Anonymous 1369
Anonymous 1369, who learned about Coranderrk and William Barak through a university course, was furious to realise they had not been taught about colonisation in school. They call for better education from primary to secondary school and highlight the importance of Indigenous artists and prominent Aboriginal figures in society but acknowledge this can put them in the firing line.
Submission Transcription
I undertook Sharing of Indigenous Knowledge through the university of Melbourne earlier this year and leaned a lot. I learned about Coranderrk and the efforts of William Barak and the hardships the local Indigenous people went through. I also learned how quickly colonisation destroyed so much.
I was furious when I realised I had not been taught anything at all about colonisation and what happened to Aboriginal people in Victoria. I’m in my 60s now. Its truly shameful that I wasn’t taught anything in school.
Better education is needed right through primary and secondary school. I honestly believe that if more people had been educated about colonisation and its impacts in school we would have had a different outcome in the referendum.
It’s a lot to ask of people who are living with generational trauma and racism to educate the rest of us. I arranged for my work team to visit the First Nations exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. It’s so incredibly good! And I am working on some elements of the RAP at work. When it’s my turn to acknowledge Country in the team meetings, I share facts I’ve learned through my own recent education.
It’s a lot to ask of people who are living with generational trauma and racism to educate the rest of us. I arranged for my work team to visit the First Nations exhibition at the Melbourne Museum. It’s so incredibly good! And I am working on some elements of the RAP at work. When it’s my turn to acknowledge Country in the team meetings, I share facts I’ve learned through my own recent education.
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