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Because of her, we can!

NAIDOC week 2018

Next Sunday is the start of NAIDOC week in 2018.

NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee. Its origins can be traced to the emergence of Aboriginal groups in the 1920s that sought to increase awareness in the wider community of the status and treatment of Indigenous Australians.

Predominately, NAIDOC Week is held in the first week (a Sunday to Sunday) of July that incorporates the second Friday – this year Friday the 13th - that historically was celebrated as 'National Aboriginal Day'.1

It is a time to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, culture and achievements and is an opportunity to recognise the contributions that Indigenous Australians make to our country and society.2

The 2018 NAIDOC Theme is Because of her, we can! The week will celebrate the invaluable contributions that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have made – and continue to make - to their and our communities, their families, our rich history and to our nation. For this Reflection, I’d like to touch on just three elements: aboriginal spirituality, the role of aboriginal women, and some redeeming aspects of colonisation. I acknowledge that I have drawn heavily from several sources for each of the three elements and fully recognise that contribution. Those and other sources are listed at the end of this Reflection. 1 From the website First 1000 days Australia accessed at http://www.first1000daysaustralia.org.au/naidoc-week-2018 and Goingrank.com.au, History of National Aboriginal and Islander Day, History of NAIDOC Week, accessed at http://www.goingrank.com.au/naidoc.html. 2Information on NAIDOC week here and later is sourced fromhttp://www.naidoc.org.au

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I will also use the term Aboriginal, as an adjective, rather than Indigenous, mainly for consistency. Trying to find a simple usage guide was challenging, with many variations and justifications.3 Firstly, aboriginal spirituality. As Worship Leader, each time I acknowledge the first peoples of our country, I use the same words that draw a parallel with our faith and search for meaning with that of aboriginal spirituality:

We acknowledge that we are worshipping on the land of the Ngunnawal people and that the Spirit was revealed to them and celebrated through law, custom and ceremony. The same love and grace that we believe was revealed in Jesus Christ likewise sustained the Ngunnawal people and gave them particular insights into a spiritual life that sought to explain the unknown in ways that gave meaning.

I’d like to share with you a prayer composed for the meeting between Pope John Paul II and the Aboriginal people, which reflects that view:

Father of all, you gave us the Dreaming, You have spoken to us through our beliefs, You then made your love clear to us in the person of Jesus. We thank you for your care. You own us. You are our hope. Make us strong as we face the problems of change. We ask you to help the people of Australia To listen to us and respect our culture. Make the knowledge of you grow strong in all people. so that you can be at home in us and we can make a home for everyone in our land. Amen4

3Two sources in particular: ACTCOSS Gulanga Program’s Gulanga Good Practice Guides at https://www.actcoss.org.au/sites/default/files/public/publications/gulanga-good-practice-guide-preferences-terminology-referring-to-aboriginal-torres-strait-islander-peoples.pdfand Creative Spirits Common names for Aboriginal people at https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/people/how-to-name-aboriginal-people which states that: “The word Aboriginal does put us in the same category as plants and animals etc because basically the words Aboriginal and Indigenous mean the same.” 4 Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, Prayer composed for the meeting between Pope John Paul II and the Aboriginal people, at http://acmlismore.org.au/pray/prayers/prayer-aboriginal-people/

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But what is Aboriginal spirituality? My research unsurprisingly offered many definitions. 5

One that I liked for its simplicity was by Mudrooroo, an Aboriginal writer who summed it up as:

‘Our spirituality is a oneness and an interconnectedness with all that lives and breathes, even with all that does not live or breathe.’

Aboriginal spirituality sees the interconnectedness of the elements of the earth and the universe, animate and inanimate, whereby people, the plants and animals, landforms and celestial bodies are interrelated. These relations and the knowledge of how they are interconnected are expressed in sacred stories. These creation stories (also known as Dreamtime, Dreaming stories, songlines, or Aboriginal oral literature) describe how the activities of powerful creator ancestors shaped and developed the world as people know and experience it. They experience a connection to their land, with the entirety of nature that is associated with it. A key feature of Aboriginal spirituality is to look after the land, an obligation which has been passed down as law for thousands of years. A powerful explanation of the spiritual connection of Aboriginal people to the land can be found in a publication of the now abolished ATSIC. ‘We don't own the land, the land owns us. The land is my mother, my mother is the land. Land is the starting point to where it all began. It's like picking up a piece of dirt and saying this is where I started and this is where I'll go. The land is our food, our culture, our spirit and identity.’ Aboriginal author and Yorta Yorta woman Hyllus Maris (who lived from 1934 to 1986) expressed this connectedness with the land beautifully in her poem Spiritual Song of the Aborigine. I am a child of the Dreamtime People Part of this Land, like the gnarled gumtree I am the river, softly singing Chanting our songs on my way to the sea My spirit is the dust-devils Mirages, that dance on the plain I'm the snow, the wind and the falling rain I'm part of the rocks and the red desert earth Red as the blood that flows in my veins

