It’s National Reconciliation Week and this year's theme is ‘More than a word. Reconciliation takes action’.
I have been asked to reflect on what Reconciliation Week means to me, and to be honest it doesn't mean very much.
The notion of reconciliation has presented the idea that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are responsible for reconciling within a state that continues to oppress and disadvantage us.
At the same time, blame is implicated on Indigenous peoples for their own deficit within this system. Reconciliation is the idea that there has been a fair playing field in the ways in which Indigenous and non-Indigenous people relate and live together, when this is not, nor has ever been, the case.
In light of this year's theme, reconciliation is more than a word. Reconciliation takes action. We must start to understand where we are situated socially, and how this location benefits us in order to create meaningful change.
This does not mean getting caught up in conversations that navigate blame or shift responsibility. Accountability is needed to stop pervading the reality that we live within, and are privileged by, a settler colonial society.
As someone who has been lucky enough to succeed or survive within this space, this location is mine to understand and create action through as well. Action can be small. It can be reading, asking questions, listening, showing up to support, donating, and prioritising First Nations' voices where we are needed.
But at the end of the day, although First Nations peoples play a part in reconciliation, it is not for us, and cannot start with us—and it can’t just be me reflecting on what it means.
By Serena Barton
