Reconciliation
**This QR code will take you a podcast about reconciliation from the indigenous and non-indigenous perspectives**
TRANSCRIPT:
EMILY: Hello viewers and welcome to today’s topic about reconciliation. I’m Emily.
TERESA: And I’m Teresa.
EMILY: We hope today that you will learn a bit more about reconciliation and how it affects our Indigenous Australians.
TERESA: So starting off, what is reconciliation? I mean we hear the word all the time but I doubt that many people even know what it means. Well from a Christian point of view reconciliation generally means to come as one with God and to move forward forgetting the troubles that have occurred in the past, as well as acknowledging the country’s history and respecting the land. The Australian peoples perspective on reconciliation is the bringing together of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-indigenous people. The Aborigines and Torres Strait Islander Islanders point of view on reconciliation is that a large majority does not accept reconciliation as just a way for the Australian government to acknowledge and bring them together but they don’t see this actually doing this. So Emily what factors often hinder or make difficult the process of reconciliation.
EMILY: Well I’m glad you asked the question Teresa. The beliefs of the Aboriginal people are vastly different to those of a European, this would defiantly hinder the process of reconciliation because there would be a disagreement of beliefs and the significant of the surroundings. Indigenous people have different stories and legends of creation and sacred relationships with the land which the non-indigenous people do not acknowledge. The European concludes that if Aboriginals are given things to persuade their futures that all is forgiven in the past. This however was not the case as to repair the damage of the past there would need to be great measures taken as some of the unforgivable wrongs the white man bought upon the Indigenous. Trust is also another factor that may hinder the process of reconciliation. There have been trust issues between the Indigenous people and the European people. However the violent history of disposition. So should reconciliation benefit both parties or all parties equally, Teresa.
TERESA: well ultimately the Christian perspective of reconciliation is about overcoming the division and equality between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. It is ultimately that people believe that all and both parties should benefit from this equally from an Indigenous point of view however they believe that reconciliation should benefit all parties but they don’t fully believe that this is truly happening in Australia. They don’t believe in reconciliation as much as the Christian religion dose. So back to you Emily, are there and groups in Australia that promote reconciliation?
EMILY: Well there are many Teresa. One group that promotes reconciliation between the Indigenous and non-indigenous people is Reconciliation Victoria. Reconciliation Victoria is the product of a people’s movement. Following the work of the council for Aboriginal reconciliation. Reconciliation Victoria has focused on leading the reconciliation process in Victoria by supporting the local reconciliation groups promoting the cultural awareness and educating in a broader community.
TERESA: Thanks Emily, it’s great to know that there are people out there working to make a difference. But I do think that there are many factors that have hindered and are still hindering reconciliation in the context of Europeans and Indigenous relationships in this country.
EMILY: SO please what are these factors.
TERESA: There are many factors that hinder reconciliation in the context of European and Indigenous relationships in Australia. From the perspective of the church Australia’s first Catholic Arch Bishop can see the devastation that the European settlement had had on the aboriginal people and in 1845 he spoke out addressing the lack of rights for the aboriginal people. Today the church in particular is working on reconciliation to restore the dignity rights of Aboriginal people and Indigenous people. What is hindering reconciliation vastly different from the perspective as their way of life was destroyed by the European settlement. They had lost their way of life as they had known it and the culture that was bound to their land. The trust was broken and this is believed to be what is hindering reconciliation in Australia. So moving on, what Christian understandings of forgiveness and reconciliation are based on the actions and teachings of Jesus, Emily.
EMILY: ‘The Sacrament of Reconciliation’ reveals to us about the dynamic of forgiveness and reconciliation in the Christians persons personal encounter with God in Christ throughout another or others in the community of the church. Forgiveness is a sacramental context referring to the removal of obstacles that lie in the way of intimate unions with God and others. Traditionally forgiveness has been understood as directed towards guilt for sins which destroys or weakens the relationships with God, Jesus and neighbours. Forgiveness is thus part of a broader process of reconciliation with God, others, the world and one’s self. Reconciliation is a complex biblical term which includes Gods innervations and response to ongoing conversations within a community of faith.
TERESA: Thanks Emily, that was very informative so this leads me on dose the Catholic Church in Australia have an initial person on reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and if so what is it?