5 Most of the next section is extracted, largely verbatim, from https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/spirituality/what-is-aboriginal-spirituality#ixzz5EOfydQTY

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I am eagle, crow and snake that glides Thorough the rain-forest that clings to the mountainside I awakened here when the earth was new There was emu, wombat, kangaroo No other man of a different hue I am this land And this land is me I am Australia. It is important to note that there is not one Aboriginal spirituality, and although there are similar core concepts across Australia, such as connection, there are regional flavours. There were more than 250 languages prior to invasion and each language group had its own creation stories and spirituality. It is also important to recognise that religion and spirituality are different, even though there may be parallels and shared concepts. But these two terms should not be confused: Spiritual relates to people’s deepest thoughts and beliefs, rather than to their bodies and physical surroundings while Religious is the belief in a god or gods and the activities that are connected with this belief, such as prayer or worship in a church or temple. But the line that joins the dots is that spirituality is the foundation of religion - the deeper layer of any religious practice and expression. In a coincidental connection, Oodgeroo Noonuccal, who featured in my Reflection on Aboriginal service people on 29 April, and in Keith’s comments on 3 June, has written ‘Some little children come in and say 'but God made the world'. And I say, 'Yes, according to the Bible, yes, God did; but according to my spiritual beliefs my rainbow serpent made these things', so we don't have any arguments over that either; they understand: religion is their way, spiritualism is our way. They understand.6 We can question the concept of creationism in either guise, but should not dismiss the inherent questioning and searching for meaning which resulted in an explanation that could be accepted at the time – and indeed still is by some. We have come a very long way in explaining our universe, but there are some fundamental questions that will, I expect always remain unanswered – or perhaps explained in a way that I can understand! My second strand – Aboriginal women - takes us back to the theme of NAIDOC week this year. My source for this is pretty much all from the NAIDOC website – copied (with some changes) extensively with thanks.7

6https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/spirituality/what-is-aboriginal-spirituality#ixzz5EOfydQTY7http://www.naidoc.org.au

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As pillars of our society, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have played – and continue to play - active and significant roles at the community, local, state and national levels. As leaders, trailblazers, politicians, activists and social change advocates, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women fought and continue to fight, for justice, equal rights, rights to country, for law and justice, access to education, employment and to maintain and celebrate their culture, language, music and art. They continue to influence as doctors, lawyers, teachers, electricians, chefs, nurses, architects, rangers, emergency and defence personnel, writers, volunteers, chief executive officers, actors, singer songwriters, journalists, entrepreneurs, media personalities, board members, accountants, academics, sporting icons and Olympians, the list goes on. They are mothers, elders, grandmothers, aunties, sisters and daughters. Sadly, Indigenous women’s role in their cultural, social and political survival has often been invisible, unsung or diminished. For at least 65,000 years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have carried their dreaming stories, songlines, languages and knowledge that have kept their culture strong and enriched us as the oldest continuing culture on the planet. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women were there at first contact. They were there at the Torres Strait Pearlers strike in 1936, the Day of Mourning in 1938, the 1939 Cummeragunja Walk-Off, at the 1946 Pilbara pastoral workers' strike, the 1965 Freedom Rides, the Wave Hill walk off in 1966, on the front line of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in 1972 and at the drafting of the Uluru Statement. They have marched, protested and spoken at demonstrations and national gatherings for the proper recognition of their rights and calling for national reform and justice. Aboriginal women were heavily involved in the campaign for the 1967 Referendum and also put up their hands to represent their people at the establishment of national advocacy and representative bodies from the National Aboriginal Congress (NAC) to ATSIC to Land Councils and onto the National Congress for Australia’s First Peoples. They often did so while caring for their families, maintaining their homes and breaking down cultural and institutionalised barriers and gender stereotypes.

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Aboriginal women did so because they demanded a better life, greater opportunities and - in many cases equal rights - for their children, their families and their people. 8 The third strand is to look at least one redeeming aspect of colonisation – and despite the many well-documented ills, this is one story that is positive.

