Black Lives Matter: Practical ways you can support Aboriginal, Indigenous people

From where to donate to better educating yourself, here are some practical ways you can support Aboriginal Lives Matter.

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder in Minnesota, Minneapolis – and the protests over not only his death but police brutality and racism that have spread across the US and around the world – it’s easy to forget the treatment of Indigenous people in our own backyard.

First Nations peoples are the most incarcerated in the world, and 434 Indigenous Australians have died in custody since 1991.

In a widely-shared blog post, Amy McQuire, a Darumbul and South Sea Islander woman from Rockhamptom, wrote: “Australia is outraged at police brutality in the US, but apathetic to the lives of black people in their own community”.

“There is nothing shocking about racist violence perpetrated by police because it is normalised. It is seen as legitimate violence. It is this legitimate violence that was not only used to steal the country and assert white dominance but also maintain it through the oppression of Aboriginal people.”

If you weren’t able to attend a protest over the weekend – or feel powerless and want to do better – here are some other practical actions you can take.

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A demonstrators attends a Black Lives Matter protest to express solidarity with US protesters and demand an end to frequent Aboriginal deaths in custody in Australia in Sydney. Picture: Saeed Khan/AFP

DONATE

If you’re looking to or are in the position to make a contribution, here are some (but by no means all) current campaigns and organisations that are providing support to Indigenous Australians and the families of those who have died in police custody:

• David Dungay: In 2015, Dungay, a 26-year-old Indigenous Australian, was held down by officers – who stormed his cell in Long Bay jail after he refused to stop eating a packet of biscuits – until he died. His mother has set up a GoFundMe to fund an inquest into the officers who were found not responsible for her son’s death. You can donate to it here.

• Kumanjayi Walker: In November 2019, Kumanjayi Walker was shot by police three times in his Yuendumu home in the Northern Territory. His family have set up a GoFundMe to raise money for an independent inquiry into the shooting. You can donate to it here.

• Tanya Day: Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day was removed by police from a train on December 5, 2017 and taken into custody, where she sustained injuries. She eventually died in hospital from the brain injuries inflicted. You can donate to a fund for the family to get an individual inquest into her death here.

• Joyce Clarke: The 29-year-old was shot and killed by police in Geraldton last year in September. The officer charged with her murder recently entered a not guilty plea ahead of his trial later this year. You can donate to a fund for the family to travel to all court proceedings here.

• First Peoples Disability Network: First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN) is a national organisation of and for Australia’s First Peoples with disability, their families and communities. You can donate here.

• Pay The Rent: An ongoing campaign that encourages non-Indigenous people to donate a portion of their income for operating on Indigenous land. All funds are given to Aboriginal people in Victoria. You can donate here.

• North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency: A not-for-profit legal service supporting Aboriginal people and their families in the Northern Territory. You can donate here.

• Bridging The Gap Foundation For Indigenous Health and Education: The Foundation aims to bridge the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians when it comes to health and education. You can donate here.

• The National Justice Project: The National Justice Project advocates for the development of a law and justice system that is fair, just and equitable. You can contribute to the Project, which also provides legal support to people who would otherwise not have access, here.

• ANTaR: ANTaR is a national advocacy organisation dedicated specifically to the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through lobbying, public campaigns and advocacy. You can donate here.

• Aboriginal Legal Service: The ALS was founded 50 years ago in Redfern, and fights for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples in the areas of criminal law, children’s care and protection law and family law. You can donate here.

• Sisters Inside: A not-for-profit organisation that “advocates for the collective human rights of women and girls in prison, and their families”. You can donate here.

• Free Her: Organised by Debbie Kilroy of Sisters Inside, this ongoing campaign uses collected funds to release Aboriginal women from prison or pay outstanding warrants. You can donate here.

• Black Rainbow: A national advocacy platform and touchpoint for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTQI peoples. You can donate here.

• Happy Boxes Project: Founder Emma Sullings spent five years working, living and learning in remote Northern Territory communities as a teacher, youth mentor, family educator and leader in trauma practice in the classroom. The Project’s boxes provide communities, disadvantaged youth and women’s refugee centres with toiletries and sanitary items. You can contribute here.

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READ

Here are just some of the books and resources you can read to offer you the information, context and education you’re looking for:

• The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies are the only national institution focused exclusively on the diverse history, cultures and heritage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia. You can find their great resources here.

