{"id":14904,"date":"2021-08-09T09:00:06","date_gmt":"2021-08-08T23:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/?p=14904"},"modified":"2025-08-28T15:51:40","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T05:51:40","slug":"international-day-of-the-worlds-indigenous-peoples","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/testblogs.griffith.edu.au\/library\/2021\/08\/09\/international-day-of-the-worlds-indigenous-peoples\/","title":{"rendered":"Today is the International Day of the World\u2019s Indigenous Peoples!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know?<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Indigenous peoples are nearly three times more likely to live in extreme poverty than their non-indigenous counterparts.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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Monday 9 August 2021 is the\u00a0<\/span>International Day of the World\u2019s Indigenous Peoples<\/span><\/a>. This observance was decided on 23 December 1994 by the United Nations General Assembly to raise awareness and protect the rights of the world\u2019s\u00a0indigenous\u00a0population.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Did you know?<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Globally, 47% of all indigenous peoples in employment have no education, compared to 17% of their non-indigenous counterparts.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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This year\u2019s theme\u00a0is \u2018Leaving no one behind: Indigenous peoples and the call for a new social contract\u2019.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A social contract is an unwritten agreement that societies make to cooperate for social and economic benefits. Worldwide, indigenous peoples have been driven from their lands,\u00a0had\u00a0their cultures and languages denigrated and\u00a0been\u00a0marginalised from political and economic activities. The social contract indigenous peoples live with was made among the dominant populations, and indigenous peoples were deliberately excluded.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Therefore, a\u00a0new social contract\u00a0must\u00a0be developed\u2014one that includes and prioritises\u00a0Indigenous people and\u00a0Indigenous knowledges.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Did you know?<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

In Australia, Indigenous people are six times more likely to die in police custody and ten times more likely to die in prison custody than non-Indigenous people.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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The land now known as Australia has a vast history encompassing tens of thousands of years, hundreds of diverse cultures and languages and an abundance of unique social contracts that were ignored upon European invasion.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Australia has a long history of dismissing the knowledges, culture,\u00a0sovereignty\u00a0and humanity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander\u00a0peoples.\u00a0Indigenous people are still living with the trauma of the\u00a0<\/span>Stolen Generations<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0There are Indigenous people alive today who remember a time before the\u00a0<\/span>1967 Referendum<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0The intergenerational trauma from hundreds of years of colonisation still affects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples\u00a0today.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Building and redesigning a\u00a0new social contract must be based on genuine participation and partnership that fosters equal opportunities and respects the rights,\u00a0dignity\u00a0and freedoms of all.\u00a0We must all embark on this collective journey to ensure\u00a0no one is left behind,\u00a0especially Indigenous peoples.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Today, we ask all members of the Griffith community\u00a0to\u00a0take a moment to reflect on Australia\u2019s history and consider how we can all contribute to changing our future.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Did you know?<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

When used in Australia, the words Indigenous, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are capitalised, as would be the name of any other group of people. The word indigenous with a lower-case i is used when referring to indigenous people from outside of Australia. It\u2019s best to ask an Indigenous person which term they feel comfortable using.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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The first steps towards developing a new social contract include educating yourself on Indigenous issues and prioritising Indigenous perspectives and knowledges. Here are some helpful links to get you started:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n