Anonymous 1284

I do not feel my learning about First Nations history and culture was comprehensive. I was born in 1995 and went through primary school in the early 2000’s, I did not learn about the Country on which I lived until later in my schooling years. We learnt about Captain Cook but did not learn about the negative impact of colonisation. I remember learning much about history through the lens of settler Australians. This lack of learning about First Nations history and culture continued throughout high school, where the majority of discussions around First Nations culture and history was generalised and did not speak to the injustices enacted by colonisers.

I think it would be helpful for non First Nations people to connect more with the Country they are on and learn more from Traditional Custodians of these specific places. In my experience, many settler Australian’s reject learning about First Nations cultures and histories because they become defensive about their own complicity or the actions of their ancestors, or they are conditioned to look at history with a white-washed lens. I sometimes feel that by recognising the injustices of Australia’s history, some people feel they are giving up the glorified image of Australia’s past, in turn, giving up their own sense of identity and culture. In primary school, we learnt the bush poetry of Banjo Patterson who along with Henry Lawson, contributed to the idea of the ‘true blue aussie’.

Non First Nations Victorians can really take a good look at their own personal ancestry. My heritage is English, Scottish, Irish, Dutch and German. I recognise that in some cases, my ancestors came to this country due to poverty in their own land. However, I have also come to learn that those that people who experienced trauma in their own home country then contributed to ongoing cycles of trauma here. I am not excusing the actions of my ancestors, rather, am working to understand the picture as a whole. I think it’s important for non-First Nations Victorians to remove the rose coloured glasses when looking at their own heritage. I live on Gadubanud Country where my ancestors settled in the 1800’s. I have directly benefited from colonisation and while this is uncomfortable and challenging, it is deeply important for me to interrogate my own history and not romanticise it. We need to listen to First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of the Country we are on. We need to get really honest with ourselves about the ways that the negative impacts of colonisation are ongoing and how we as individuals contribute either actively or through our own ignorance.

Non First Nations Victorians can really take a good look at their own personal ancestry. My heritage is English, Scottish, Irish, Dutch and German. I recognise that in some cases, my ancestors came to this country due to poverty in their own land. However, I have also come to learn that those that people who experienced trauma in their own home country then contributed to ongoing cycles of trauma here. I am not excusing the actions of my ancestors, rather, am working to understand the picture as a whole. I think it’s important for non-First Nations Victorians to remove the rose coloured glasses when looking at their own heritage. I live on Gadubanud Country where my ancestors settled in the 1800’s. I have directly benefited from colonisation and while this is uncomfortable and challenging, it is deeply important for me to interrogate my own history and not romanticise it. We need to listen to First Peoples and Traditional Custodians of the Country we are on. We need to get really honest with ourselves about the ways that the negative impacts of colonisation are ongoing and how we as individuals contribute either actively or through our own ignorance.