• Common Ground shares First Nations cultures, histories and lived experiences, helping Australians to see the value of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures through providing access to content that helps bridge gaps in knowledge. You can find them here.

• Share Our Pride gives Australians a glimpse of how life looks from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective, and debunks myths and the “you can’t ask that” type of questions. You can find them here.

• The Tall Man: Death and Life on Palm Island by Chloe Hooper: Hooper’s book explores the circumstances around the 2004 arrest and death of Doomadgee, who was arrested for swearing at a white police officer and died in a jail cell with a ruptured liver 45 minutes later. You can buy it here.

• Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe: Pascoe’s book argues for a reconsideration of the hunter-gatherer tag often used to describe pre-colonial Aboriginal Australians by providing proof of pre-colonial agriculture, engineering and building construction by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island peoples. You can buy it here.

• Growing Up Aboriginal In Australia edited by Anita Heiss: An anthology of stories and experiences from Indigenous people around Australia. Contributors include Adam Goodes, Miranda Tapsell, Tony Birch and Celeste Liddle. You can buy it here.

• Welcome to Country: A Travel Guide to Indigenous Australia by Marcia Langton: Langton’s book is an inclusive guidebook to Indigenous Australia and the Torres Strait Islands. You can buy it here.

• Blood on the Wattle: Massacres and Maltreatment of Aboriginal Australians by Bruce Elder: Up its third edition, it’s a compilation of information about the massacres of Aboriginal people recorded in sourced books and journals. You can buy it here.

• Talking to My Country by Stan Grant: In the wake of Adam Goodes being booed at by AFL fans in 2015, journalist Stan Grant wrote a powerful opinion piece about being an Indigenous Australian that went viral the world over. His memoir is a larger meditation on race and the state of Indigenous affairs in Australia. You can buy it here.

RELATED: 11 things you can do to dismantle racism

Stan Grant is the author of Talking to My Country and wrote the 2019 Adam Goodes documentary, The Australian Dream. Picture: Kathy Luu

LISTEN

Here are some podcasts you can listen to in order to educate yourself and gain greater understanding:

• Curtain: Hosted by Amy McQuire and Martin Hodgson, this podcasts aims to “pull back the blinds to shine a light on the darkest parts of our justice system and ask – who are the victims?” You can listen to it here.

• Blood On the Tracks: A true crime podcast from journalist Allan Clarke that delves into the unsolved murder of Gomeroi teenager, Mark Haines. You can listen to it here.

• Speaking Out: A politics, arts and culture radio segment from a range of different Indigenous perspectives. While it broadcasts on Radio National on Fridays at 8pm, you can also listen to it online here.

• AWAYE!: AWAYE! presents diverse and vibrant Aboriginal arts and culture from across Australia and the best from Indigenous radio broadcasters around the world. You can listen to it here.

• Always was, always will be our stories: Hosted by Marlee Silva, this podcasts features “inspiring conversations with Indigenous role models and trailblazers”. You can listen to it here.

WATCH

And here are some videos, movies and documentaries you can watch:

• Ask us Anything: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people: From the University of Sydney, this video shows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and staff answering anonymously submitted questions to confront myths and stereotypes. You can watch it here.

• The Healing Foundation: The Healing Foundation is a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation that partners with communities to address ongoing trauma caused by actions like the forced removal of children from their families. You can watch their videos here.

• My stolen childhood, and a life to rebuild: In this TEDxPerth talk, Sheila Humphries details how, as a child, she was taken away from her parents and placed in an orphanage by authorities who thought they knew best. You can watch it here.

• The myth of Aboriginal stories being myths: In this TEDxAdelaide talk, Adnyamathanha and Ngarrindjeri woman Jacinta Koolmarie explores who holds the knowledge passed down by Australia’s Indigenous groups, and if it’s respected in our society. You can watch it here.

• The Australian Dream, written by Stan Grant and directed by Daniel Gordon and The Final Quarter, directed by Ian Darling: Both documentaries, released in 2019, look at the treatment of champion AFL footballer and Indigenous leader Adam Goodes in the final three years of his playing career by the public and the media.

• First Australians: This documentary series chronicles the birth of contemporary Australia from the perspective of its first people. You can watch it here.