.M.

What followed was active genocide against the occupants of this land for many generations (massacres with guns,
poisonings of waterholes, deliberate infections with diseases to which Indigenous people had not developed
resistance by the distribution of blankets sprinkled with smallpox scabs, and many other atrocities). There was
active resistance by Indigenous people.

More subtle forms of oppresion included the Aborigines Protection Act which led to removal of Indigenous people
from their land and livelihoods, removal of children from their parents and culture, and the enforced and often
unpaid use of Indigenous youth as domestic servants and agricultural labourers. 218 years have now passed. No
treaty has ever been signed.

Indigenous people as a group continue to suffer the worst outcomes, compared to every other group in the
country, for infant mortality, health, adult mortality, education, employment and incarceration despite the obvious
tenacity and talent of people who have the oldest continuous living culture in the world. White Australia continues
to benefit from the theft of the land.

It has been pointed out that if Australia Day was really a celebration of our nation it would commemorate
federation in 1901. Many people prefer therefore to refer to the 26th of January as Invasion Day - to draw
attention to what is actually being 'celebrated' on 26th January. Many Indigenous people refer to 26th January as
Survival Day to highlight that despite everything, we have survived.

White Australia has a black history. If you are not participating in fightdemback's Cronulla fascist-monitoring
exercise on 26th January, then an alternative way to fight racism that day and reflect on our society and its history
in a positive way is to go to Yabun at Redfern Park - a free celebration, open to everyone, of Indigenous music,
culture & survival.
http://www.gadigal.org.au/yabun/yabun.htm

Or do some reading to arm yourself with facts. I'd recommend:

Violent Democracy by Daniel Ross
http://www.cambridge.org/aus/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521603102

The Way We Civilise by Dr Rosalind Kidd
http://www.linksdisk.com/roskidd/WebBooks/BookCivilise.htm

Introduction to Indigenous resistance to invasion and occupation
http://www.upstarts.net.au/site/ideas/landrights/landrights_resistance.html