Reconciliation
What do we mean by reconciliation?
For ANTaR Victoria, reconciliation is understood
as being both a vision and a process. Our vision is to generate
a moral and legal recognition of and respect for the distinctive
status of Indigenous Australians as First Peoples. This recognition
is fundamental to creating a new relationship between Indigenous
people and non-Indigenous people, who have colonised Australia since
1788. This relationship is at the heart of the reconciliation process.
The public process of reconciliation began
with the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR) and has continued
through the work of ANTaR and other organisations and individuals,
who have started the process of educating themselves and others
about the issues, raising awareness and finding ways to acknowledge
the unique status of Indigenous people.
However, reconciliation is a problematic
term. Many people are fed up with the rhetoric of “reconciliation”
as a word that promises a lot but means little in practical terms
and has not delivered justice to Indigenous people or significantly
advanced the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous
Australians.
Over the last three years, the work that
ANTaR Victoria has been involved with through the Fanning the Flames
of Reconciliation project has brought about a shift in our thinking.
Our experience has led us to believe that reconciliation
is whitefella business.
What this means is that the time has come
for non-Indigenous people to take ownership of reconciliation as
a non-Indigenous issue. Too often, reconciliation is seen as being
an “Aboriginal problem”. This view is rooted in past
government policies, but astonishingly, still forms the basis of
Indigenous affairs policies and public opinion today.
The truth is, Australia is built on the
wealth of land that was stolen and non-Indigenous people have benefited
from that. Therefore, it is up to non-Indigenous people
to make a commitment to acknowledging what has happened in the past
and addressing present power imbalances and inequalities. It is
up to non-Indigenous people to restore
integrity and honour to the process of reconciliation.
Therefore we must continue to educate ourselves,
continue to raise awareness and place symbols of recognition in
our homes, in our schools, in our churches and in other institutions.
But we must be careful to not be too tokenistic.
We must be prepared to be confronted by
our personal and community past as well as finding ways to redress
the economic imbalance. We believe that it is no longer useful to
sit back and continue to ask Indigenous people what “they”
want “us” to do to achieve reconciliation. Indigenous
people have told us again and again what they want and often suggest
that the best thing non-Indigenous people can do is to educate themselves
and get active.
ANTaR's new thinking on reconciliation
as whitefella business also requires us to move beyond
feelings of blame and shame and to take action from a place that
energises and inspires others to get on board. It also means create
safe and informed spaces so that Australians can start speaking
up and acknowledging the truth of what has happened, and continues
to go on, in Australia.
ANTaR runs workshops to provide a safe and informed space to address
these issues – we can come to your organisation, your school,
your organisation.
Click
here to see what ANTaR can do for you.
Click
here to find out what you can do.
Council for Aboriginal
Reconciliation
The formal process of reconciliation began in 1999. Following from
a recommendation of the Report of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal
Deaths in Custody, the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR)
was established as a statutory authority under the Council for Aboriginal
Reconciliation Act 1991. The Council’s first chairperson was
Patrick Dodson.
The Council comprised 25 community leaders
appointed by the federal Government, "drawn from Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander communities, the industries which have
most impact on Aboriginal people and from business and other sectors."
The Council's formation was an acknowledgment
of the past and ongoing failure of government policy to recognise
and address the cultural, social and economic needs of Indigenous
Australians.
It was also the recognition that real progress
also required a sea change in the understanding and involvement
of non-Indigenous Australians. The Council's main task was to advance
a national process of reconciliation "to improve the relationships
between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the wider
Australian community."
It was also the recognition that real progress also required a sea
change in the understanding and involvement of non-Indigenous Australians.
This was to be a key national objective of CAR in lead up to the
centenary of the Australian Federation in 2001.
The Council was given a 10-year life, which
ended on the 31st December 2000.
Click here
to access archives on the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation
Reconciliation as a People’s Movement
A key concept to arise out of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation
was the idea of reconciliation as a ‘people’s movement’.
For reconciliation to be successful, reconciliation must be supported
and promoted at a grass-roots level.
Public support for reconciliation reached
an all time high in May 2000, when an estimated 250,000 people walked
across the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a further million were involved
in similar marches across Australia.
ANTaR was a key player in this extraordinary
display of public sympathy. The Prime Minister John Howard himself
described the mood of the Australian people as ‘unstoppable
force’ that was ‘overwhelmingly in favour of reconciliation.’
Howard's "practical reconciliation"
policy
The bridge marches, the formation of ANTaR and the Sea of Hands
were testament to the level of public support for reconciliation
and the importance and potential of community-based action in advancing
reconciliation.
However, the momentum galvanised in the
bridge walks was quickly brought to a halt. At the end of 2000,
the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation released its final report,
with recommendations stressing the need for comprehensive action
to address the significant issues of “unfinished business”,
including a national apology to the Stolen Generations and a legal
treaty.
The Howard Government formally rejected
the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation’s recommendations.
The Government instead advocated for “practical reconciliation”,
stating that true reconciliation was ‘best found within practical
means to improve the wellbeing and happiness of Indigenous Australians
and raising standards to levels enjoyed and expected by all of us.’
In advocating for “practical reconciliation”,
Howard shifted the focus away from a rights agenda by failing to
recognise the distinct claims that Indigenous people make on the
basis of their status as first peoples and in accordance with customary
law and tradition.
Moreover, while “practical reconciliation”
forms the rhetorical basis of the Government’s policy, there
is widespread evidence that better socio-economic outcomes are not
being delivered for Indigenous people. In fact, the health of Indigenous
Australians remains the worst in the developed world. The most crucial
measure of progress, the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous
Australians, has remained the same over the past five to ten years.
Since 2000, the process of reconciliation
in Australia has been stalled. In the absence of strong national
leadership and policies commanded at a broader political level,
reconciliation has fallen off the public radar.
Despite these difficulties, significant
advances are being made at the local and state levels. ANTaR, with
the support of other key organisations and individuals, remains
committed to re-invigorating and re-energising the reconciliation
movement.
Local Reconciliation Initiatives
Some of the best reconciliation initiatives
have taken place at the local level. In Victoria, ANTaR Victoria,
Reconciliation Victoria, local government agencies and other organisations
are committed to the development of local reconciliation groups
as the base of the reconciliation movement. More recently, the focus
of this movement has extended beyond awareness raising activities
and symbolic recognition to a practical engagement in political
and social issues.
Across more than 30 reconciliation groups
in Victoria there is now a great deal of experience in establishing
and maintaining membership and pursuing diverse activities. Some
groups are strongly established, engaged with local government,
and pursuing practical projects; but others are struggling for membership
and focus.
To learn more about local reconciliation
initiatives or to get involved with a local reconciliation group
in your area:
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