After over a week on the road, the NSW Indigenous Solidarity Bus reached Alice Springs on the evening of Wednesday, July 7th, in time for the final two days of the Defending Indigenous Rights convergence at Yirara College which ran from 6th - 9th July. Arriving just in time for dinner, we were warmly greeted by organisers and fellow activists. This warmth was a relief from the bitter cold outside - the day before we arrived was the coldest in Alice's history, reaching a top of just 6.3 degrees! Fortunately we were able to set up camp on an undercover basketball court alongside fellow Solidarity Bus riders from Queensland.
The Defending Indigenous Rights convergence was called to bring together community leaders from across the Northern Territory and Indigenous solidarity activists from across the country, with a major focus on fighting back against the NT Intervention. Aboriginal community leaders such as Harry Nelson, Murray George, Barb Shaw, Uncle Kevin Buzzacott and Richard Downs — along with many others — addressed and facilitated forums covering the full scope of attacks on Aboriginal people, their land, culture and language. Issues as diverse as the basics card, the 'Jobs for Justice' campaign, uranium mining and dumping on indigenous territory, Indigenous health and community-controlled health programs and employment initiatives and deaths in custody were covered by forums and workshops.
Activists from the NSW bus were able to take part in workshops and plenaries discussing where the movement for Indigenous rights should go from here, as well as helping out with the convergence's logistics - feeding over 200 people is no mean feat! One of the highlights of our two days at the conference was a film by Chris Graham, former National Indigenous Times editor, which outlined how the 2006 Insight report on child abuse at Mutitjulu, which sparked the Intervention, used fabricated sources and false information. This film had been screened while we were on the road from Alice, and was repeated on our first morning at the convergence.
Another key issue which Solidarity Bus riders heard about was the attacks on bilingual education which are part of the NT Intervention. On Thursday morning the convergence was addressed by teachers and community leaders from across the NT, who compared the unruly English-only classes in remote communities to those which are taught in traditional languages, in which students are attentive and well-behaved. Drawing on historic links between the Aboriginal Rights movement and trade unions, the convergence called on the Australian Education Union to support teachers who refuse to implement the ban on bilingual education. Our resident graffiti artist and organiser extraordinaire Zane did up a statement supporting teachers on the side of our bus - joining those calling for real jobs and self determination.
Other resolutions were passed on the final day of the conference, with a particular emphasis on the Intervention, the upcoming federal elections and a national day of action to be called for September, before we loaded up the Solidarity Buses for a trip to Todd Mall to take part in a 300-strong rally and march calling for an end to the Intervention. The atmosphere on the brief trip into town was great, with a guitar passing hands and anthems of the struggle such as Blackfella/Whitefella and From Little Things Big Things Grow having the whole bus singing along. We reached the rally all pumped up and ready for action, and it didn't disappoint. Although the local media has not yet responded to the action, it was highly visible and very loud: we took to the streets for over half an hour, after a range of speakers who had attended the convergence, before arriving at the end of NAIDOC week celebrations for a barbeque, performance and awards ceremony.
Some of the best parts of the convergence were musically inclined; Neil Murray, legendary musician and one of the founding members of the Warumpi band, played several Warumpi band songs for the gathering, including a beautiful duet of My Island Home with a local singer, as part of the convergence's agenda. But we also shared moments of connection outside of the formal schedule; each evening bus trippers, activists and indigenous campaigners gathered around the campfire for music and, on our final night, roasted potatoes and Kangaroo tail. Informal meetings and discussions between activists and campaigners such as these, alongside the political outcomes of the convergence, are of great importance in breaking through the divisive race-card politics of both major parties.
We finally got together on Saturday morning for a farewell photo with the bus and a big clean-up session before packing our bags and heading off. Several trippers were able to hitch or hire their way to the walk-off camp at Ampilatwatja, while the rest of us spent a day and night sight-seeing before stopping in at Mount Nancy.
No comments:
Post a Comment