Jean Taylor

Jean The colonisation of Victoria was brutal and relentless from 1835 onwards with the dispossession and wholesale stealing of Land, the spreading of diseases, the killing of Aboriginal people, the outlawing of languages and culture, the raping of women, the stealing of children, the denigration of Aboriginal people generally and treating them as less than human, and while it is not so obviously violent as it was 200 plus years ago, in some ways it is worse because racism affects every single one of us and especially those towards whom it is directed without redress or compensation or any real attempt to stem the daily grind and humiliation of racism towards First Nations people.

Jean I was taught nothing much about Aboriginal culture and history at school except that they were hunters and gatherers, mainly lived up north, that all the Aboriginal people in Tassie had been wiped out and certainly not about what happened here in Victoria till I did my own research as an adult and made a concerted and own-going attempt to learn and know what exactly went on here in Victoria where non-Aboriginal people like to pretend we are better than other states and refuse to actually see let alone address the past as well as the present racist policies and attitudes.

Jean Stronger laws to protect the language and culture and way of life of Victorian Aboriginal people, a concerted effort to change the school curriculums to teach the true history and current circumstances of Aboriginal people, encourage Aboriginal people to step up to take leading roles in everything to do with the lives of Aboriginal people, and a huge overhaul of the the criminal justice system, education, housing, jobs, health and violence towards women that are all severely disadvantageous towards Aboriginal people at all levels and in every way

Jean We non-First Nations people need to wake up to ourselves, to the racism that is rife in Victoria, to the removal of children from their families and communities, to the incarceration of Aboriginal children as young as 10, to the the daily discrimination against First Nations people, to reeducate ourselves, read Aboriginal books, go to Aboriginal plays, watch Aboriginal films, listen to Aboriginal music, go to Aboriginal art exhibitions, we need to all soak ourselves in First Nations culture and learn and reeducate ourselves to the stage where we can’t fool ourselves any longer and will work in solidarity with First Nations people.

Jean We non-First Nations people need to wake up to ourselves, to the racism that is rife in Victoria, to the removal of children from their families and communities, to the incarceration of Aboriginal children as young as 10, to the the daily discrimination against First Nations people, to reeducate ourselves, read Aboriginal books, go to Aboriginal plays, watch Aboriginal films, listen to Aboriginal music, go to Aboriginal art exhibitions, we need to all soak ourselves in First Nations culture and learn and reeducate ourselves to the stage where we can’t fool ourselves any longer and will work in solidarity with First Nations people.