Hundreds of thousands have gathered for Invasion Day rallies across the country’s major cities today, in protest of the national holiday and to stand in solidarity with First Nations Australians.
Sydney #InvasionDay2020 march underway. Lead by Aboriginal families who have lost loved ones in custody. pic.twitter.com/cXn9vYTUBT
— Isabella Higgins (@isabellahiggins) January 26, 2020
Attendance at, and support for, the various Invasion Day rallies has been growing rapidly each year, and this year was no different. Well over 100,000 people reportedly attended Melbourne’s rally at Parliament House, while Newcastle held its their first ever annual march.
“We need to heal the ancestors’ spirit for this country to move forward,” Uncle Robbie Thorpe, a Krautungalung man of the Gunnai Nation, told the Melbourne crowd, Guardian reports. “When that happens this place will change.”
huge turnout at the first annual invasion day rally in newcastle. fantastic work by organisers and volunteers to get this event running @AmyThunig #InvasionDay2020 pic.twitter.com/ROUIBuwcmS
— maddie wilson (@maddiewilson21) January 26, 2020
Elsewhere, thousands showed up for respective rallies in Sydney, Adelaide, Darwin, Perth and Hobart, with the chant “always was, always will be Aboriginal land” being heard across the country. According to NITV, around 5,000 took part in Brisbane’s Invasion Day march at Queen’s Park.
Huge turnout to today’s Meanjin/Brisbane #InvasionDay2020 rally organised by Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance. #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe pic.twitter.com/egNL17kRNh
— Queensland Greens (@QldGreens) January 26, 2020
Check out some of the powerful imagery below from today’s Invasion Day rallies across the country.
https://twitter.com/ScottTrindall/status/1221242222416318464
If you’re interested in learning more about the complex history associated with the date, check out Indigenous activists Sara Khan and Lille Madden‘s discussion regarding the deeper issues of January 26. For further reading, here’s why many people want to change the date.
Educating ourselves is important. As said by Khan, “it is not our responsibility to change your mindset. Our responsibility is to heal. If you are celebrating this day then you are disrupting our healing.”
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