By Dr Bibiana Chan
https://nrw.reconciliation.org.au/embed/#?secret=sxVg6QrDaG#?secret=fPgIrCSGes
The 20th anniversary of RECONCILIATION WEEK (27th MAY – 3rd JUNE) just passed. The 2021 theme was ‘MORE THAN A WORD. RECONCILIATION TAKES ACTION’ What actions could I take? I came across a TED Talk by Prof Sheree Cairney entitled ‘What Aboriginal Knowledge can teach us about happiness?’
Perhaps the first thing I could do was to ‘UNLEARN’ the bias or stereotypes I held about Indigenous Australians. Then I could ‘RELEARN’ the Indigenous culture and gain some KNOWLEDGE to help me understand their values, their world view. This reminded me of a ‘Conversation with the Artists’ at MCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) I attended during the 2018 Sydney Biennale. I was fascinated by the presentation ‘ ‘Learn and Un-lean – Process in Creating Art’ of a South Korean artist.
I did make an effort to LEARN the Indigenous culture. I visited Darwin in 2010 and joined a ‘Aboriginal Cave Art’ tour to find out the livelihood of the First Nation. Reflecting on that tour, I was very attentive to the narratives of the Indigenous guide: she passionately explained the symbolic meanings behind the cave art at various sites inside the Kakadu National Park. However, I had not been through the ‘UNLEARNing’ process! I might still carry with me the bias about all the negative images and reports I read from the medical journals and academic book chapters. Prof Cairney illustrated very well how Australians (from all ethnic backgrounds) and the First Nation People could work together and learn from each other: ‘operate from the safety and strength of your own culture and enable you to be true to who you are, which appears to be key elements of wellbeing!’
She asked her Indigenous friend, an elder of Arnhum Land, ‘What is the one thing Government can do to improve the wellbeing of Aboriginal people?’
He answered, ‘Walk with us. To share those knowledge from the those two shared world views.‘