EMILY: Well yes they do, the early missionary has the desire to make Jesus Christ and his saving love known to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and to draw them into his kingdom of love and peace. The full conclusion of Catholic, Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people into the lives of the church is still incomplete. This commission seeks their full participation in every aspect of church life and commits itself to promote the dignity as brothers and sisters in Christ and to addressing the challenges that face them. The commission always wishes to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to achieve their rightful and proper place in the mainstream of the Australian society prior preserving precious elements of their own culture. So please tell me about the Christian and Indigenous peoples beliefs and are they compatible?
TERESA: The Indigenous and Christian beliefs are vastly different yet there are some similarities which make both religions compatible. One difference between both religions is the beliefs about death. The Indigenous people believe when a person dies their spirit continues to live and all traces of their body are removed. Whilst the Catholic views on death in that those who die in God’s grace go to continue their lives with him in heaven. As St Paul said “If anyone is in Christ there is a new creation and everything old has passed away.” See everything new has become you all of this is from God. He reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. A similarity between both religions although some minor differences is the beliefs on law and ethics. Both the Catholic and Aboriginal laws are very strict and complex in structure which must be followed. Yet the only difference is that Aboriginal law was originated from the dreaming and the dreaming time stories and they often have a moral message that was expected to be noted, such as not polluting the water. On the other hand the Australian law was handed down by a supreme of formulated by some governing body. Which are set as rules that must be followed by all. Whilst there are similarities there are many differences which do not make their beliefs very comfortable.
EMILY: While there are some dramatic similarities and differences there. So what extent must European Australians adjust traditional values and beliefs whilst seeking reconciliation.
TERESA: Over time European Australians have started to see that they must adjust their traditional values to reconcile their relationship with the Indigenous Australians. It’s time that we recognise the differences and similarities between both parties and embraces them letting these values bring us together. European Australians along with the whiter multi-cultural community must be more respectful and allow the Indigenous Australians into their lives to show some way of reconciliation as well as making the effort to make them feel part of our local communities. Overall reconciliation has come a long way in the last couple of years regarding the European and Indigenous relationships. However there is still a lot of process that needs to be addressed to make this happen.
EMILY: Too right Teresa., We have now come to the end of our show and we would lastly like to thank all of our viewers who have tuned in today to listen about reconciliation in the context of European and Indigenous Australians, and we hope that you all have taken some ideas away with you to reflect on until our next session. Goodbye and have a great afternoon.
TRANSCRIPT:
EMILY: Hello viewers and welcome to today’s topic about reconciliation. I’m Emily.
TERESA: And I’m Teresa.
EMILY: We hope today that you will learn a bit more about reconciliation and how it affects our Indigenous Australians.
TERESA: So starting off, what is reconciliation? I mean we hear the word all the time but I doubt that many people even know what it means. Well from a Christian point of view reconciliation generally means to come as one with God and to move forward forgetting the troubles that have occurred in the past, as well as acknowledging the country’s history and respecting the land. The Australian peoples perspective on reconciliation is the bringing together of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and non-indigenous people. The Aborigines and Torres Strait Islander Islanders point of view on reconciliation is that a large majority does not accept reconciliation as just a way for the Australian government to acknowledge and bring them together but they don’t see this actually doing this. So Emily what factors often hinder or make difficult the process of reconciliation.
EMILY: Well I’m glad you asked the question Teresa. The beliefs of the Aboriginal people are vastly different to those of a European, this would defiantly hinder the process of reconciliation because there would be a disagreement of beliefs and the significant of the surroundings. Indigenous people have different stories and legends of creation and sacred relationships with the land which the non-indigenous people do not acknowledge. The European concludes that if Aboriginals are given things to persuade their futures that all is forgiven in the past. This however was not the case as to repair the damage of the past there would need to be great measures taken as some of the unforgivable wrongs the white man bought upon the Indigenous. Trust is also another factor that may hinder the process of reconciliation. There have been trust issues between the Indigenous people and the European people. However the violent history of disposition. So should reconciliation benefit both parties or all parties equally, Teresa.
TERESA: well ultimately the Christian perspective of reconciliation is about overcoming the division and equality between Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. It is ultimately that people believe that all and both parties should benefit from this equally from an Indigenous point of view however they believe that reconciliation should benefit all parties but they don’t fully believe that this is truly happening in Australia. They don’t believe in reconciliation as much as the Christian religion dose. So back to you Emily, are there and groups in Australia that promote reconciliation?
