WGAR News: Aboriginal Sovereignty Day, Invasion Day and Survival Day Events: Sat 26 January 2013

Newsletter date: 17 January 2013

Last updated: 22 January 2013

Contents:

* Background to Sovereignty Day, Invasion Day and Survival Day
* Adelaide events
* Brisbane event
* Canberra events
* Darwin event
* Hobart event
* Melbourne and Victoria events
* Perth events
* Sydney and NSW events

* BACKGROUND TO SOVEREIGNTY DAY, INVASION DAY AND SURVIVAL DAY

Event: 26 January 2013: various locations in Australia
Sovereignty Day / Invasion Day / Survival Day
"'Australia Day', also known as Survival Day,
Invasion Day and Sovereignty Day:
a commemmoration of the day white settlers
landed in Australia and a day to reflect on the
controversial past of Australia and steer
towards a better society."
"Australia Day - No time to celebrate:
Australia Day is traditionally the most racist
day of the year for Aboriginal people.
When people celebrate on January 26,
there is no escaping the fact they are celebrating
the day that one race of people invaded another
race of people’s country and took control of
Aboriginal lands and tried to dominate Aboriginal
people. Invasion Day, as it should be called,
celebrates the dispossession of land, culture,
and way of life of Aborigines." Jay McDonald, GLW
"This date is more appropriately known to most
First Nations people as Survival or Invasion day.
It is also a day of mourning, we mourn the loss of land,
culture, languages, we mourn the loss of freedom and
abundance, and we mourn for the people who have,
and continue to suffer under this disconnected,
insatiable, violent and destructive imposed
Capitalist system."
"To many Aboriginal people there is little to celebrate
and it is a commemoration of a deep loss.
Loss of their sovereign rights to their land, loss of family,
loss of the right to practice their culture.
Aboriginal people call it 'Invasion Day', 'Day of Mourning',
'Survival Day' or, since 2006, 'Aboriginal Sovereignty Day'.
The latter name reflects that all Aboriginal nations
are sovereign and should be united in the continuous
fight for their rights. "Australia is the only country in the
world that celebrates the coming of one race at the
expense of another-not even the Americans do it,"
says Michael Mansell, legal director of the
Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre." Creative Spirits
Event details: http://www.atsisupport.org.au/BookingRetrieve.aspx?ID=223015
Event details: http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/46475
Event details: http://allevents.in/events/invasion-day-26th-january-melbourne-rally-amp...
Event details: http://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/history/australia-day-...

* ADELAIDE EVENTS

Event: Sat 26 January 2013: Adelaide, SA
National Aboriginal Cultural Institute Tandanya presents:
Survival Day Concert 2013
Free Event
Event details: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=493422470708269&set=a.15783584426...
Event summary: http://nationalcongress.com.au/congress-events/

Event: Sat 26 January 2013: Adelaide, SA
145th Justice and Peace Candle Light Walk
around Government House
"Join us on the Candle Light Walk to
call for a Treaty and Bill of Rights, and
to support the Ngarrindjeri and all other
Aboriginal people and the Stolen Generations,
their families and communities left behind,
in their call for Peace and Justice."
Event details: http://antarsa.auspics.org.au/category/news/2012/10/candlelight-walk-2/
Event details: http://antarsa.auspics.org.au/
Background to the Candle Light Walk: http://members.ozemail.com.au/~rmclc/CandleLightWalkHistory.htm

* BRISBANE EVENT

Event: Sat 26 January 2013: Brisbane, Qld
Invasion Day rally and march: 2013, Brisbane
Event summary: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=477882215581619&set=a.4700539896...
Event summary: http://www.facebook.com/events/539100446101895/
Event summary: http://www.989fm.com.au/events/invasion-day-march-rally-concert/
Event summary: http://nationalcongress.com.au/congress-events/
Flyer: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/images/2013/gatherings/invasion-day3.jpg

