January 26th: Australia has a violent history

We acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land we live and work on. Angela in Gadabanud Country, Renee on the land of the Ku-Ring-Gai people.

Today is difficult for many Australians, especially our First Nations people.

Both of us support changing the day currently chosen to celebrate being an Australian.

Why? It’s simply not inclusive if not every Australian feels that it’s the right day.

We support the need to alter the way the nation treats the 26th January since it causes pain for many Australians, importantly the Traditional Custodians of the land we live on.

The First Nations people endured incredible suffering at the hands of the colonial settlers that arrived on that day, which continued under many generations of officialdom afterwards.

Since white settlement, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have endured brutality, their people’s culture systematically destroyed, slavery, stolen children, genocide, crimes and atrocities, disease, destruction of homes, stolen land.

In the interests of compassion and respect, we believe that the date should be changed, that the 26th January is Invasion Day, that Australia Day should occur on a different date, one where we can all celebrate in unity.

As allies, first and foremost, until we know what to say with all necessary respect to Indigenous experience, we listen. We gather information from trusted knowledgeable sources and we learn. We improve. We update and we change what we can.

We seek to amplify the voices of Aboringal and Torres Strait Islanders.

As allies, we want to know what we can do in the opinion of our community, to support change.

What information do you look to us for?

How can we use our platform amongst the maker community to influence positive change?

What, if anything, do you want to hear from us, see from us, when it comes to ensuring true inclusivity and the support of our First Nations people?

We mean real stuff, not just “social media stuff”, but if there is something we can do there we want to know that too. We aren’t into tokenism, we aren’t into bandwagons, we want to be the change.

We believe in learning what true allyship means, what we can do to serve the community better, how we can follow through on our values of inclusivity and accessibility.

So tell us, as allies of First Nations people, what do you think we can do better?

Contact us.

Image credit @blakbusiness who has created shareable posts to support your social media activism.

Learn the history of Australia Day

Australians Together

Blak Business

Learn what Aboriginal land you live on

Aiatsis Map of Indigenous Australia