18/02/2022
From the love within our hearts ❤🌿
We are a product of the stolen generation; our voice and lived experience is our authority to speak and address matters that concern and impact our people.
Historically, we were not allowed to live in connection with our country, we were expected to live in segregated areas because we were viewed as not human.
We were told to not speak our language, not to use our god given intuition for healing through natural forms such as plant medicine, food and our traditional divine connection.
We were expected to work for less or nothing, to not speak up about our perspective or needs at all. We were told we were not welcome in the towns, we were unable to share a swim on a hot day, we were not permitted to eat with others, we were not allowed on the same side of the street as our non-indigenous community members, we could not enter premises and had to sit outside where we belonged.
Until the 1960’s, we were controlled and dominated by patriarchal structures which included various forms of physical violence regardless of age, gender or community status; it was classed as lawful. We were not allowed to see our families once we were separated; without consequence.
We were not allowed to have our identity; our choice was to identify and suffer the consequences or deny our identity and suffer the impact of disconnection; both different forms of suppression with significant impact.
We are products of the stolen generation; we love as you do, we need connection and healing as you do, we need our voices heard and validated as you do, we need our people welcomed home as you do, we need our friends, families and colleagues as you do, we need to feel safe and included as you do.
The difference is, we have not always had this as a right in this country purely because of who we are, individuals belonging to a culture.
The fight for speech and inclusion is not about power over; it is about understanding.
It is not about making us wrong because our culture has fractures; it is about understanding.
It is not about black vs white or any other culture; it is about understanding.
It is not about changing your life and your views; it is about understanding.
It is not about political correctness; it is about understanding.
It is not about our difference of perspective; it is about understanding.
It is not about our silence to appease your discomfort; it is about understanding.
It is not that we know more than you; it is about understanding.
Its not about divisiveness: its about understanding.
Its not about working separately without exchange of perspective; its about understanding.
Its not about fear, undermining one or the other; its about understanding.
Our families can come together now, we will feel the expansion of love as this happens, in unison we will feel the grief at the loss at the same time; a very surreal experience.
When we reach out to you to try to bridge the gap of difference, voice our pain, uncertainty, confusion and fear, we need to be met with willingness to sit beside and show us that we belong and are welcomed; it is a part of our journey to treaty.
Our journey’s will not be about true healing until we can hear the voices that have been silenced, the hearts that have been forced to close, the connections that were severed by the hand of another without consent.
Without blame, with authentic courage of voice and heart- we are products of the stolen generation.
We now have the privilege of taking our old people home safely, we have the privilege of learning our native tongue, using our medicine and living our spirituality.
We have the privilege of meeting our families and understanding where we come from, validation of our internal knowing and dialogue that was never allowed to be voiced; assumption that you have no internal cultural understanding because you were disconnected from the depth of the culture is a grave misconception.
We have the opportunity to heal our heart; we know not all of us can fully heal in our lifetimes, that applies to all traditions. The beauty is that we now have the opportunity to do this safely, collectively and in alignment with our traditions as does every generation that follows, all playing our part in the overarching plan of peace, treaty and unity; making room for us to be.
Understanding that our paths have differences, our traditions have differences and our perspectives have differences. The alike is love, devotion and connection- please don’t dismiss our identity or minimise our voices now that we finally have the right to have them.
Their will be discomfort for everyone as we learn to hold space for the truth of the experience that has been lived for so long. As the light pervades the dark it expands into more light, it enhances the cultivation of strength and courage as a collective which brings love.
We speak for our people who had no voices, that passed with their silence, pain and suppression within them- its bigger than us.
We invite you to sit in our hearts, to see through our lense of experience and culture, to understand that we are all one yet having a different experience ~ moving toward the same desire.
For those who can hold the space for us, we love you for loving, hearing and supporting us with humility, respect and graciousness as we honour those who came before us;
Those who gave us this opportunity to participate in the healing and realignment of our culture and it’s place in our beautiful country.
© Mel Armstrong ~
