The year 2020 marks 250 years since James Cook’s first voyage to Australia, yet today Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people still aren’t acknowledged in our constitution.
The time is now for recognition and reform, as called for in the Uluru Statement from the Heart.
This month, marie claire joins forces with some of Australia’s biggest and brightest names to unite for change. Here, academic Amy Thunig discusses the importance of First Nations knowledge, and how she’s passing the power of education onto her children…
“I was the first person in my family to finish high school and go to uni. When I think about that, I get choked up. I don’t think we really understand the full impact education can have. It’s an opportunity for empowerment. My PhD is ‘Sovereign Women: Why Academia?’ so I’ve spent six months travelling across the entire continent meeting with amazing First Nations academic women. I think that the more First Nations knowledge is respected and centred, the better off we will be as people and as a planet. Prior to invasion, this land and our people were healthy and in balance. I want my three kids to be so strong and confident in their culture that their bucket of love for our people never runs dry. My eight-year-old daughter put a poster on her door that says, ‘Strong Girl of Colour’, and she is. When it comes to going to uni, my kids don’t have a choice. I wasn’t the first to be the last.”
This article originally appeared in marie claire Australia.
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