Jun 21, 2023
Why aren’t we doing more for our aboriginal people?
In this episode of The Darin Olien Show, I discuss with Sonya and
Phil from Process Unite the different issues Aboriginal people are
still facing in Australia. From societal perceptions to standards
of living, a lot has not changed in terms of how we treat
Aboriginal people despite proclaiming progress.
Sonya and Phil also chat about how many governments tend to
compartmentalize the environment and the land they have built on,
which comes with some heavy consequences.
Sonya and Phil represent the Girringun Aboriginal Corporation. It
is located at Cardwell, halfway between Townsville and Cairns in
north Queensland. The corporation represents the interests of
traditional owners from nine tribal groups: Bandjin, Djiru,
Girramay, Gugu Badhun, Gulnay, Jirrbal, Nywaigi, Warrgamay, and
Warungnu.
What we discuss:
04:01: How was it like for Sonya and Phil to be on Down to
Earth?
06:32: What are Sonya and Phil’s focus on these days?
15:49: What would be the things Sonya and Phil want to get
past?
21:31: How are people justifying not helping Aboriginal
people?
25:39: What is the truth about the way Aboriginal people are living
in Australia?
38:45: What are the young people’s points of view of this
reality?
55:49: How can we support Sonya and Phil’s efforts?
58:19: How important are the animals and plants to the Aboriginal
people?
1:07:48: What is the impact of compartmentalizing the
environment?
Find more from Darin:
Find more from Sonya and Phil:
More links:
Takeaways:
-
Most of what we think we know about our aboriginal people is not
true and was fed to you by some political news outlet. While racism
tends to be the main reason why we’re not informed on the reality
of our Aboriginal people, it shouldn’t be the reason we stay
ignorant about them. We can get out of our way and fact-check what
it is we are being told that our governments are doing for our
aboriginal people. So why don’t we do it?
-
When you think “I’ll just take what I need” instead of “I’ll take
what there is”, you’re helping the environment. However, the
reality is we often think the latter. At least, that is the case in
a first-world country. But there is a small percentage of people
who live in first-world countries that think the opposite way:
aboriginal people. See, our environment is perfectly balanced to
offer us everything we need to survive. Aboriginal people know that
hence why they only pick what they need from nature. But us
colonizers, we don’t know how to do that - and because of that,
we’re imposing the consequences of OUR actions on these
people.
