Cultural awareness and Our Generation
Wed 02 November 2011
Dakoda Barker, Bachelor of Journalism
Aboriginal rights documentary Our Generation screened at the University of the Sunshine Coast (USC), aiming to build awareness of the issues facing Australia’s indigenous population.
Amnesty International hosted the event as part of its Homelands campaign, which sought to protect the rights and traditional communities of the Northern Territory’s indigenous population.
With the Sunshine Coast Council’s Reconciliation Action Plan in the works, indigenous issues on the Sunshine Coast are being highlighted and steps are being taken to close the gap.
The Action Plan’s guiding principles focus on the spirit of reconciliation, deadly dreaming (vision), yarning (community consultation), and learning circles (formal meeting and reflection).
These principles will help form a strong partnership between the Council and its indigenous community, and put good intentions into action.
USC has its own Reconciliation Plan, which was developed in consultation with the Buranga Centre, the University’s indigenous support service, and other groups.
Buranga Centre indigenous services officer Su Gould said many steps had already been taken by USC towards reconciliation.
“The faculties are now getting more indigenous content into the curriculum and they’ve increased contact with the community to run workshops,” Ms Gould said.
“The Human Resource Management Department is now looking at doing a CD specifically for new staff coming in who haven’t done any cultural workshops before.”
The Buranga Centre plays a key role in the Sunshine Coast’s indigenous community by providing a variety of services, both to students at USC and the public.
Some of these services include the facilitation of the Indigenous Tutoring Assistance Scheme (ITAS), Indigenous Cadetship Support (ICS) and organising cultural awareness workshops.
Ms Gould also said many of USC’s international students were taking an interest in indigenous issues.
“We’ve found that our international students are even more interested in indigenous history and culture than our non-indigenous students,” Ms Gould said.
The 2006 Census found that the Sunshine Coast’s indigenous population was around 3400, which is approximately 1.2 per cent of the total population.
Despite this low percentage, Ms Gould said it was vitally important that people had an understanding of indigenous culture, and said the screening of Our Generation would have a positive effect on the Sunshine Coast.
“It will educate people who have never experienced, or never had anything to do with indigenous communities,” Ms Gould said.
“Hopefully it will educate people and broaden their minds.”
“We hope that the Buranga Centre feeds the community important things that they need to take to the schools."
“SCING (Sunshine Coast Indigenous Network Group) come here once every couple of months, and there is a representative from the Buranga Centre that will go and sit at the meetings.
“It’s very important that we continue these connections with the community.”
The Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME) is another program run on the Sunshine Coast and further abroad, aimed at closing the gap and spreading cultural awareness.
AIME organises one-on-one mentoring between an indigenous high school student and a university student.
The program has support from a variety of well known personalities, including sports stars Ian Thorpe, Wendell Sailor and Scott Prince.
Traditional owner and workshop facilitator Paola Smith runs cultural awareness programs on-site at Nungeena Aboriginal Corporation for Women’s Business, and conducts tours of local cultural sites.
Nungeena is situated in the Glass House Mountains at the base of Mount Beerwah, a location historically significant as a gathering place for women’s business.
Ms Smith said the Sunshine Coast was very rich in cultural history, and it was important the community was familiar with the region’s heritage.
“Cultural awareness is essential to making sure people are aware of what’s in their backyard and teaching them to appreciate what we have so they’re not afraid to put their hands up to protect it,” Ms Smith said.
“There are still a lot of sacred sites in the region and we need to make sure they’re protected.
“Unless people are made aware of these sites, we run the risk of them being lost for the future.”
Ms Smith said cultural awareness was the vital foundation for working towards reconciliation.
“Reconciliation, from an Aboriginal perspective, is about empowering our people and teaching them to be proud of their culture and heritage,” Ms Smith said.
“We want these young kids to be aware of their cultural history, because they’re the future land owners.”
Ms Smith said reconciliation was an ongoing process, and everybody had to be responsible for education and raising awareness of cultural issues.
“It’s about walking hand in hand to preserve things for future generations,” Ms Smith said.
Image(s) designed by Dakoda Barker