EMILY: Well there are many Teresa. One group that promotes reconciliation between the Indigenous and non-indigenous people is Reconciliation Victoria. Reconciliation Victoria is the product of a people’s movement. Following the work of the council for Aboriginal reconciliation. Reconciliation Victoria has focused on leading the reconciliation process in Victoria by supporting the local reconciliation groups promoting the cultural awareness and educating in a broader community.
TERESA: Thanks Emily, it’s great to know that there are people out there working to make a difference. But I do think that there are many factors that have hindered and are still hindering reconciliation in the context of Europeans and Indigenous relationships in this country.
EMILY: SO please what are these factors.
TERESA: There are many factors that hinder reconciliation in the context of European and Indigenous relationships in Australia. From the perspective of the church Australia’s first Catholic Arch Bishop can see the devastation that the European settlement had had on the aboriginal people and in 1845 he spoke out addressing the lack of rights for the aboriginal people. Today the church in particular is working on reconciliation to restore the dignity rights of Aboriginal people and Indigenous people. What is hindering reconciliation vastly different from the perspective as their way of life was destroyed by the European settlement. They had lost their way of life as they had known it and the culture that was bound to their land. The trust was broken and this is believed to be what is hindering reconciliation in Australia. So moving on, what Christian understandings of forgiveness and reconciliation are based on the actions and teachings of Jesus, Emily.
EMILY: ‘The Sacrament of Reconciliation’ reveals to us about the dynamic of forgiveness and reconciliation in the Christians persons personal encounter with God in Christ throughout another or others in the community of the church. Forgiveness is a sacramental context referring to the removal of obstacles that lie in the way of intimate unions with God and others. Traditionally forgiveness has been understood as directed towards guilt for sins which destroys or weakens the relationships with God, Jesus and neighbours. Forgiveness is thus part of a broader process of reconciliation with God, others, the world and one’s self. Reconciliation is a complex biblical term which includes Gods innervations and response to ongoing conversations within a community of faith.
TERESA: Thanks Emily, that was very informative so this leads me on dose the Catholic Church in Australia have an initial person on reconciliation with Indigenous peoples and if so what is it?
EMILY: Well yes they do, the early missionary has the desire to make Jesus Christ and his saving love known to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and to draw them into his kingdom of love and peace. The full conclusion of Catholic, Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people into the lives of the church is still incomplete. This commission seeks their full participation in every aspect of church life and commits itself to promote the dignity as brothers and sisters in Christ and to addressing the challenges that face them. The commission always wishes to assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to achieve their rightful and proper place in the mainstream of the Australian society prior preserving precious elements of their own culture. So please tell me about the Christian and Indigenous peoples beliefs and are they compatible?
TERESA: The Indigenous and Christian beliefs are vastly different yet there are some similarities which make both religions compatible. One difference between both religions is the beliefs about death. The Indigenous people believe when a person dies their spirit continues to live and all traces of their body are removed. Whilst the Catholic views on death in that those who die in God’s grace go to continue their lives with him in heaven. As St Paul said “If anyone is in Christ there is a new creation and everything old has passed away.” See everything new has become you all of this is from God. He reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. A similarity between both religions although some minor differences is the beliefs on law and ethics. Both the Catholic and Aboriginal laws are very strict and complex in structure which must be followed. Yet the only difference is that Aboriginal law was originated from the dreaming and the dreaming time stories and they often have a moral message that was expected to be noted, such as not polluting the water. On the other hand the Australian law was handed down by a supreme of formulated by some governing body. Which are set as rules that must be followed by all. Whilst there are similarities there are many differences which do not make their beliefs very comfortable.
EMILY: While there are some dramatic similarities and differences there. So what extent must European Australians adjust traditional values and beliefs whilst seeking reconciliation.
TERESA: Over time European Australians have started to see that they must adjust their traditional values to reconcile their relationship with the Indigenous Australians. It’s time that we recognise the differences and similarities between both parties and embraces them letting these values bring us together. European Australians along with the whiter multi-cultural community must be more respectful and allow the Indigenous Australians into their lives to show some way of reconciliation as well as making the effort to make them feel part of our local communities. Overall reconciliation has come a long way in the last couple of years regarding the European and Indigenous relationships. However there is still a lot of process that needs to be addressed to make this happen.
EMILY: Too right Teresa., We have now come to the end of our show and we would lastly like to thank all of our viewers who have tuned in today to listen about reconciliation in the context of European and Indigenous Australians, and we hope that you all have taken some ideas away with you to reflect on until our next session. Goodbye and have a great afternoon.