a white society. And we find it hard, well, I personally find it hard to balance the two worlds sometimes. Can you give me an example of how balancing two worlds affects you and what strategies you use to, to go through life?
I'm very lucky because I live on country. So my country gives me strength. And when I talk to people, and I don't like what they're saying, I'll tell them that this is my country, and you can't speak like that. I'll tell them that our law is the first law of the country, not the mainstream law now. So we have two laws. It is hard, especially for the younger ones that are at school, you know. Unfortunately, they live in three worlds. And it has been hard. But I think because we're so multicultural now, people want to know about us. People want to know about the First Peoples of Australia. We've been hidden for so long that now we have a voice, we need to speak up. And I'm very proud of the youth because they have the voice. They're going to be the ones that make the change, you know. My mother and grandmother didn't have a voice. I've only had my voice for approximately 20 odd years. But because I've been through ceremony, and I'm connected to my country, and I'm so proud of the Rarungji ancestors and my mother and grandmother, I speak on their behalf every day. And that gives me the strength to continue.
The strength comes to me from my ancestors. My, I call him grandfather, but to most people, he's my great-great-uncle, is William Barrack. So he fought for us. He walked to Melbourne, oh, six times to try and get us independence. That to me gives me the strength to carry on. My grandmother didn't go to school. She was a maid and made for the mission manager. Then when she was 18, they sent her to Tourette to be a maid. She only had one day a month off and didn't receive any wages. To me, that is strength and resilience. My mother only went to grade three. She became a tailor. She did all of our wedding dresses, everything, you know. I'm very proud of her. Those women have made the opportunity for me. So that's what gives me strength. My connection to the country, which is actually connecting. It's about knowing that Mother Earth, the Earth is our mother. The Birarang just across there is the veins of her. So that's about caring for country and honoring country. It's, and when we welcome people, we actually honor other people as well and give them the strength to stand on country and understand what it is. So that's what gets me through.
How do you think elders like that, and yourself, and other elders around Australia have an impact on NAIDOC Week? And how do you think that their voices are helping shape us? And what is the purpose of having these elders speak up at not just events like this, but at in times of general?
You know, elders lost their position through colonisation. They weren't allowed to speak up. They didn't have a voice. You know, my family was on Coranderrk Mission, weren't allowed to speak their language, weren't allowed to practice culture. The men weren't allowed to look after the women and their children, which we know is a stolen generation. Their women were abused. So to me, that shows me how resilient our elders are. Now they have a voice. And my grandmother didn't have one. My mother just had one, not much. And as I said, I've had one for 20 years. And these future ones are going to be brighter and better. They're more educated. You know, I didn't finish high school.
When we talk about NAIDOC Week, this year's theme is "Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!" How do you think that you're doing that, and how do you think that our community and our mob are doing this?
Gee, I suppose because, you know, I'm a little bit spoilt because I do welcomes every day. So I'll get up when I can. Um, I show up when I can because I have chronic diseases. And we're asking people to stand with us, really, to stop being afraid. And if you don't understand or you don't know, because a lot of people really don't know about our history because it's been hidden for so long, you know, we're asking them to take that step to come with us, learn about us, learn about our community. We have a wonderful community. We have a caring community, a community that cares about not only us, but about families, which are the most important thing in life. And our future leaders, their children, they're the most important in their life. So we're asking you, asking not only yourself as a radio person, but also other non-Indigenous people to walk with us. And as I said before, we have that many different cultures now, we really need to understand each other. And, um, Aboriginal people, Wurundjeri people have always welcomed people on country, and it's still the same.
And is there anything you'd like to say to the people that you're welcoming on Wurundjeri country for this NAIDOC?
I suppose, "Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!" But also, take your shoes off. Feel the country. Listen to the country. It's important. The more you listen to country, the more you hear. How lucky are we to sit here and hear because we're talking about culture, we're talking about what's important for our future and our heart. So please come and join us and celebrate. Thank you.
[Music]