Coming to terms with the past? - Identifying barriers and enablers

Coming to terms with the past? Identifying barriers and enablers to truth-telling and strategies to promote historical acceptance Anne Maree Payne and Heidi Norman Indigenous Land and Justice Research Group School of Humanities & Languages Acknowledgements This research was undertaken on the lands of the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, and our respect is extended to the Traditional Owners and t. [...] Others spoke to their role in educating non- that I’m speaking for.’20 For this interviewee, truth-telling Indigenous participants about the struggles endured by included the responsibility to speak truth to power, and First Nations peoples, and the importance of recognising to accurately represent the interests and needs of the the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Aboriginal com. [...] Others highlighted recognising the inaccuracies cultures, perspectives and experiences of Aboriginal and and bias of the history they had previously been taught, Torres Strait Islander peoples; the opportunity to connect the need to ‘make space for this [Aboriginal and Torres with Elders; understanding the impact of racism, white Strait Islander] past to be acknowledged’, and the need privilege, i. [...] Practical considerations such as ‘holding events in Responses to an open-ended question in the survey locations and at times that suit a range of people’110 and highlighted a degree of uncertainty about what truth- the importance of timeliness and cultural safety were telling involves and recognition of the need for ‘basic also mentioned – ‘Sometimes you just have to … be in the literacy’ in the w. [...] An Aboriginal interviewee commented that there is a need Recognising structural disadvantage and the to focus on the intent rather than just the words: ‘truth- ongoing impacts of the past telling is obviously the verbal part of it, but there’s also the physical being and also the heart, and also there’s the As we highlighted earlier in the Historical injustice in spiritual feeling about … I think.