Jolleen Hicks’ Post

One of the issues in Aboriginal Affairs is the use of a person's decision making authority. Decision makers make decisions from a mainstream western perspective that is influenced by their workplace and profession. We need decisions affecting Aboriginal peoples, to be made with an Aboriginal Community Len's. You develop your Len's through: 1. Ongoing cultural learning 2. Ongoing consultation and engagement 3. Building respectful relationships with your specific Aboriginal stakeholders. Be mindful of your Worlplace or Profession Len's when making decisions that specifically impact on Aboriginal people.

Aboriginal Affairs has been a failure in this country for at least 30 years. our families have been Australian citizens for 56 years out of 236 years of colonisation. The problem has always been the Mainstream Western system. You can't do Aboriginal Affairs from within that racist system. Stop your mainstream approach to Aboriginal Affairs. Stop trying to fix/ improve your system. You have had 30 years. Create an Aboriginal Affairs system outside of mainstream in our Aboriginal Community World.

Truth-telling is an important process in healing, not just for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people but for everyone. National inquiries and national organisations who specialise in health and healing, have proven the positive outcomes of truth telling. Of course Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people will continue with truth-telling intitiaves, regardless of government support. We are not a passive people but that’s not the point. The point is why are we as a society regressing on important isssues like truth-telling, treaty and recognition? Not listening, not caring and not being empathetic is the norm in this country - especially if it reinforces notions of white Australia. https://lnkd.in/gRcugKJt

🧡 Today, on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we stand in solidarity with the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples to honor their histories, cultures, and contributions. As we observe this day, we encourage everyone, colleagues, partners, and clients to join us in exploring the rich and diverse cultures, and experiences of Indigenous peoples across Canada. Whether it’s reading, attending events, or engaging in community initiatives, there’s always a way to support this journey. Let’s start here: https://lnkd.in/gHrRzxkc

🎯🎯🎯 I once heard a powerful voice in a YouTube video that shared a prompt that I think is very applicable to the work we do and spaces we hold in Higher Education… “What happens if we thought more intentionally that our businesses and college campuses occupy lands that once belonged to Indigenous Peoples that are still here.” The video is shared below. I encourage all to make the space to sit with the voices and narratives being shared in it: https://lnkd.in/eNBrqqk3 Notice she said, “that are still here.” I can’t help but wonder what it is like for those Indigenous Peoples to see so many different people benefiting from lands that no longer belong to them and for some of them that have no access to because of various societal and political measures. I think about a doctoral classmate that helped me to understand the rotten-with-bias bureaucratic processes such as which Indigenous Peoples are federally recognized and those that are not. What happens to their culture and history? Who chose the governing bodies to determine which histories and truths would be elevated and others to be erased? I’ve been in various day to day and professional development spaces discussing how to properly acknowledge Indigenous Peoples and their narratives, history as land caretakers and other contributions. It’s equally important to make space to hold, face, and work to rehabilitate the harms done over time. Even though I am not personally responsible for those harms, I choose to be conscious and responsible to not ignore how my role and privileged positionality as a University professional have resulted in my access and benefit of collegiate operations conducted because of harm and on stolen lands. I encourage all to commit to the introspective work needed to consider challenging ourselves to shift advocacy and agency beyond the comfort to simply honor Indigenous peoples and narratives with voiced land and labor acknowledgments recited during various spaces of training, education, or narrative sharing. In some spaces, the acknowledgment has seemed as performative allyship and an empty, trending gesture not enacted to invoke change or raised conscious but as a self-serving pat on our own backs. Each day, it’s important for us to consider how to operationalize our respective platforms, voices, and positionality to be firm and organic advocates. How does our advocacy and agency shift to be more conscious and action oriented? How do we diligently seek out non-self-serving partnership and collaborative resolution finding and rehabilitation with Indigenous Peoples on campuses and in the nearby communities? What common day practices represent barriers we uphold and perpetuate that explicitly and implicitly threaten the existence, access, and legacy of Indigenous Peoples? These reflectively questions are a short list of a longer list… questions that DESERVE ongoing answers and invested resources and increased attention.

Community engagements are key to peace and developments in any society

Today, on World Indigenous People's Day, I take a moment to reflect on the rich cultures, histories, and contributions of Indigenous peoples across the globe. As I pause to honor these traditions, I also recognize the deep responsibility we all share in supporting truth and reconciliation efforts. Indigenous people with disabilities are among the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people in the world. Indigenous peoples face higher rates of disability globally due to poverty, malnutrition, exposure to environmental degradation, and higher risks of violence. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gBSr4sHR

𝗛𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗗𝗮𝘆, 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮! 🇨🇦 In Canada, this day honors the unique cultures, heritage, and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. In the USA, Indigenous Peoples' Day (often observed on the second Monday of October) similarly recognizes the history and culture of Native American communities. 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁? 𝟭. 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮:Celebrates Indigenous identity, educates the public, and acknowledges the painful history of colonialism. 𝟮. 𝗨𝗦𝗔: Replaces Columbus Day in many areas, shifting the focus to the resilience and contributions of Native Americans. 𝟯. 𝗚𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: Encourages worldwide recognition of Indigenous rights and promotes cultural understanding. 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗺? 𝟭. 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:  Learn and share Indigenous histories and cultures. 𝟮. 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗰𝘆:  Support Indigenous rights and initiatives. 𝟯. 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Participate in community events and listen to Indigenous voices. Let's celebrate diversity and strive for a more inclusive future!

How do truth-telling processes contribute to reconciling Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians? Vanessa Barolsky presented her investigations into local truth-telling initiatives currently emerging around the country. Combining qualitative and Indigenous research methods, she documented 25 community-driven truth telling initiatives, which collectively demonstrate extraordinary perseverance among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, often working with scarce resources. Some of the initiatives include: 🌏 Repatriation 🗣 Renaming 🔥Commemoration events 🎆 Public artworks 🖤 Healing sites Her findings highlight the need for reckoning with Australia’s violent colonial past. She also addresses the potential for non-Indigenous Australians to contribute towards truth-telling initiatives, with potential benefit for all Australians. You can watch her presentation at the recent Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies (CRIS) consortium here: https://lnkd.in/gPe_HhDV If you would like to learn more about the research, you can follow this link: The Role of Truth-telling in Australian Reconciliation: Addressing a colonial legacy<br/> — Centre for Resilient and Inclusive Societies (crisconsortium.org)

In every location that Aboriginal people are from, there is an Aboriginal Community System that is designed by three parts: 1. Traditional Owners (Cultural Protocols. Hierarchy System based on cultural knowledge and respect. Right to Speak for Country. etc) 2. Regional Lore (ancient community governance system. Men's business. Women's business. Marriage System. Kinship System etc). 3. Impact of colonisation story (this informs you of what the Gaps are and how they were created. This informs you what needs to be reconciled as part of reconciliation. etc). Aboriginal Engagement requires partipating and learning in this Aboriginal Community System. This definition was created by Aboriginal Insights