KKT's Board came together to talk about Reconciliation, it was said that for many remote Aboriginal communities, Reconciliation cannot be achieved while basic needs are still not met.
National Reconciliation Week began as the Week of Prayer for Reconciliation in 1993 and within three years it had evolved into National Reconciliation Week through the work of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (now Reconciliation Australia). It is a chance for Australians to connect and learn about our histories and work towards our goal of a reconciled Australia. This year, the theme is All In. It’s a call for Australians to commit to reconciliation every day and a reminder that for change to occur, we must take action.
When the Karrkad Kanjdji Trust (KKT)’s board came together earlier this year to talk about Reconciliation, it was said that for many remote Aboriginal communities, Reconciliation cannot be achieved while basic human needs are still not met. Across Arnhem Land, despite the emergence of community-owned schools like the Nawarddeken Academy and the Homeland School Company, there are still homelands without access to full-time education. There are still not enough houses to support safe and equitable living conditions. There are still regular outages to basic serves that mainstream Australia takes for granted.
‘We’re bringing back our homelands, but we need to connect with services: power, water, housing. What’s going to happen to all the people with no roads or access? Everybody should be equal, have a proper house.’ Dr Otto Campion, Director of KKT
It is important to recognise the diversity of identities, experiences and perspectives among First Nations communities, and to understand that ‘Reconciliation’ can hold varied meanings across this vast continent. However, what is increasingly clear is that any and all efforts made by non-Indigenous Australia to ‘reconcile’ the wrongs of the past, and the prevailing injustices of the present, must be tangible and year-round.
Reconciliation Week is an opportunity to actually really listen to First Nations peoples, to hear what communities want for the future, and to then take meaningful action.
At the heart of this is Indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination. For too long, successive governments have rolled out harmful policies that have impeded communities’ ability to lead long-term change. The First Nations community-controlled sector provides a framework that actually upholds the right to self-determination and provides a way forward.
‘Whatever the Commonwealth sent to the Territory, adequate funding never got back to the communities. It was always kept in a building. A lot of that has been going on for ages and ages and ages. Until every homeland school was moved out of the communities. Warddeken and Nawarddeken have managed to break through the barriers of the government. There was no other way to do it, we wanted to go back on the landscape and manage it.’ Dr Dean Yibarbuk, Co-Chair of KKT
This Reconciliation Week, KKT is encouraging non-Indigenous Australians to realise their personal solidarity by supporting a First Nations community-controlled organisation. KKT is the fundraising arm of eight community-controlled organisations across Arnhem Land, each servicing or bringing immense benefit to people and Country in different ways. To support them, you can donate here or contact us at mail@kkt.org.au
If you’re unable to make a financial contribution, we encourage you to follow our partners’ work online to continue to learn more about their work for Country, culture and community across Arnhem Land.
All In means that the responsibility to reckon with the past, and to create a more just future, sits not just with governments, but with corporations, communities and individuals. And most importantly, long-term solidarity means embodying this responsibility every week of the year.Â
