This Year’s NAIDOC Theme Is ‘For Our Elders’, But I Honour Them Every Day
"This year I’m reflecting on my mother and her siblings, and how through their strength and determination I have been able to dream and become the woman I am today."
Happy NAIDOC! It’s Blak Christmas once again, and this year’s theme is ‘For Our Elders’. So what does that mean to First Nations people? What does it mean to me?
My name is Alicia Johnson, and I am a Barkindji, Latji Latji, Buri Gubi, and Wakka Wakka woman. These tribes connect me to an array of lands, peoples, and communities. They are also used as forms of signifiers to other Indigenous people — to understand where I come from, and crucially, how they might be connected to me and my families.
All of this connects deeply with this year’s NAIDOC theme. Throughout my life, I’ve been taught the importance of cultural continuity, with our elders at the forefront of this effort. They are the knowledge keepers, and for countless Indigenous people the very reason we continue to stand strong today. From elders offering us words of wisdom, soul food cooked in a pot big enough to feed everyone, and tales of the trailblazers who have shaped where we are today, they hold together the very fabric of our community.
Our elders have also endured some of the harshest and arguably most shameful periods in Australian history. Let’s not forget that it was less than 60 years ago that Aboriginal people were finally given the constitutional right to vote, meaning that many of our elders lived through a time when we weren’t even included in the census.
Our elders were also involved in key moments in Aboriginal activism: for example, the 1965 Freedom Ride led by Charlie Perkins and a group of fellow University of Sydney students who called attention to the racial discrimination that was — and in some cases still is — rife in NSW. At the time, for example, Aboriginal people were banned from local swimming pools and pubs.
Charlie Perkins (fourth from the left) and other University of Sydney students at the Freedom Ride
These truths have only just made their way into our education system, meaning that an awareness of Australia’s history of racial segregation is slowly beginning to spread. But there’s still too much being left out. As many of our Aboriginal elders have lived experience of that injustice, they’re experts in making sure that the truth is passed down to younger generations.
Australia’s History Of Slavery Is Our Best-Kept Secret
My mother is one of 12 other siblings, all of whom were born on Cherbourg Mission near Brisbane. My mother and her siblings have lived through the harsh realities of living on missions, but none more so than her older brothers and sister who as small children were forced into “indentured labour” (essentially a euphemistic way of saying slavery, which by this point had technically been abolished).
Working in hospitals, cattle stations, fencing, and domestic duties were just a few of the roles Aboriginal people were forced to enlist in all the way into the 1970s. Their labour was outsourced by the Australian Government, who would in turn keep their already subsidised income and in return pay in common goods called rations. It’s a story that’s not unique to my family, but a horrifically common practise that took place all across the country, continuing to inform the lives of elders today.
Every year I am inspired by our NAIDOC theme — it never fails to inspire deep reflection. Although these themes are also call-outs to everyone who calls Australia home, Aboriginal history is ultimately something that all of us carry.
How Can Allies Offer Solidarity And Support?
This year, I ask you to reflect on the Aboriginal elders you may know, may have met or simply heard of. Do you know of any Aboriginal elders’ groups in your local community? Is there an Aboriginal organisation in your region that services elders? And how are you and the people in your networks supporting them?
These are the questions non-Indigenous people should be asking this year, questions we should be all asking. How can we better support our elders who have continued to fight for Indigenous rights, protect our sacred lands, care for our children and push for cultural continuity? This year I’m reflecting on my mother and her siblings, and how through their strength and determination I have been able to dream and become the woman I am today. This year, NAIDOC is for our elders: the unsung heroes of our communities. I dedicate this article to them. Thank you.
Alicia Johnson is a daughter, mother, academic, and activist. She is using her voice to contribute to change within Australia, unearthing the truths this nation so steadily likes to deny. You can follow her on Instagram.