* CANBERRA EVENTS

Event: 26 January 2013: Canberra, ACT
Memorial Corroboree for Isabell Edith Coe
Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Canberra
"The Aboriginal Tent Embassy Canberra will be holding
a Memorial Corroboree that will coincide with the
protest sites' commemoration of 26 January 1972,
in recognition of the continuous fight for Aboriginal
Sovereignty."
Event details: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/images/2012/gatherings/coe2.jpg
WGAR News: The Wire: Influential tent embassy activist passes away: http://indymedia.org.au/2012/11/15/wgar-news-the-wire-influential-tent-e...
WGAR Background to the Aboriginal sovereignty movement: http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-aboriginal-sovereig...

Event: 26 January 2013: Canberra, ACT
Sovereignty, The Constitution and Congress
- Invasion Day Discussion
Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Canberra
"Our members and delegate have determined
Sovereignty is a key concern for Congress."
"Some initial feedback from community suggests that
Congress should convene a national discussion on
how Sovereignty can be progressed in the struggle
for Aboriginal rights. The way forward for 2013
is to be examined at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy
on 26 January 2013."
Convened by:
National Congress of Australias First Peoples
Event summary: http://nationalcongress.com.au/congress-events/
Event details: http://bushtelegraph.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/130126-event.pdf
Event details: http://workersbushtelegraph.com.au/2013/01/04/sovereignty-the-constituti...
Sovereign Union: National Congress 'Tent Embassy' event on 26th is not ours: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/content/national-congress-tent-embass...
WGAR Background to the Aboriginal sovereignty movement: http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-aboriginal-sovereig...
WGAR Background to National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples: http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/05/background-to-the-national-congress-o...

* DARWIN EVENT

Event: 26 January 2013: Fannie Bay, Darwin, NT
Monsoon Movies Film Festival
Survival Day film screening:
Murundak: Songs for Freedom
Organised by Darwin Aboriginal Rights Coalition
Event details: http://darwinaboriginalrights.wordpress.com/2013/01/03/monsoon-movies-fi...
Event details: http://darwinaboriginalrights.wordpress.com/2012/12/23/survival-day-film...
Event details: http://darwinaboriginalrights.wordpress.com/
About the film: http://www.murundakdocumentary.com/

* HOBART EVENT

Event: Sat 26 January 2013: Hobart, Tas
Aboriginal protest rally on Australia day
"You are invited to attend an invasion day protest
rally hosted by the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre."
"The rally will finish at Parliament House Lawns
where a commemoration will be held to honour the
lives, land and rights stolen during the white invasion."
Event details: http://www.amnesty.org.au/tas/event/30830/

* MELBOURNE AND VICTORIA EVENTS

Event: 26 January 2013: Frankston, Vic
Survival Day Picnic at Frankston Foreshore
"Whilst acknowledging the pain and trauma associated
with dispossession, Survival Day is also a time to
celebrate the strength, vitality and survival of
Indigenous culture."
Event details: http://balukarts.org.au/events.php
Event details: http://www.vibe.com.au/newsite/events/frankston-foreshore-survival-day-p...

Event: Sat 26 January 2013: Fitzroy, Melbourne, Vic
Invasion Day 26th January Melbourne Rally & March
* Rally on Wurundjeri Country
* Smoking Ceremony and Welcome to country
* Speakers and forums
* March down Gertrude St to Treasury Gardens
for the 'Share the Spirit Festival
"This is a call out to all people of this land to step
forward and right the wrongs together and build
some momentum against the out of control
machine that threatens our very existence as
the oldest living culture in the world, and
together has human beings.
So bring your flags and banners and come along
and hear speakers talk about the Stronger futures act,
basics card, Native Title, Constitutional reform,
deaths in custody, racism, KODE school closures in Victoria,
Victorian update on N,T, environment, mining, Capitalism
and our black political history and its relevance today."
Event details: http://allevents.in/events/invasion-day-26th-january-melbourne-rally-amp...
Event details: http://www.facebook.com/events/116674955170738/
Flyer: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/images/2013/gatherings/invasion-day-m...