Trish and I recently saw a movie called The Song Keepers – an image is on the back of the Order of Service. You’ll recall that on 29 April I discussed The Mission Songs Project, an initiative to revive contemporary indigenous songs from 1900 to 1999, and this has very similar intent.9

Continuing with the theme of women in this Reflection, the documentary tells the inspiring story of an Aboriginal women's choir and their historic tour of Germany.10 In the churches of remote Central Australia, a 140-year musical legacy of ancient Aboriginal languages, German sacred hymns and baroque music is being preserved by four generations of song women that make up the Central Australian Aboriginal Women's Choir. Interestingly, one of the members of this women’s choir was a young man, who fitted in seamlessly. German Lutheran missionaries arrived in Hermannsburg in 1877, and unlike many others who were cruel others and, frankly, murderous, the Lutherans, while not perfect, invariably showed great respect for the traditional owners and their cultures. These missionaries were outstanding in protecting their flock from physical threats, as well as preserving the languages and safeguarding the children such that they were not separated from their mothers in that area. This was an aspect of their mission that was openly acknowledged in the film by the indigenous women. The mission was established at a sacred site associated with the Aranda ratapa dreaming.11 It was conceived as an Aboriginal mission by Hermann Kemp and Wilhelm F. Schwarz of the German Hermannsburg Mission who had travelled overland from the Barossa Valley to live among the Aranda people. Pastor Carl Strehlow and his wife, Frieda took over in 1894. In addition to protecting them from squatters and policemen, Strehlow acknowledged the Aborigines' spiritual heritage.12

8http://www.naidoc.org.au/sites/default/files/assets/files/NAIDOCHistoryTimeline.pdf 9Lloyd, Jessie, The Songs Back Home. Mission Songs Project. 2017 (CD and written notes) see https://www.missionsongsproject.com. 10 This section, much of it also verbatim, is drawn from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7225648/ 11 Chapter 1. Carl Strehlow and the Aranda and Loritja of Central Australia in Kenny, Anna, The Aranda’s Pepa. An Introduction to Carl Strehlow’s Masterpiece. Die Aranda- und Loritja-Stämme in Zentral-Australien (1907-1920) accessed at http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p265691/html/ch01.xhtml?referer=&page=13 12 Veit, Walter F. Strehlow, Carl Friedrich Theodor (1871–1922) accessed at http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/strehlow-carl-friedrich-theodor-8698. See also Australian Government, Department of the Environment, Australian Heritage Database Places for Decision Class : Indigenous accessed at https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/efdfe304-47c3-4489-81b0-

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These missionaries documented the Aranda language and were involved with local people in Bible translation and hymn writing. They soon constructed a school house, which was also used as a chapel and it was at this time that Hermannsburg's most famous son, painter Albert Namatjira, was born into the small community of about 100. The Aboriginal people reciprocated by embracing the Christian stories and music alongside their own and many, but not all, were baptised. Particular pleasure was derived from channeling a love of singing through the Lutheran hymns, often translated into the indigenous languages. With the ten year long collaboration of charismatic musical director Morris Stuart, the present day choir is shown in the documentary embarking on a tour of Germany, singing the baroque Lutheran hymns in their own Western Arrarnta and Pitjantjatjara languages.13 Thirty women – and one young man - take their vocal harmonising back to Bavaria with stories of cultural survival. Most of the scenes are from rehearsals in Central Australia and performances in Germany, but there are also many still images from the Mission's history and some archival film from Hermannsburg over the past century. The Song Keepers is, as its publicity blurb states, ‘a finely-crafted documentary, recommended for people with an interest in Indigenous culture or choral and a cappella singing, not to mention ethnomusicologists.’

This story had a particular resonance for me. As I told in the conversation with the young people, my father conducted his masters and doctoral research at Eundemu in central Australia, and established a close relationship with the Baptist missionary there, the Rev. Tom Fleming, who served the Warlpiri people for 25 years from 1950.14 The Rev. Tom was an occasional visitor to our house. From the stories I heard, this mission was mostly a positive in the life of the indigenous population – with some qualifications - a sad nostalgia given the problems that community had in recent years.15

eb8658ce6f14/files/hermannsburg.pdf: ‘The mission functioned as a refuge for Aboriginal people during the violent frontier conflict that was a feature of early pastoral settlement in central Australia. The Lutheran missionaries were independent and outspoken, playing a key role in attempting to mediate conflict between pastoralists, the police and Aboriginal people, and speaking publicly about the violence, sparking heated national debate.’ 13 The Arrernte people are variously referred to as Aranda, Arunta, or Arrarnta in different sources. I have left the spelling as used in the source quoted/copied, hence the variations. 14Paulson, Rev. Graham, Bapt i s t s and Indigenous Austra l ians , accessed at https://www.buv.com.au/documents/item/395. 15 The issues referred to are not, happily, recent, but see https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/a-sorry-tale-of-sorcery-and-payback-in-yuendumu/news-story/be26912d63470de11ea183e839af32cc?sv=e63fe020a36e077639f0ce3c10b7adbe; and

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So what does all of that mean? I’ve covered three positive elements. But we can’t deny – nor indeed seek to - that there are historical crimes against and mistreatment of aboriginal people, and that problems and issues, perhaps even intractable ones, exist today.16 There are constant and regular reminders of them in the media – with problems aplenty, but enduring solutions rare. But both historically and currently there were and are good things done and we should not forget those, nor the good people who are responsible for the good things, but nor should we fail to strive for better outcomes. I’ll finish with the last paragraph of my acknowledgement of the first peoples:

Therefore, we honour their wisdom and that of their elders and their continuing culture, and pray that we might all work together for reconciliation and justice in this territory and throughout the nation.

