Representation and Voices in Reconciliation

By Ashley Saulog, 1st year MDP student

As we get ready for a new school year, I am reflecting on 12 week international placement in Adelaide, Australia with Reconciliation South Australia. Through my placement I have been honoured to travel to different communities all over South Australia to witness the celebrations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, culture, and the truth-telling of the history of colonialism and the intergenerational impacts of Australia’s First People.

A Welcome to Country ceremony for students

An important document and important historical milestone in Indigenous Australians was the Uluru Statement from The Heart. In 2017, a gathering of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders representatives took place at the Uluru to discuss the constitutional reform needed to bring self-determination back into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The 3 main elements include 1) Constitutional Change that involves empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices in the Australian Constitution; 2) Makarrata Commission meaning the “coming together after a struggle” to guide decision-making in government; and 3)The Makarrata Commission would include truth-telling about Australia’s colonial history.

ActNow Theatre group an me

Cross-culturally, the Uluru Statement from the Heart is applicable to social changes towards a reconciliation journey in Australia and Canada. Structural and individual racism is still a challenge towards building respectful relationships between indigenous peoples. Reconciliation SA is conscious that working with a decolonial perspective against structural and individual racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and newcomers from Asia and the Middle East. I feel that The Generation of Change program is a program is an excellent way of involving an arts-based approach to creating conversations with youth in an encouraging and safe space to address lived experiences in racism and educating youth. I think that the Generations of Change of Change program would see great success if it was implemented in Winnipeg. In my work with youth, arts-based approaches I find in the public sector should be utilized to encourage truth-telling through storytelling.

To close, I want to thank Reconciliation South Australia for hosting me for three months. Through this experience in Australia, I never expected to travel to amazingly beautiful landscapes and meet the warmest locals. I truly am so grateful for the opportunity of personal growth in values and in development skills. Reconciliation South Australia truly allowed me to apply the theories and learnings from the MDP program into practice when engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

Maraming salamat. Thank you.

Reconciliation South Australia staff