GenWest recognises that the land on which we work and provide our services always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
We stand in solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We recognise that 26 January is not a date to celebrate and is widely known as Invasion Day, Survival Day or Day of Mourning. This day marks the unlawful invasion of Australia that resulted in the genocide of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and the dispossession of their lands, culture and languages.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities continue to face ongoing colonisation, dispossession, intergenerational trauma, racism, oppression and the removal from family and community. This continues to have a profoundly detrimental effect on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
We will always value the voices and contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities leading the movement for equity, justice and self-determination. We are committed to a future that brings healing, truth-telling, reparations and justice for First Nations people.
8 Actions to take this week:
Learn
1. About the significance of 26 Jan for First Nations Peoples as a day that marks the beginning of genocide and disposition. Find out why the day is called Day of Mourning and Invasion Day.
- Head over to Talk Black
- Watch First Australians
2. Learn about and support the journey to Treaty for Victoria from First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria
Donate
3. First Nations Futures’ campaign #WEALTHBACK is calling on all people who have benefited from the ongoing colonisation of First Nations lands to give voluntary donations, which are passed on to Aboriginal community organisations. Find out more at First Nations Futures
4. Pay The Rent program is organised by First Nations and non-First Nations people working together, as the Pay The Rent Grassroots Collective. This Collective is based on the lands of the Kulin Nation in Victoria, Australia, but they are a national organisation.
You can make once-off contributions or ongoing regular donations. Money is distributed to Aboriginal people, communities and grassroots initiatives "working to strengthen any one of the five interconnected pillars of Aboriginal sovereignty and belonging: Land, Law, Kinship, Ceremony, Language". Find out more Pay The Rent
Wear your values
5. Support First Nations led makers. Some of our favourites are Clothing the Gaps Gammin Threads Haus of Dizzy Take Pride Movement
Show Solidarity
6. Attend the Invasion Day Dawn Service and Sacred Mourning Ceremony 5am to 7am, at Camp Sovereignty, Melbourne
7. Attend the Naarm Survival Day/Invasion Day Rally on Sunday 26th January, 10am to 2pm, at Parliament House. Find out more from Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance
Share the Spirit
8. After the rally, head over to Share The Spirit - Keep the Fire Burning for 6 hours of non-stop amazing First Nations music. Treasury Gardens from 11.30am.