This is not only an acknowledgement, but also a prayer. Amen

Sources

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3mXVRT6g6o; and https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/yuendumu-pool-manager-rick-berry-allegedly-targeted-by-teenage-colleague-and-friend/news-story/5ab35e6e194d4e41dde41f8d09f6d44a 16 One source is Elder, Bruce, Blood on the Wattle. Massacres and mistreatment of Aboriginal Australians since 1788, New Holland Publishers, Sydney, 2003. Noting that contemporary issues are complex matters in a complex environment with no simple answer, see one perspective of some of the issues in Pledge, Frank, Indigenous Culture and Vile Crimes, accessed at https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/bennelong-papers/2013/11/traditional-culture-vile-crimes/ and for one of the more recent issues, see http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-20/more-children-removed-families-tennant-creek-after-child-rape/9890268.

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Aboriginal Catholic Ministry, Prayer composed for the meeting between Pope John Paul II and the Aboriginal people, at http://acmlismore.org.au/pray/prayers/prayer-aboriginal-people/ ACTCOSS Gulanga Program’s Gulanga Good Practice Guides at https://www.actcoss.org.au/sites/default/files/public/publications/gulanga-good-practice-guide-preferences-terminology-referring-to-aboriginal-torres-strait-islander-peoples.pdf

Australian Government, Department of the Environment, Australian Heritage Database Places for Decision Class : Indigenous accessed at https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/efdfe304-47c3-4489-81b0-eb8658ce6f14/files/hermannsburg.pdf: ‘The mission functioned as a refuge for Aboriginal people during the violent frontier conflict that was a feature of early pastoral settlement in central Australia. The Lutheran missionaries were independent and outspoken, playing a key role in attempting to mediate conflict between pastoralists, the police and Aboriginal people, and speaking publicly about the violence, sparking heated national debate.’

Elder, Bruce, Blood on the Wattle. Massacres and mistreatment of Aboriginal Australians since 1788, New Holland Publishers, Sydney, 2003.

Kenny, Anna,The Aranda’s Pepa. An Introduction to Carl Strehlow’s Masterpiece. Die Aranda- und Loritja-Stämme in Zentral-Australien (1907-1920) accessed at http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p265691/html/cover-1.xhtml?referer=&page=1#

Korff, Jens, Creative Spirits:

- Common names for Aboriginal people, accessed at https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/people/how-to-name-aboriginal-people. - What is Aboriginal spirituality? accessed at https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/spirituality/what-is-aboriginal-spirituality#ixzz5EOfydQTY

Website, First 1000 days Australia accessed at http://www.first1000daysaustralia.org.au/naidoc-week-2018

Goingrank.com.au, History of National Aboriginal and Islander Day, History of NAIDOC Week, accessed at http://www.goingrank.com.au/naidoc.html.

IMDb, The Song Keepers (2017) accessed at https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7225648/ NAIDOC Week accessed at http://www.naidoc.org.au

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Neill, Rosemary, A sorry tale of sorcery and payback in Yuendumu, The Australian, 2 October, 2010 accessed at https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/a-sorry-tale-of-sorcery-and-payback-in-yuendumu/news-story/be26912d63470de11ea183e839af32cc?sv=e63fe020a36e077639f0ce3c10b7adbe. Lloyd, Jessie, The Songs Back Home. Mission Songs Project. 2017 (CD and written notes) see missionsongsproject.com. Paulson, Rev. Graham, Baptists and Indigenous Australians, accessed at https://www.buv.com.au/documents/item/395 Pledge, Frank, Indigenous Culture and Vile Crimes, accessed at https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/bennelong-papers/2013/11/traditional-culture-vile-crimes/ Vanovac, Neda, Fifteen more children removed from families in Tennant Creek area following rape of toddler, ABC News, 20 June 2018, accessed at http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-20/more-children-removed-families-tennant-creek-after-child-rape/9890268.

Veit, Walter F. Strehlow, Carl Friedrich Theodor (1871–1922) accessed at http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/strehlow-carl-friedrich-theodor-8698.