Hi folks and welcome to my Friday Reflection for 9th August 2024
Today I am writing to you from the Atlantic Fellows for Social Equity (AFSE) Hub in Naarm/MEL, (University of Melbourne).
Today we celebrate the International Day for the World’s Indigenous Peoples. Like many peoples around the world, we celebrate surviving and thriving as First Peoples, Nations, Tribes, Clans and communities. We represent an unbroken line from our ancestors and the oldest surviving continuous cultures on earth.
This week the AFSE program has been focused on Indigenous Leadership. We’ve been discussing how we navigate our modern world, how we might be more strategic with our leadership, how we incorporate our ancestral wisdoms into our governance, and thriving collectively.
Indigenous Futures
Discussing Indigenous Futures we talked about how we are accessing our knowledges either consciously or subconsciously.
Here are three points and prompts for navigating our Indigenous Futures that might be useful for us all to reflect on while navigating towards our futures.
1. We Make Decisions.
We are already making decisions of how to incorporate our sense of self and our cultural identity. We are making choices on our cultural practices, our priorities, our political alliances and positions, and how we present ourselves in the modern world. For example, living in a modern world city as a First Nations person, I already recognise that I am living on the lands of other peoples. I recognise it by treating the natural environment around me like I was looking after my own country and take responsibility for my actions on their lands and waters.
How are my decisions impacting futures?
2. We Make Traditions.
We are already making traditions by adopting new ideas and practices, adapting to new environments and constraints, and abandoning cultural practices that either no longer serve their purpose or can not be maintained. For example, hunting is a strong cultural practice among First Nations. However, living in a modern world city, I buy food and cook at home much more than I trap, hunt, fish, and gather. However, we’ve adapted a food sharing and serving of our elders as ongoing cultural practices related to our kinship.
What traditions do I keep or change?
3. We Make Partnerships.
We are already making partnerships with others in joint business ventures, with governments in policy and service delivery, and with allies at all levels to make futures possible where First Nations can flourish.
Who can I partner with?
Today's encouragement and challenge
My encouragement and challenge to you is to think about your Decisions, Traditions, and the Partnerships. Are you acting consciously or subconsciously to fulfil social, work, cultural, and family expectations?
I believe if we are to make futures where people and planet thrive, and where First Nations flourish, we will need to be more intentional, purposeful, and dedicated to taking actions now to make those futures possible.
Be encouraged and encourage others.
Mark Yettica-Paulson, Naarm Melbourne. University of Melbourne
