Evidence Library

Emma Mayall talks about her Grandfather, who lost his connection to his heritage and for a large part of his life denied he was a First Nations man. She talks about the struggle of trying to find out more about her Dadda’s history and her own identity as a First Nations woman.

“My mother’s truth came when she met her cousins. He said your mother had a beautiful singing voice. It was the first time my Mum had met a blood relative to her Mum. I will never forget how she looked, how it changed her, how much those words meant to her. Her whole body changed in her joy of those words. I try not to think about what could have been. How it took till my Mum was in her 80’s for this to happen.”

Anonymous 1505 recounts the story of Eliza Nowen, taken by sealers in the 1830s, and her descendants’ struggles with intergenerational trauma and denial of their culture. They emphasize the importance of telling Eliza’s story and preserving her legacy through education and resilience.

Rumbalara Football Netball Club (Rumbalara FNC) is an Aboriginal community run sporting club located in Shepparton, Victoria.

This submission is a Final Report into the Rumbalara Wellbeing and Resilience Project by Algabonyah Research and Impact Centre at the Kaiela Institute.

In recent years, the exposure of young members to racial vilification has compelled Rumbalara FNC to seek this evaluation of how well the club is supporting the wellbeing of its members, with a view to seek additional ways to promote wellbeing and resilience and decrease exposure to racism.

Jason Gamble is a Palawa man who lives in Victoria. He feels isolated because of the genocide in Tasmania and now aims to live a simple life living off the land but spends much of his time in a battle with authorities. He is concerned about culture and heritage and being free to live with the land.

Anonymous 1363 discovered their Aboriginal heritage at nearly 60 years old after being adopted into a white settler life. They feel robbed of their culture and identity, and are now striving to reclaim their heritage while fighting against structural racism and advocating for Aboriginal-led initiatives.

Anglicare Victoria outlines in its submission how facilities operated by its founding agencies included many children’s homes that accepted First Nations children who had been forcibly removed from their families and communities and were separated from kin, culture and Country. It acknowledges the extensive nature of forcible removal of Aboriginal children from their families across Victoria and Australia. It outlines its historic practices around historical records and its services today in responding to requests for files and records, as well as its work to be culturally safe in its current practices.

Julie Peters, discusses the distress they feel about the relationship between First Nations and colonising people, highlighting the entrenched disadvantage, poor health, poverty and lack of opportunties suffered by First Nations people. They outline their family history and emphasise the importance of truth-telling, treaties, and eliminating discrimination for First Nations people to have genuine agency.

The Aboriginal Justice Caucus is made up of all the Aboriginal signatories1 to the Victorian Aboriginal Justice Agreement  and includes Chairpersons of each of the nine Regional Aboriginal Justice Advisory Committees, representatives from statewide Aboriginal justice programs, Aboriginal peak bodies and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs).

This submission focuses on matters relating to Confirmation of Aboriginality (CoA). It provides insights into the current process, and recommendations to ensure a fair, respectful, and effective process that acknowledges the cultural and community-based aspects of Aboriginal identity, while addressing concerns related to fraudulent claims and their impacts on Aboriginal communities.

David Barton’s submission to Yoorrook comprises an article titled, The Decline and Rise of the Aboriginal Population in Victoria.