A Global Look at Indigenous Peoples Day

I come from Australia, a country that has a terrible history with the treatment of its own Indigenous peoples, Australian Aboriginals. The grievous atrocities committed upon these people since the arrival of white colonialists from England in 1788—and throughout colonial times and onwards—are too numerous and horrific to mention, ranging from genocide to diaspora. 

When Captain James Cook first landed on the shores of what is now called Botany Bay, encountering the local Aboriginal people, it was declared that this land was “Terra Nullius.” The literal translation is a land that is legally deemed to be unoccupied or uninhibited; a convenient way to then lay claim to the land as part of the British Empire and up for grabs by white colonialists, a formula that was successfully repeated worldwide. 

This recipe for dealing with our Indigenous peoples continued into Australia’s recent history of not formally recognizing their status as people with human rights. Up until the 1970s, Aboriginal people were not counted as part of the population, they could not vote, and the country was ruled under a “White Australia Policy” into the 1970s.   

Recently, I read a novel called The White Girl by Tony Birch, an Australian Aboriginal author. The story is set in Australia's troubled past, when the white police had the authority of "The Crown" to forcibly remove children of mixed race from their Aboriginal families simply due to the color of their skin. 

It’s a moving tale of the importance of family and how it takes precedence above all else to ensure it survives. I found it to be written in a very gentle, but thought-provoking manner. It paints a picture of rural Australia with all its innate prejudices on display, but it concludes with a vision of hope. 

As a member of Brooklyn Public Library's Indigenous Services/Land Acknowledgement Committee, I have been encouraged to explore how I might help foster greater recognition for Indigenous peoples worldwide. After reading the novel, I was compelled to reach out to Tony and ask if he would be interested in taking part in the events planned at BPL to help celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day 2022. Tony will be joining us from 4–6 pm on Friday, October 14, to take part in a live Zoom discussion at Brooklyn Heights Library. The session will be an open discussion about not only his novel and other works, for which he gained great literary recognition, but on other matters that impact Indigenous lives. There will also be a chance for questions from the audience. 

There have been some major advancements for the past crimes committed in Australia. These include proclaiming a national “Sorry Day” in an attempt to apologize for all damages done; advancements in land right claims, including the High Court overturning the fiction of Terra Nullius in a 1992 landmark case; and most recently, a movement called “The Voice,” which aims to have greater representation of our Aboriginal people within our governing body.  

Here at BPL, we have been active in developing a Land Acknowledgement Statement to assist in the recognition of the Lenape Nation, the original landholders of the land on which BPL stands. There has also been a strong collaboration between the Library and the Lenape Center, resulting in the first-ever Lenape cultural exhibition held at Greenpoint Library earlier this year and the launch of The Lenapehoking Anthology this coming week. Finally, in recognition of Indigenous Peoples Day 2022, Brooklyn Heights Library is hosting an Indigenous Film Festival, supplemented with a display of Indigenous works in support of each represented group.