Barribugu mirana yiyura (The future is First Peoples)
Anissa Jones
Guwiyady’u gulbanga Gayan gayan Colin Gale, Dharug warunggad, ngayiridyi Native Title.
(I’d like to dedicate this to Uncle Colin Gale, our Senior Dharug Elder and Native Title claimant.)
Warami. Budyari Nhaady’unya. Yanyiminga muday Ngurrawa.
(Welcome. Good to see you. Walk softly on Country with me.)
When I see the word barribugu (future), I think of my grandchildren and their children. It is a place where I may just be a memory to them, someone special who makes them smile as they remember me, but it is also a place where I can dream that it will be better for mirana yiyura (First Peoples).
But the future I once dreamed of as a child in the ‘80s is not the same as what I see before me. My future was a place free of racism where you could just play with your mates because they were your mates, and not be told you couldn’t because of the colour of their skin. Instead, I am faced daily with online content that is streaming 24/7. Where racism is not only in your face, but it’s also on your screens, in the streets, and even at public events where diversity is attacked for just existing.
As a fair-skinned Burubirangal Dharug dhiyin (woman), I have had the privilege of walking down the streets without question. I could shop without scrutiny. I could exist. But with my Aboriginal family, I was just me—their family. My family line is long—my ancestors were recorded talking to Governor Philip at Dhurabang (Hawkesbury River). But to other mob, I am from a line that does not exist—’They’re dead!’
So are we ‘dead’? Or strangers on our own land?
Or am I just a dreamer? I like to think I am more than that. That I’m someone who wants everyone to be free to exist.
I am a mother. I am a grandmother. I am a wife. I am a teacher. I am AuDHD.
I teach Dharug Dhalang, the language of Sydney, to my Community every week of the school year. I’ve been a teacher in schools and in vocational education. I see the importance of ‘Community before self’, and everyone should know their dhalang (language), especially the Dharug. We were the first to be invaded, but we were also, to an extent, lucky to have our dhalang (language) recorded. It is this barribugu (future) that I am focusing on, that can be THE barribugu (future) for my grandchildren.
Education and schooling have always been hard for mob. But it isn’t because we don’t want to learn. Our learning is based on tried-and-true methods, and our knowledges, until 238 years ago, were solely oral-based. Our connection to Ngurra (Country) is in our budbud (heart) and soul, our songlines, and our warunggad (ancestors). Our ways of knowing, being, and doing demonstrate our connectedness, and this knowledge learned was to benefit Ngurra (Country) and our mudyin (family). Bangadyanyang Muru Ngurrawa. (It was woven through Country, forming our Songlines.)
Barribugu mirana yiyura (The future is First Peoples), to me, is about working together as one, building up our young ones so they can one day lead the way and hold their heads up with pride.
It is about being that dreamer, the one who looks beyond the norm and dances to their own beat…
The one who is dyirrunbuni bayadyi wingaradyiwi (not afraid to speak their mind) and warrawigul (stand up) for what is right.
The bringers of the future, those the warunggad (ancestors) hoped would lead the barribugu Dharug Yiyura (future of our people).
The barribugu (future) may look like a scary thing to you, but to me, it is one where my history, my family, and my culture are no longer hidden or shamed by a system that does not speak for us, only about us, and only in small amounts. We are the oldest living culture in the world. We are the first teachers and students. We have over 60,000 years of experience.
It is about providing a safe space for mob to just be ourselves in a way that works for us. We must be seated at the table, not because a box needs to be ticked, but because we are the people with the knowledge and the insight into what we need.
There is pride in being Aboriginal.
There is pride in being a part of the oldest living culture in the world.
Ngarradyami, Bayalanyanga ngarradyawi.
(If you listen, our voices will be heard.)
About the author
Warami. Ngaya giyara Anissa. Ngaya Burubirangal Dharug Dhiyin. Ngaya Marrangurrabirang. Bayady’u Dharug Dhalang, dhalang Warrangin. Nguwiyady’u Dharug Dhalang.
(Hello. My name is Anissa. I am a Burubirangal Dharug woman from Marrangurra [Richmond, NSW]. I speak the Dharug tongue, the language of Warrang [Sydney]. I am a teacher of Dharug Dhalang.)
About the artwork: ‘Community Before Self’ by Anissa Jones
The artwork articulates the impact of colonisation on Dharug Yiyura. The two larger circles indicate the two sides of Dharug Ngurra – those from the coast and those from the river/hinterland. The centre line is representative of the Burramatta dhurabang (Parramatta River), which was a natural boundary. The other lines indicate various waterways on Dharug Ngurra, such as Dhurabang (Hawkesbury River), Gulyari (Cook’s River), and Wiyangamatta Creek (Wianamatta – Mother Creek).
Where you see empty patches, they represent those who are disconnected from Community and our loss of families, culture, language, and Songlines. Some sections are full of circles, highlighting the families that have continued to live on Dharug Ngurra and maintained their bloodline connections – The Lockes, The Goldspinks, and The Simms.