Event: Sat 26 January 2013: Melbourne CBD, Vic
Festival: Share the Spirit Indigenous music festival
Part of Melbourne’s official Survival Day celebrations
75th Anniversary of the Day of Mourning
"This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the
Day of Mourning, a protest organised by the
Aboriginal Progressive Association against the
injustices surrounding the treatment of Aboriginal
People in Australia held on January 26, 1938.
The festival boasts an eclectic mix of established
and emerging local Indigenous artists who will
perform side-by-side to celebrate what Indigenous
people achieved 75 years ago, increase awareness
of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, whilst
contributing to the process of political change,
reconciliation and national excellence."
Event details: http://www.sharethespiritfestival.com/SHARE_THE_SPIRIT_FESTIVAL/Share_th...
Event details: http://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/melbourne_details.php?id=53446
Event summary: http://www.greenleft.org.au/events/52993

Event: 26 January 2013: Belgrave, Melbourne Vic
Belgrave Survival Day 2013:
A concert to celebrate survival of indigenous
culture locally and nationally
"The sixth annual Belgrave Survival Day
will this year focus on children’s activities,
hip hop and the 150th anniversary of
Cooranderrk as a we again celebrate the
survival of the oldest living culture on earth."
"The Wurundjeri:
The land that Belgrave Survival Day falls upon
is part of the Wurundjeri nation that lived here
for tens of thousands of years before the
colonial settlers re-named the area
Belgrave in the late 19th century."
Event details: http://belgravesurvivalday.org/
Event details: https://www.facebook.com/events/255542414572942
Flyer: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/images/2012/gatherings/survival-day.jpg

Event: Sat 26 January 2013: Brunswick, Melbourne Vic
Anti Invasion Resistance Party (AKA Australia Day)
Event details: [scroll down page] http://www.brunswickhotel.net/gigs.html

* PERTH EVENTS

Event: Fri 25 January 2013: East Perth, WA
Nyoongar Tent Embassy: Last day of Freedom
- A ceremony to honour our Nyoongar Yorga Boodja
"Activities at Matagarup (Heirrison Island) hosted
by the Nyoongar Tent Embassy. Includes BBQ
(for donation) and music. ...
(Named for being the last day before invasion day.)"
"Preliminary Launch of Curtin University’s
Research on Media Reporting on the NTE"
Event details: http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/13/our-last-day-of-freedom-a-ceremony-to...
Event summary: http://www.greenleft.org.au/events/53093
Flyer: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/images/2013/gatherings/25jan-perth.jpg
WGAR Background to the Nyoongar Tent Embassy: http://indymedia.org.au/2013/01/02/nyoongar-tent-embassy-heirisson-islan...

Event: Sat 26 January 2013: Perth, WA
Perth Survival Day Concert
Smokefree WA Survival Perth 2013
"Join us for SMOKEFREE WA SURVIVAL PERTH 2013
- an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander concert that
celebrates the survival of the First Peoples and
offers a different perspective to Australia Day."
"The Survival Concerts are celebrated nationally to
acknowledge the resilience of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander peoples since the arrival of the First Fleet,
which Australia Day commemorates.
The Survival Concerts have been held in Perth
since 2000 and are historically linked to NAIDOC."
Event details: http://www.naidocperth.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=...
Event summary: http://nationalcongress.com.au/congress-events/

* SYDNEY AND NSW EVENTS

Event: 26 January 2013: Taree, NSW
Saltwater Freshwater Festival Taree - Australia Day
"Our Festival is a celebration of Aboriginal culture
on the Mid North Coast. Our region, where the
saltwater and freshwater meet, is rich in Aboriginal
music, art, dance and food, all of which will be
on offer in Taree on January 26 Australia Day.
Whitefella, blackfella, we will all come together
to enjoy the excellence of Aboriginal talent,
Aboriginal stories and Aboriginal lifestyle."
Event details: http://saltwaterfreshwaterfestival.com.au/
Event details: http://www.vibe.com.au/newsite/events/saltwater-freshwater-festival

