Graeme Mundine
Executive Secretary
The National Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Ecumenical Commission
Acknowledgement
of
Country
Wurundjeri People
of the Kulin Nation
Where are we going ?
•Who am I?
•What is Spirituality?
•A couple of Stories.
•Some thoughts
Yes, I’m related !
I come from the far north coast
NSW.
I’m a Bunjalung man.
“I’m an economic refugee”
The wife’s from England - they are still trying to colonising us!
Once upon a time...
The
Beginning of
Life….
By OODGEROO NOONUCCAL
In the Dreaming all the
Earth lay asleep
Nothing grew.
Nothing moved. Everything was
quiet and still.
The Animals, birds and reptiles lay
sleeping under the earth’s crust.
Then one day the
Rainbow Serpent awoke
from her slumber and
pushed her way through
the earth’s crust, moving
the stones that lay in her
way.
When she emerged,
she looked about her
and then travelled
over the land, going
in all directions. She
travelled far and
wide, and when she
grew tired she curled
herself into a heap
and slept.
Upon the earth the
Rainbow Serpent left
her winding tracks and
the imprint of her
sleeping body.
When she had travelled all
the earth, she returned to
the place where she first
appeared and called the
frogs, ‘Come out!'
The frogs were very slow
to come from below the
earth’s crust, for their
bellies were heavy with
water, which they had
stored in their sleep.
The Rainbow Serpent
tickled, and when the
frogs laughed, the
water ran all over the
earth to fill the tracks of
the Rainbow Serpents
wanderings – and this
is how the lakes and
rivers were formed.
Then the grass began
to grow, and the trees
sprang up, and life
began on earth.
All the Animals, birds and
reptiles awoke and followed
the Rainbow Serpent, the
mother of life, across the
land. They were happy on
earth, and each lived and
hunted for food with his own
tribe. The Kangaroo, Wallaby
and Emu tribes lived on the
plains. The reptile tribes lived
among the rocks and stones,
and the bird tribes flew
through the air and lived in
the trees.
The Rainbow Serpent made
laws that all were asked to
obey. ‘Those who keep my
laws I will reward well. I
shall give them a human
form. They and their
children and their children’s
children shall roam this
earth forever. This shall be
their land.
Those who kept her laws
she turned into human
form, and gave each of
them their own Totems of
the animal, bird or reptile
whence they came. Some
others were turned to
stone, and became
mountains and hills, to
stand forever and watch
over the tribes hunting for
food at their feet.
So the tribes knew
themselves by their own
Totems: the kangaroo, the
emu, the carpet snake, and
many, many more. And in
order that none should
starve, she ruled that no
man should eat of his own
Totem, but only of the other
Totems. In this way there
was food for all.
So the tribes lived
together in the land
given to them by the
Mother of Life, the
Rainbow Serpent;
and they knew that
the land would
always be theirs,
and that no on
should ever take it
from them and
them from the Land.
Jabiru
Emu
Brolga
Pastor George Rosendale, Hopevale Qld
The Lazarus demand
‘Jesus cried out with a loud voice:
“Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out, his hands
and feet bound with strips of cloth,
and his face wrapped in a cloth.
Jesus said to them:
“Unbind him, and let him go.”’
John 11:43-44
Some Thoughts….
Learning from Missionaries:
Lessons for Secular Development
Practitioners
Dr Matthew Clarke – Deakin University
Dr John Donnelly – World Vision Australia
Mission and Development:
a PNG example
• Franciscans explicitly set out to ‘improve’
the physical lives of the people of Aitape:
– Health
– Education
– Agricultural extension
– Empowerment
• Franciscans showed great concern for
the people and went to great lengths to
help them adapt to the modern world
Mission and Development :
a PNG example
• In 1949, the Franciscan community produced a
document that provided the framework for their
mission (development) activities:
– The Decalogue of Development
• This document pre-dates secular appreciation
of participation by four decades
– (and common practice by six decades)
Decalogue of Development
• Thou shalt not be ethnocentric
• Thou shalt not be paternalistic
• Thou shalt not talk down to people
• Thou shalt not cross anyone in public
• Thou shalt listen twice as much as thou speakest
Decalogue of Development
cont’d
• Thou shalt find out what are the felt needs of the
people
• Thou shalt consult the people in all projects
• Thou shalt serve the people in their strivings
• Thou shalt develop sensitivity to all cultural factors
• Thou shalt communicate God’s love at all times
Working Together
• How can Indigenous and
Non-Indigenous people
work together for lasting
change?
• How can we create
meaningful partnerships?
Key principles for a successful partnerships
• Intend to decolonise and reframe the way we think
about issues.
• Intend to create change.
• Emphasise social and political contexts.
• Recognise Indigenous worldviews and knowledges.
• Privilege Indigenous voices and experiences.
• Integrate cultural protocols and behaviours.
• Is the partnership wanted and will it benefit the
participant community?
(Atkinson, 2002, Martin, 2001a,2001b, 2002, Rigney, 1996,1997,1999,2001, Smith, 2003)
What does that mean in practice?
• Who is instigating and controlling the project?
• Be aware of how you represent the partnership
and how material is disseminated.
• Position, position, position!
– Not Aboriginal.
– Be aware of your own cultural background.
– Critical reflection essential
What is critical reflection?
• What do I bring to the project ? Am I doing
good or just another white ‘do gooder’?
• What impact does my culture, my
background, my expectations and my
experiences have on the project and the
‘community’.
• What are my assumptions?
• What effect does the project have on me?
Know the community
• Understanding the issues of each community.
• Who or what is “Community”?
• Understanding the power relationships:
– Respect the Elders
– Who is speaking on whose behalf ?
– The role of Government Agencies - power through
funding
– Access to relevant agencies
Know the context
• Legacy of 250 years of colonization.
• Native Title, Land Rights, Stolen Generation,
Health Issues, Education Issues, Displacement,
Fractured Communities.
• Current Government policies
• Economic Development the way of the future or
is this just said so often enough so we too
believe it? Who’s Economic Development?
Learn to Listen
“ To learn Goorie (Koorie) way is to
listen, watch, wait and then act –
we don’t ask questions”
Uncle Harry Walker – Bundjalung elder.
What are your experiences
and
success stories?
What else can
you do to
make a
difference ??