Personal Score by Ellen van Neerven

Author:Ellen van Neerven
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Queensland Press
Published: 2023-04-02T22:12:59+00:00

Our Descendants Are Watching

In 1824, organised theft of land and cultural genocide of First Nations people begins in what is now known as South East Queensland – the land of the Yagera, Turrbal, Jinibara, Yugambeh, Bundjalung, Wakka Wakka, Gubbi Gubbi, Noonuccal, Joondaburri, Ningy Ningy and Ugarapul nations.

In June 1859, Queen Victoria of England authorises the separation of northern lands from New South Wales, establishing the new colony of Queensland.

In February 2019, I move back to live with my parents in my childhood home on Turrbal Country. I come back after two busy years in Naarm/Birrarung-ga (so-called Melbourne). My mum and dad have been living in Mparntwe (so-called Alice Springs) for the last six years and have just started their retirement.

At first, being back is strange for all of us, but we slowly settle in. My parents give me the room underneath the house, where I have a view of the bush out the back. The sun wakes me every morning. My writing table is outside.

My parents and I observe changes. More geira (sulphur-crested cockatoos) fly over the house, their sharp squawks impossible to ignore. I don’t remember many of them when I was last living here, a decade ago. Neither does my dad. But we remember other birds, smaller birds, that we no longer see. We see fewer insects in the backyard.

I have conversations with my blackfella friends of a similar age, millennial babes through and through. We’ve been told that people, animals, plants and the rest of the living world must ‘keep pace with climate change’, ‘keep evolving’, keep adapting to the changing world. We speculate about the frightening changes we will observe in our lifetime. Should we have children? Would it be responsible of us? Could humankind become extinct in our or their lifetime? Should we live in a state of panic or try to enjoy the last days of the world as we know it? Which option would be the most respectful to our ancestors? What will a post-human world mean in an Aboriginal sense?

As a coping strategy, we dissociate from climate crisis through music. I fill all the gaps in my life with music. I obsessively scout artists to build playlists. The general theme is dance to decolonisation through alternative jazz, soul, electronica and hip-hop. I fall in step with Baker Boy from north-east Arnhem Land, who raps in Yolngu and English. I add Miiesha, Laura Mvula and Nakhane. I imagine playing these songs on the last night on earth, inviting all my blackfella friends, dancing till the sun comes up.

I grieve the colonisation of my people and fear that the efforts we have taken to recover and revive our culture will be too late, as human-created environmental change increasingly affects our land and waterways. As I learn more from my Elders and peers, as Yugambeh rolls its way onto my tongue, I think, is the little I’m doing enough? Maybe that’s just shame and guilt talking, two emotions so easily pushed onto a colonised people’s psyche.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.