By Tiffany Turnbull BBC News, Sydney
image provided, Narelda Jacobs
Cedric Jacobs was awarded a medal by Queen Elizabeth in 1981 for his work with the Australian Indigenous Peoples.
Indigenous Australian Narelda Jacobs’ birthplace once proudly displayed a photo of her father, Cedric, meeting the Queen.
“When I was a kid, I looked up to the Queen,” TV host Jacobs said.
“The Queen was always something I looked up to.”
But as I grew older, the picture changed its meaning. Today, it looks like a photograph of a monarch standing before someone who has dedicated his life to gain recognition for their sovereignty.
“And my father died awaiting that decision,” Jacobs, a noonga from Wajuk, told the BBC.
Many Australian and Torres Strait Islander Aboriginal peoples expressed mixed feelings about Queen Elizabeth’s death.
The region’s indigenous peoples, one of the longest lasting cultures on the planet, were devastated by colonialism. Since Captain James Cook arrived here in 1770, there has been a series of land grabs from the native Australians. Mass murder, massive cultural sabotage, and intergenerational trauma followed.
When Queen Elizabeth first visited Australia in 1954, Aboriginal people were not counted in the population. The children were forcibly separated from their families in order to assimilate into white families. Aboriginal Australians were actively hidden during her Queen’s visit.
image provided, Getty Images
Indigenous people were actively hidden during Queen Elizabeth’s first visit to Australia in 1954
A lot has changed since then. However, in Australia, indigenous peoples continue to be disproportionately disadvantaged compared to non-indigenous peoples in health, education and other indicators.
Professor Sandy O’Sullivan from Wiradjuli said: “Our life is still tougher[than non-indigenous people]… and that’s because of colonial rule.”
mixed emotions
As a result, Australia has struggled with how to honor Queen Elizabeth’s life while acknowledging the darkest parts of the country.
The decision to drop the Indigenous flag to half-staff along with other official flags and to suspend parliament for two weeks on behalf of the Queen was criticized by some. Her promise to rename the indigenous-speaking ‘Maroonda’ hospital in Melbourne to ‘Elizabeth II’ hospital was also denounced as ‘totally off the mark’.
The Women’s Australian Football League, meanwhile, did not mandate a minute’s silence for the Queen at matches last month when a competition was being held for indigenous players. In response, the National Rugby League fined and suspended an Indigenous player for posting offensive posts about the Queen on social media. Some defended the post as free speech.
Canberra University Chancellor Tom Karma, who hails from Kungalakan and Iwaijah, said the Queen had led a life of service “with dignity and humanity”.
“She inherited a lot of global agendas at a very young age. We have seen a lot of change and she has been at the helm.”
Mr Karma says the Queen appeared sympathetic to the Indigenous people’s demands. In 2000, for example, she said many Indigenous people felt “left out” and called on the government to ensure “prosperity for all Australians”.
But some say the Queen’s legacy in Australia cannot be separated from invasion and colonization.
image provided, Australian parliament
Australian Green Party Senator Lydia Thorpe has described the Queen as an aggressor
One of them, Australian Green Party Senator Lydia Thorpe, called the Queen an aggressor when she was sworn into office in August this year.
“The institutions of British colonization, from the education that kills us to the prisons that kill us, are designed to destroy the world’s oldest living culture.”
“That’s what the British royal family has been doing in Australia.”
what the queen didn’t docriticism of
There is also criticism of what the Queen herself did not do. Many Aboriginal Australians appealed for increased support for her during her reign as Queen.
One of them was Jacobs’ father, Cedric. Cedric is a minister of the Church of England and was at one point president of the National Indigenous Congress.
Although Cedric was “very fond of” the Queen, he once spoke to the Queen about the voices of Native Americans who wanted a treaty.
“Isn’t there something the Queen could have done?” Jacobs wonders.
image provided, Narelda Jacobs
Narelda Jacobs (left) with her father, Cedric
“I don’t really care about people who want to celebrate someone’s death,” said Professor O’Sullivan.
But she said it would not be fair to portray her as just a “sweet grandma” because she had so much influence and “tremendous wealth”.
The Queen used her powers to become an “incredibly eloquent” guardian for the improvement of some social issues, but “had done nothing to improve our lives. That is certain,” he said.
Professor Karma, meanwhile, argues that the Queen inherited a colonial-era tension she didn’t create.
“There’s always the argument that more could have been done, but it’s not always in the hands of the monarch.”
“Australia has had its own constitution since 1901, so we can’t go on blaming the monarchy. It’s the Australian government that should be addressing this issue.”
“I have an opportunity”
Some argue that if the Australian government recognizes the damage that colonization has done to indigenous peoples, Australia can no longer accept a British monarch as head of state.
However, a referendum on the transition to a republic is expected to be at least three years away. Before that, Prime Minister Anthony Albanyzy promised to hold a referendum on whether to recognize indigenous peoples in the constitution and to create a “Voice to Parliament” advisory body. is doing.
Professor Karma pointed out that even if Australia becomes a republic, it may not leave the Commonwealth of Nations.
Others say the British royal family should embrace a new era.
Professor O’Sullivan said, “Now this is an opportunity to get back to a clean slate. I’m very excited about it.”
image provided, calm tone
Tom Karma (left) with King Charles as Prince
Some Aboriginal Australians want Charles III to apologize for the damage colonialism has caused. In 1995, Queen Elizabeth “profoundly apologized” to New Zealand’s Maori for land grabbing and other acts.
Other reparations have also been called for, including financial compensation, the return of land and artifacts, and the return of ancestral remains in museums around the UK. In addition, it is said that the King can also support efforts to promote “Voice to Parliament”.
All the people the BBC spoke to said they wanted King Charles to meet the natives and listen to their stories.
“It’s really frustrating. This kind of conversation is what our leaders should have done with the King’s mother,” Jacobs said.
“But we’ve had enough of someone else dying while waiting for our indigenous sovereignty to be recognized.”