Reconciliation Day 2020 — Capital history here

Jun 1

Jun 1 Reconciliation Day 2020

Today is Reconciliation Day. A Canberra public holiday celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture which promotes cultural exchange and understanding. To mark the day, I wanted to let you know about some resources that can help us understand our shared histories — an important aspect of reconciliation.

The AIATSIS map of Indigenous Australia | This map is an attempt to represent all the language, tribal or nation groups of the Indigenous peoples of Australia.

The Gambay Map | From this map you can learn the local Indigenous language of your area. First Languages Australia is working with regional language centres nationally to develop further this map of Australian languages that reflects the names and groupings favoured by community.

The Land is a Map | The entire Australian continent was once covered with networks of Indigenous placenames. This book is expected to become a standard reference work on these placenames. It comes from ANU Press and can be downloaded for free.

Colonial Frontier Massacres in Australia, 1788-1930 | This map, developed by the University of Newcastle, marks locations of frontier massacres. It is part of a project to uncover the true extent of massacres on the colonial frontier and address denials that violence took place.

Take a virtual walk along the ANU indigenous heritage trail | Discover the secrets of the ANU Indigenous Heritage Trail, with a new video series which brings the trail to life. The online series lets you explore a Bush Tucker Garden, uncover the cultural significance of scar trees, and learn more about Kambri.

Also did you know that 2020 marks the twentieth anniversary of the reconciliation walks of 2000? On this day thousands of Australians came together to walk on bridges and roads across the country to show their support for a more reconciled Australia.

Acknowledgement: The design on the poster above was created by Biripi/Bunjalung artist, Nikita Ridgeway. You can read more about this here.

Please share. Let’s get the past and present talking.