However, to many Aboriginal people there is little to celebrate and it is a commemoration of a deep loss. Loss of their sovereign rights to their land and the right to practice their culture. Many of them rather call 26th January Invasion Day.
Australia Day is also referred to as 'Invasion Day' or 'Survival Day' particularly by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. This is because it 'celebrates' a painful part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history.
For Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders
Now, and since the 26th was described as a day of mourning in 1938, many Australians want to further adapt celebrations to better recognise the First Nation's Peoples and their roles in history, and to properly acknowledge what events of the 26th meant for their cultures.
Overall support has come down since 2019 when it was at 37 per cent. Around 33 per cent did not support a separate day for Indigenous Australians, which is up from 29 per cent last year, but is down from the 2019 figure of 40 per cent.
Acknowledge local Aboriginal community and the honoured place of the First Peoples in event programs and / or flyers. Learn about the Traditional Owners of the land you live on and share an Acknowledgement of Country on 26th January.
For a non-Aboriginal person, or an Aboriginal person who is not a descendant of that tribal land, acknowledging the local Aboriginal people as the Traditional Owners is a mark of respect. It is also respectful to acknowledge Elders past and present.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples' rights and interests in land are formally recognised over around 50 per cent of Australia's land mass. Connection to land is of central importance to First Nations Australians.
“There is strong support for continuing to regard January 26 as 'Australia Day' amongst men (71% in favour), people aged 65+ (81%) and 50-64 (73%), people in Country Regions (71%) and in the states of Western Australia (71%) and Queensland (69%).
Based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) projections, the number of Indigenous Australians in 2021 was estimated to be 881,600. The Indigenous Australian population is projected to reach about 1.1 million people by 2031 (ABS 2019b).
In the 1860s, Victoria became the first state to pass laws authorising Aboriginal children to be removed from their parents. Similar policies were later adopted by other states and territories – and by the federal government when it was established in the 1900s.
From 1940 until 1955, the Day of Mourning was held annually on the Sunday before Australia Day and was known as Aborigines Day. In 1955 Aborigines Day was shifted to the first Sunday in July after it was decided the day should become not simply a protest day but also a celebration of Aboriginal culture.
There are varying estimates for how long Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lived on this continent, however, upwards of 60,000 years is what current research reveals.
The majority of First Nations Peoples of Australia experience this day as: Day of mourning: The Day of Mourning was a protest held by Aboriginal Australians on 26 January 1938, the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the First Fleet, which marked the beginning of the colonisation of Australia.
The leading cause of death for Indigenous males was circulatory diseases (closely followed by cancer and other neoplasms), while for Indigenous females it was cancer and other neoplasms (Table D1. 23.1, Figure 1.23. 2).
On Australia Day our deep respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture is infused into everything we undertake as part of our commemorations. But in doing so we acknowledge that 26 January is a date that, for many, is a reminder of the hurt caused by the arrival of Europeans to this land.
'That date holds more significance to the First Nations people of this country, it is at its core an invasion day. Changing the date would allow everyone that calls Australia home, indigenous or not, to celebrate what we have now without disrespecting the experience of the past.
It was the English explorer Matthew Flinders who suggested the name we use today. He was the first to circumnavigate the continent in 1803, and used the name 'Australia' to describe the continent on a hand drawn map in 1804. The National Library holds a reproduction.
A pragmatic alternative is simply to hold Australia Day on the last Friday of January. A more humorous suggestion is May 8, which pronounced with a broad Australian drawl sounds like the word “mate”.
Between 2014–15 and 2018–19, after adjusting for inflation, the median gross weekly personal income for Indigenous Australians aged 18 and over fell by 5.6%, from $518 to $489 (Figure 1).
The government is also providing $37.5 million to support native title holders to gain greater economic benefit from their land, as well as $21.9 million for leadership initiatives. The government is estimated to provide $16.2 million for Indigenous health spending to the states and territories in 2022-23.
The islands were settled by different seafaring Melanesian cultures such as the Torres Strait Islanders over 2500 years ago, and cultural interactions continued via this route with the Aboriginal people of northeast Australia.
To make direct eye contact can be viewed as being rude, disrespectful or even aggressive.To convey polite respect, the appropriate approach would be to avert or lower your eyes in conversation. Observe the other person's body language.
Shame may be felt as a result of: • a lack of respect • embarrassment • self importance/self promotion • rudeness • a breach of accepted Aboriginal “norms” and/or taboos A shame job is an an event which causes a person shame or embarrassment.
Wominjeka means Hello/Welcome in the Woiwurrung language of the Wurundjeri people of Kulin Nation – the traditional owners of Melbourne.