Honouring the
Freedom Seekers
WORDS: LYDIA FAIRHALL
IMAGE: SHAH ALAMDAR
ourageforourpeoplemeanssomanythings.
Overthepast 250 years,wehaveswumtothe
deepestpartsoftheocean.Wehaveclimbedto
thetopofmountainsthatwedidn’tknowexisted,faced
withharsh,extremeconditionsateverypeak.Wehave
siftedthroughflatlandsofpowderedsandsinanattempt
toretrievewhathasbeentakenandtofindwhatwe
havelostasa people.Wehavelivedonthefringesof
abundantandwastefulcities,walkedthestreetsofour
ownHomelandswithnowheretogo,cutoutfroma
supplyofunlimitedandplentifulresourcesthatwere
previouslybestowedthrougha complexandvastkinship
systemthatguidedourroles,responsibilitiesand
obligationstoeachother,toceremonyandtotheland.
WhenI sitwiththeenergyofmyAncestors,I amstruck
withwhatI believehasbecomemybiggestandpossibly
mosttestingactofcourageyet:tofindpeace,despite
externalconditionsandinter-generationaltrauma,to
practicenurturing,toshinea lightona deeplovefor
humanityandtopracticeradicalself-careandcareof
peopleandcountryasa formofpeacefulresistance
andalignment.Thereisa spiritualbypassclause
thatneedstobefrontandcentrewhenexploringthis
kindofcourage,though.Beforewe,asFirstNations
people,canfullyrepatriateouroldculturalpractices
ofmanifestingandcreating,andwalktogetherwith
ournon-Indigenousbrothersandsistersasone
consciousness,wemustfirstasa nationcometo
termswiththefactthatwhiteAustraliahasnotonly
a blackhistory,buta blacksoulanda blackfuture.
Over 700 languagegroupseconomically,spirituallyand
emotionallythrivedhereforover 2000 generations
beforeinvasion.Byitsveryownlegalframework,the
invasionofthiscountrywasillegalunderBritishlaw,
legitimisedbytwowordsthatwouldchangethebalance
andwayoflifeforourpeoplemorerapidlyovera 50-year
periodthantheentire80,000-yearperiodprecedingit:
“TerraNullius,”meaning,“nopeoplehere.”Classifyingus
asfloraandfaunawasa criticalmomentinourcombined
story:it isa conceptthatultimatelyledtotheattempted
genocideoftheworld’soldestlivingculture.Butwehave
survived.Andinordertoexpandandcreatetogether,
whiteandblack,therearesomerealitiesaroundthe
ongoingsystemicandstructuralracismthatstillexists
inthiscountrythatwemustcometotermswith.It is
inthisacceptance—ina collective,nationalshiftin
consciousness—thatwecanstarttore-imaginea future
thatprotectstheself-determinationandrightstocultural
expressionofallpeoplewhonowcallAustraliahome.
Butthereisanotherpieceofworktoundertake.
Wemust share and listen to the stories of courage that
have flowed from our communities and through our
daily lives, the acts of courage that have brought us to
a time in our history where we can even contemplate
radical self-care and nurturing as acts of resistance
and solidarity. We owe a great deal to the freedom
seekers who have come before us—those who
led large-scale, public acts of defiance to enable a
deeper truth and freedom for all people and planet.
There are also those who displayed enormous acts
of courage by simply being. These untold, everyday
acts of courage—combined with high profile political
activism—deserve our time, honour and attention.
My own mother is the second youngest of a family of
five. Her journey back to home has been a long one,
filled with obstacles that the average human would
not survive. She has been required to swim those
oceans, climb those mountains and sift through those
sands since the moment she took her first breath.
Removed at age 12 from the care of her own mum
who battled with chronic alcoholism, my mother was
hit with another massive trauma just two years later
when she fell pregnant at 14 years old. With no one to
advocate for her or protect her rights at a time when
C
E S S AYS 15