Event: Sat 26 January 2013: Glebe, Sydney, NSW
26 January Australia Day / Survival Day
Yabun festival 2013, Sydney
"Celebrates the survival of Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander peoples and culture."
"Yabun is the largest single day Indigenous
festival drawing an audience of between
10,000 and 15,000 and is one of the most
important Indigenous music events in the
country reflecting the huge wealth of
Indigenous creative talent."
"Alongside all the wonderful music,
you can soak up some culture and area
information from some of the community's
most influential leaders and informational
booths including:
* The National Centre of Indigenous Excellence,
* The Redfern Legal Centre,
* Wirringa Bay Aboriginal Women's Legal Centre
* Amnesty International"
"Yabun 2013 will be celebrating the
20th Anniversary of Gadigal Information Service,
10 years of Koori Radio's Young Black and
Deadly project and the 75th Anniversary of the
National Aborigines Progressive Association."
Event details: http://www.homeaway.com.au/info/holiday-ideas/events-festivals/new-south...
Event details: http://www.yelp.com.au/events/glebe-yabun-festival
Event details: http://www.pleasetakemeto.com/australia/sydney/yabun-festival-2013-9127032
Event details: https://www.facebook.com/yabun.festival/info
Event details: http://www.sydney.com/events/yabun-2011?gclid=COz5lNrDp7QCFQFKpgodTXoARw
Event summary: http://www.humanrights.gov.au/about/events/index.html#january
Background: http://www.gadigal.org.au/Index.aspx
Background: http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/lryb/resistance/activism.html

Event: Sat 26 January 2013: Newtown, Sydney, NSW
Socialist Alternative will be screening John Pilger's film,
'The Secret Country - The First Australians Fight Back'
Film introduced by long-time Aboriginal activist Graham Merritt
" ... celebrate the proud and continuing history of Aboriginal
resistance to invasion and racism since 1788."
Event details: [scroll down page] http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Redfern-Waterloo/message/7072

Event: Sat 26 January 2013: Enmore, Sydney, NSW
Reflection - Australia Day Special
Kinetic Jazz Festival
"Wiradjuri elder Ray Jackson will acknowledge the
traditional owners of this land, and reflect on the
significance of this day. As an act of solidarity with
the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island nations of
this stolen continent, patrons may apply for and
be issued with an Aboriginal passport today.
NB: Bring $10 plus a passport photo."
Event details: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Redfern-Waterloo/message/7073
Event details: [scroll down page] http://kineticjazz.com/Kinetic_Jazz_Festival/Program.html
Article: http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/53084

Event: Sat 26 January 2013: Occupy Sydney, NSW
The UnSettlement of Australia Ceremony 26 January 2013
Idle No More Solidarity Sydney
"The Ceremony commences with an apology by
unsettlers of The Stolenwealth of Australia to aboriginal
peoples for past and present injustices by Government
businesses and people including but not limited to the
misappropriation by whatever means of land air water
culture heritage and children and the attempted cultural
genocide perpetrated by past and present Federal
and State Governments."
Event details: http://idle-no-more.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/the-uncolonisation-of-austra...
Event details: https://www.facebook.com/events/483042451737093/
Event details: https://www.facebook.com/IdleNoMoreSydneyAustralia
Video: http://aptn.ca/pages/news/2013/01/18/idle-no-more-stirs-in-australia/

Event: 29 January 2013: Petersham, Sydney, NSW
Invasion Day Special Screening and Fundraiser
The Inner West Film Forum
In the wake of Invasion Day 2013
we present two important screenings …
* The Invasion Continues… Video from the NT Intervention.
Presented by Paddy Gibson
* One People Sing Freedom (1988)
Event details: http://thepbc.org.au/happenings/inner-west-film-forum/
WGAR Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention: http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-northern-territory-...

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