As many of you know, the G20 Summit is being held in Brisbane this year on Jaggera country from the 15th til the 16th of November. Leaders from the world's largest and richest economies will all be coming together to discuss all things to do with international economic cooperation and decision-making.
To present the state of Australia's First Nations peoples to the global audience, a week of intense protesting, debating and networking for and by First Nations peoples from all over the country has been organized for the 8th of November, running til the 16th. This protest week is a chance for Blackfellas to come together, in big numbers, like we did for the 40th Anniversary for the Aboriginal Tent Embassy and the Commonwealth Games in 1982 to assert our rights as First Nations peoples, with common interests such as land rights, sovereignty and decolonization.
Musgrave Park has also been declared as a zone for peaceful protesting during the G20 Summit and will be where all attendees of the protest gather for different events throughout the week. Prior to invasion, Musgrave was home to the Kalperum-Jaggin people and is a part of Kurilpa ‘place of the water rats’. The park has been an important meeting place for First Nations peoples since time began and it still is today.
Excerpt from an article posted on Intercontinental Cry titled "WHY WE WILL PROTEST THE #GENOCIDAL20" written by Callum Clayton-Dixon (Nganyaywana):
We’ll protest the #Genocidal20 for the same reason Pemulwuy fought the British, the same reason the Aboriginal Embassy was established on the Australian government’s doorstep in 1972, and the same reason we protest Australia’s celebration of invasion on the 26th of January every year. Because we refuse to be treated as aliens in our own lands, and because the only justice we will get is the justice we take. Belonging to a nation is about rights and responsibilities, and nations must fight for their self-determination.
Read the full article here.
In this week, we have a chance for our voices to be heard and to come together as one. First Nations peoples will share their ideas and perspectives, and there'll be lots of discussions on solutions to the many struggles we face under colonization.
If you intend on coming or would like know more about the #Genocidal20, please "like" the Brisbane Blacks and the Brisbane Aboriginal-Sovereign Embassy (both pages are involved in organizing the event) on Facebook to keep up to date with all information regarding the protest.
The event organizers are also seeking funds for the protest week, so if you are in a position to be able to donate, please do so here at their GoFundMe page.
This is an important opportunity for us determine our own futures as sovereign, First Nations peoples. Spread the word and please come along if you can.
[Supplied image artwork by Jade Slockee (Gumbaynggirr)]
