There is no doubt the arrival of the First Fleet was a "defining moment", but defining for vastly different reasons for indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. For me, this day is worthy of commemoration, not celebration.
Australia Day celebrations to me feel a bit like what Anzac Day would be without a dawn service. It just doesn't feel right or honourable to those that have gone before us. The iconic Australia Day images of people adorning various flag paraphernalia, parades, boozy BBQs, and bikini-clad girls on beaches shows complete disregard for the indigenous lives, lands and languages that were lost as a result of the British invasion of this country and the persisting inequalities that exist.
So how do I commemorate Invasion Day? I march. I march not because I'm bitter or stuck in the past, or ungrateful for the privileges I enjoy today. Rather, I march in remembrance for those who lost their lives simply defending their land and people. I march with pride and pay tribute to the innumerable acts of resistance of our warriors and the ongoing resilience of our communities.
I march with my children so they will never forget who they are, where they come from and how they came to be where they are today.
Last year, my husband and I took our eldest three children to participate in the Invasion Day march organised by the Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy. As we walked through the city to join the march wearing Aboriginal flag T-shirts, we noticed the responses of our fellow Australians.
Many averted their gaze or looked disturbed simply by our presence. I just didn't feel very Australian at all.
More than 1000 of us marched across Victoria Bridge to South Bank where the official Australia Day celebrations were being held. We noted the newly erected fences around the two main entrances to the South Bank Parklands and the heavy police guard ensuring that we didn't spoil their parade by entering. It was a stark reminder of our standing in this country.
We remain on the margins, literally and figuratively; not worthy of the same rituals of reverence and remembrance that our fellow Australians enjoy.
The Australia Day Council proudly boasts of its commitment to reconciliation, proclaiming that its "programmes play an important role in the symbolic aspects of reconciliation". Well, yes, celebrating Australia Day on January 26 is certainly symbolic of the relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians.
For me personally, celebrating Australia Day on this day is a symbolic and irreconcilable act of exclusion. This exclusion is made all the more obvious with the Meat and Livestock's Australia Day promotion encouraging us to "eat more lamb". The omission of iconic indigenous Australians from the guest list (or any non-white Australian for that matter) reminds us of the continued white-washing of Australia's history, national identity and day of celebration.
That I choose to commemorate Australia Day by marching does not mean I privilege my father's history over my mother's.
Rather the experiences, meanings and memories of indigenous Australia should be bound up in the nation's collective consciousness.
Our national day of celebration should not require me to choose between mum's side or dad's or between black and white. Our national day of celebration should be inclusive, meaningful and respectful to all of us as Australians, not just some of us.
Chelsea Bond is senior lecturer in the Oodgeroo Unit at Queensland University of Technology.
www.theconversation.edu.au
