January 26th Read, Watch, Listen, Do

Yaama All,

Erica Brennan here First Nations Coodinator for Sydney Fringe. One of my key roles here is to help support the journey of reconciliation within the organisation and its festival. In 2024 I will be sharing with our Fringe audiences some brief thoughts and resources around some key dates in the First Nations calendar that help us on our journey.

Read on to explore January 26th – Survival / Invasion/ Australia Day /Day of Mourning.

Artwork: Peta Joy

January 26th is a date well worth investing as a key moment in our history.  Our city’s (and festival) footprint includes the significant sites of Warrane/ Sydney Cove and Kamay/Botany Bay; the place where the First Fleet anchored and established colonies forever altering our country’s story.

This coming Friday is good opportunity to slow down and reflect on what it means to live on this island rich in storytelling and culture that has existed far before the first fleet arrived in 1788.

A powerful yet simple recommendation I always make to our staff members is take the opportunity to get on country – that is get yourself back to a place that feels like home, a place that you can be quiet and still take a moment to connect with country and let it sustain you.  January 26th is a good day to make that journey.

There are heaps of other things you can explore to walk down the path of reconciliation and understanding this country’s story. Check out these additional Read, Watch, Listen, and Do resources.

Read, Watch, Listen, Do

The Read, Watch & Listen bits are activities you can do at anytime. The Do activities are for January the 26th.

Photo by Johan Mouchet on Unsplash

Read

About the origins of the  phrase “Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.” In this short NITV article
Article by First Nations writer Elen Van Neervan on the changing attitudes towards invasion day “Shifting Attitudes to Invasion Day Give Me Hope”
And have a browse around Collection of Invasion Day articles | IndigenousX . IndigenousX is a First Nations Led media company. Heaps of stuff on there this is their archive about Invasion Day.

Watch

Chuck on the Live stream of NITV via SBS on demand. NITV is the home of Indigenous storytelling, delivering Australia’s only national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander television news service. With programs that inspire, instill pride and lead to a greater understanding of Indigenous Australians and cultures, NITV helps all Australians to connect with our rich Indigenous history.

Listen

Boe Spearim | Frontier War Stories – A podcast dedicated to truth-telling about a side of Australian that has been left out of the history books.
Word Up | ACB Listen – In each episode, a guest chooses a word from their language and talks about the meaning behind it. They are like 5 mins each ep and super cute.

Do (Jan 26)

Sydney’s Invasion Day Rally’ kicks off at 10am at Belmore Park, where people will march from the park through Sydney’s CBD.
The annual Yabun Festival at Victoria Park from 10am to 6pm. Yabun will provide live music, market stalls, panel discussions, children’s activities, and performances.
Blak Powerhouse is back for another year at the Powerhouse Museum from 5pm.
Time out has got a decent list of things to do as well and I recommend searching your local council pages to engage with mob close by.

January 26 is a complex day for a lot of First Nations people remember to take care of each other and be kind no matter where the conversation takes you.

Yalu,
Erica