Aboriginal diggers fighting for recognition of their service

Our nation have fallen short on all accounts when it comes to our treatment of our Indigenous servicemen and women. Pastor Denis Atkinson

In our previous posts about an Indigenous perspective of ANZAC Day, we wrote about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women being discriminated against.

Here is a link to Uncle John Lovett who is seeking to have his father's, grandfather's and uncles service recognised and a recognition by the state that those men were not given the same recognition as other service men and women on their return from military duty.



What must be remembered in talking about compensation claims for previous wrongs, and I think it's something that is rarely thought about when determining the amount of compensation to award, is that when you do not allow people to take advantage of a wage or benefit you not only discriminate against that person at the point in time, but you also impact on the economic and social condition of the next generations.

Benefits (like privilege) advantage the present, AND the future.
Likewise denying benefits to a whole generation disadvantages present and future generations.

ANZAC Day from an Indigenous perspective - online resources

I posted recently three conceptualisations of ANZAC Day from an Indigenous perspective. This post provides a number of useful online resources based on these ideas.

The War of Colonisation
The war of colonisation has not been recognised as a "war" despite the devastation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples and cultures.

Some useful resources: 

• National Gallery of Australia: Aboriginal Memorial exhibition which recognises all thoseAboriginal people who have lost their lives since 1788. http://nga.gov.au/AboriginalMemorial/home.cfm
• A chilling read is a list of massacres of Indigenous Australians http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres_of_Indigenous_Australians
• The Myall Creek Massacre http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myall_Creek_massacre
• Tracker: ANZAC Day march labelled as disrespectful  http://tracker.org.au/2012/04/anzac-day-marched-labeled-disrespectful/
• Tracker: Invasion debate: Was Australia settled peacefully?  http://tracker.org.au/2011/08/the-invasion-debate-was-australia-invaded-or-peacefully-settled/

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were diggers too
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women have given their lives in every official military operation since Federation.

Some useful resources:

• Story of quest for a local Aboriginal War Memorial (Adelaide) http://city-messenger.whereilive.com.au/news/story/no-sign-of-aboriginal-memorial/
• The Australian War Memorial: Too Dark for the lighthorse: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in the defence forces http://www.awm.gov.au/education/resources/box/3/
• Australian War Memorial: Reginald Saunders, the first Aboriginal person to be given a commissioned rank. http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/aborigines/indigenous.asp
• The Australian War Memorial: "One ilan man": the Torres Strait Light Infantry http://www.awm.gov.au/wartime/12/ilan-man
• Tracker: Aboriginal War Veteran on memorial on Bondi memorial  http://tracker.org.au/2011/11/aboriginal-war-veteran-featured-on-bondi-memorial/
• Tracker: Renewed calls for an Aboriginal veterans memorial in Sydney  http://tracker.org.au/2011/05/renewed-calls-for-an-aboriginal-veterans-memorial-in-sydney/
• ABC: A light is shone on Aboriginal soldiers'service. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-10-29/a-light-is-shone-on-aboriginal-soldiers-service/2316108

Social Media resources

• Facebook: Mark of respect for Indigenous Australians. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mark-of-respect-for-indigenous-Australian-soldiers/159267687432284

Leesa Watego

Exploring ANZAC Day from an Indigenous perspective

[Note: This post contains images, words and works of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who are now deceased]

 

We can understand ANZAC Day in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People in a number of different ways. Here are three ways of conceptualising Indigenous responses -

1) Challenge the authority of ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day as a commemoration remembers the sacrifices of Australian men and women in Australian wars since World War 1. It is a recognition of those who "wore a uniform" in official battles. From an Indigenous perspective, this day is flawed as it fails to acknowledge the thousands of Australians - men, women and children - who fought and lost their lives in the War that was/is Colonisation. The above National Gallery of Australia exhibition created in 1988 is a recognition of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have died since colonisation.

2) There were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diggers too
This perspective acknowledges ANZAC Day but recognises that there have been Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diggers in every Australian conflict since Federation. These men and women fought proudly beside their comrades. That there has been little acknowledgement of the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diggers is linked to the third concept.

3) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diggers were treated as second-class citizens
This perspective is about a recognition that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diggers, despite their sacrifice and contribution in wars overseas, were treated as second-class citizens when they returned home. When they returned home they were subject to the same individual and systemic racism from White individuals and institutions as they were when they left.

William Cooper, Secretary of the Australian Aborigines’ League, argued in 1939

that Aborigines should not fight for White Australia. Cooper had lost his son in the First World War and was bitter that Aboriginal sacrifice had not brought any improvement in rights and conditions. He likened conditions in White-administered Aboriginal settlements to those suffered by Jews under Hitler. Cooper demanded improvements at home before taking up "‘the privilege of defending the land which was taken from him by the White race without compensation or even kindness'. Quote source

There are multiple ways of conceptualising ANZAC Day, these are just three. The key is to be considerate and understanding of these different perspectives (and the many others you will encounter) as you approach your investigations of this annual event.

Leesa Watego