Mark’s guide to Belonging in Australia.

This one took some time to write and pull together. It was tough because it highlights our WHY we are in this work. Despite lived trauma and loss over the generations of our First Nations people, we have experienced the possibilities and wealth of what it means to belong when we work together. We continue to stand united. We are committed to generating culture and cultivating belonging. We are super native.

Five Things You Need to Know: (Plus a PDF version to print & share below)

1. Australia wanted to grow white culture, but then we grew more from waves of migration. Today, we are the oldest living cultures and every culture living on this land. It is no longer First Nations and White Australians, we are First Nations and multi-cultures living on the land now known as Australia.

1. See this 1 min video on ,,Top 3 defining moments as a migrant nation from the ,,National Museum of Australia.
2. What was the ,,White Australia Policy. ABC Education has a great 4min video on ,,Why Australia wanted a White Australia policy.
3. From the ABC’s Four Corners program in 1962 is a 6min video of ,,people sharing their opinion on the White Australia Policy. You might also be interested in views on immigration by Australians ,,from ABC in 1979 in ,,1985.

2. Belonging (an affinity for a place or situation; fitting in ) is always evolving. We are intersectional and belong to different communities. We must give ourselves permission to evolve and create new visions of being Australian. See these videos

1. ,,2010 from ABC – 5mins
2. ,,2011 from Channel 10 – 2mins
3. ,,2010 from Channel 7 – 5mins

3. We must face our prejudice of others in order to cultivate belonging together. This is one of our driving core values at SNU. Working together is difficult but it is necessary and ultimately, rewarding and liberating for ALL OF US.

1. ABC Religion and Ethics have this 28min video on ,,Power to the people – Belonging.
2. ABC Life have this video from 2018 ,,People share experiences of racism they face in Australia
3. Monash University A Different Lens series on ,,Australian Identity
4. Here are 2 different views on Identity Politics: ,The Economist and ,Institute of Public Affairs.

4. An Australian Republic. A big and ongoing conversation about our identity and belonging. For a starting point, here are five videos that capture some of the debate:

1. ,,1993 debate on ABC – 9mins
2. ,,2013 Channel 7 debate – 8mins
3. ,,2011 Channel 10 commentary – 5mins
4. ,,2015 from The Feed SBS – 4mins
5. ,,2019 commentary from SkyNews – 4mins

5. MARK’S TIP: Take your shoes off and let the land know who you are. The land has memory and all of us belong. The footsteps of our ancestors doing ceremony and living on the land is not forgotten. The building of our modern nation by generations of Australians from all over the world is not forgotten. Listen, dream, believe and activate belonging together on this land.

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Peace

Mark Yettica-Paulson,

Chief.

Super Native Unlimited.