Submissions

The author has a broad understanding of colonisation’s impact on First Peoples but feels Victoria’s education system was extremely limited in teaching First Nations history and culture. They advocate for place-based knowledge, respect for Elders, and a shift towards a “Caring for Country” model. They also support truth-telling, treaty, and self-determination for First Peoples, and advocate for a commitment to life-long learning and creating new foundations.

Read Beth Sometimes experiences and thoughts as an Aotearoa migrant that has lived on Pitjantjatjara, Arrernte and Wurundjeri countries. She explores how power operates between peoples and cultures, emphasising the need to examine these systems and reimagine ways to live on these lands in harmony with the deep knowledge here accumulated over thousands of years.

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.

GECO is a volunteer-based community group focused on protecting the forests of far East Gippsland. Its submission outlines witnessing Traditional Owners’ opposition to logging being ignored and Traditional Owners being refused entry to their Country during campaigns to protect the forests. It also describes Traditional Owners being refused native title, under a biased system where their inability to prove connection to country in terms of Government requirements is a result of the impacts of colonisation.

Angela Foley is a non-Indigenous woman and has provided a submission to outline how she has worked towards relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, concepts, knowledge and places.

Anonymous 1275 is a descendant of farmers in Victoria’s west. They describe the racism against First Peoples they have seen growing up in school, and later in adult life as a historian.

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

On-Country Pathways is an Indigenous-owned and operated not-for-profit organisation based in the New South Wales/Victoria border community of Albury-Wodonga. It delivers employment and career pathway programs for First Nations people aged 15 to 24 years old. This submission includes their Annual Information Statement 2023 and Footprints newsletter 6 September 2024.

Katherine Mullett is a Gunaikurnai Monero Ngarigo woman who grew up on Country, learning about it from her father. She has worked as an Indigenous Ranger, working in cultural heritage and fire management. She describes how the cultural heritage work did not respect First Peoples knowledge or culture and the many challenges she faced in the workplace and personally as a Traditional Owner, trying to improve the systems and processes to protect Country and cultural sites.