Before starting, I must acknowledge the Gadigal and Dharug nations who have continued to bless, nurture and guide me on my journey while on their country. This acknowledgement spreads to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and all elders past, present and emerging.
It is is my solemn realisation that dispossession and theft of your land has had a deep and profound effect upon your lives, and that this deep and profound effect has resulted in 'trauma', 'inter-generational trauma' and for me a sense of 'vicarious trauma'.
This is our contribution to you and for you, and may we continue to walk together to end racism, inter-generational trauma and bring about healing, health and love.
My name is Eunice, I am a proud indigenous woman of Aotearoa, New Zealand, born into this world and coming from a long line of chiefs, warriors, scholars and activists.
I have made Gadigal country my home for the past 30 years, and I have always maintained that we Maori and Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander people have a similar and shared lived experience, therefore, I regard all first nation people as whanau (family).
I enrolled in my Bachelor of social work to 'empower the most vulnerable people and communities'. In Australia, statistics inform us that the health, living, employment, incarceration are trending towards dangerous levels. Obtaining my degree is my contribution towards helping to close the demographic decline of Indigenous peoples.
During my studies, I could not help but get the feeling that something was missing from the core curriculum of subjects that I was studying. The research suggested that Western Sydney University (WSU), was not going to train me in the issues I cared about most.
I decided to leave WSU and attend Sydney University. After all, they had all the things I desired for my BSW and were voted 'number one University for social worker employability’.
Before leaving WSU, I mentioned to my cohort in class one day, my disappointment at WSU due to this one fact. On that day, in class, my group agreed with me, and the beginning foundations of MITAC Australia came to life.
This page is a culmination of my and other peoples passionate actions to bring change to WSU. We assert that learning aboriginal ways of being doing and thinking is best taught by someone who is Indigenous and who has a lived experience. We ask that WSU immediately implement a first nation unit into their BSW and recruit Indigenous teachers, elders, academics with a lived perspective to teach us.
After researching, reading, grouping, searching and taking academic advice from Tutors and understanding literature from the Masters of Social Justice such as 'Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire, 'Decolonization Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples' by Maori Academic Linda Tuhiwai Smith and Jordan, T. 2004. 'Action and dis-organisation' in Activism! book from a white Australian PhD student perspective and other academic literature - This fuelled my desire to bring about 'social justice' and commit to bringing about change - one institution at a time.
At the outset, my cohort and I were battling for a 'high distinction' or at the very least, a 'pass mark' for the Social Action unit. For myself, the more people I spoke to or messaged - the more I realised that this project had morphed into something bigger than just 'my University', or my degree, it was a concern from all the indigenous and non-indigenous people I contacted.
One fact became crystal clear - the missing perspective exists at most educational institutions within Australia. Others were joining us in solidarity to bring change to this fiasco.
MITAC (more Indigenous teachers and content in) Australia, social action group - was born.
Thank you for joining us in Solidarity.
MITAC Australia
