Learning is key to respect
FOR his first 20 years, the Australian Government classed Uncle Colin Jones as something less than human.
Growing up on the missions in North Queensland, his people were denied the right to vote, to speak their ancient language, control who they married or to own property.
Textbooks from the time placed indigenous Australians somewhere between Europeans and apes.
The 1967 referendum to supersede the Flora and Fauna Act removed that legal prejudice and set about bridging the racial divide.
Though the COVID-19 shutdown prevented large Reconciliation Week celebrations, Uncle Colin Jones still wants the country to reflect on the differences between white and black Australia.
He said understanding what set us apart was the key to bringing us together, but that required education.
This is no more apparent than in the Murri Courts, where both Uncle Colin and Charlie Rowe serve as indigenous leaders.
Rather than using fines and jail to bend young indigenous men and woman to the will of the white man’s law, the Murri Courts uses a wholistic approach.
Elders counsel offenders and address their physical and mental health, their family background and their substance abuse.
Mr Rowe said the program was a proven success.
“Since we started working with Murri Court in 2016, we have had about 190 clients through the program and none of them have been back to jail,” he said.
It works because, as Uncle Colin puts it, it teaches indigenous youth about themselves.
“So they understand who they are and where they belong,” he said.
“They must balance where they fit in our two worlds.”
The two men want indigenous youth to respect themselves and their community.
Uncle Colin said this was a difficult job after generations of degradation at the hands of Australia’s colonial masters.
“We have come a long way in 50 years, but that bridge has to be a lot wider, a lot stronger and has got to meet from both sides,” he said.