Miranda Tapsell on National Reconciliation Week

 Doing the pout!

Hey guys,

I’m MirandaTapsell  and the gorgeous and talented Ms Heiss practically begged me to hijack her blog to make some noise about National Reconciliation Week!  Woo hoo!

When is it?

27^th May – 2^nd June 2013.  There are two big major events happening simultaneously in Cairns and Melbourne to kick start the celebrations. For more information check out www.reconciliation.org.au.  I’ll be in Fed Square there, so please come join me! To see what I’m getting up to for NRW, you can find me on Facebook  and Twitter! 

What can I do?

Unfortunately there is a sad past to Australia’s history and there are still a lot of issues within Indigenous Australian society that haven’t been resolved. Sometimes you can feel a bit powerless because all this is out of your control.  Change can’t happen overnight, but starting small could make a big difference!

Why not praise an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander you know of? It could be a friend, family member or the deadly Johnathan Thurston,  Adam Goodes,  Casey Donovan,  Jessica Mauboy,  Anita Heiss (hehe)! Just a quick shout out on Facebook or Twitter to an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander you admire is a great contribution to Reconciliation.  Because let’s face it, we all want someone to notice our awesomeness sometimes, right?

Understandably the cause for Reconciliation and Recognition is not on everyone’s radar everyday.  Living in a major city like Sydney can be enough to make you busy let alone all the sick gadgets we can play with these days! My iPad is taking over my life! I’m sure you’ve all read some of Anita’s wonderful books such as Am I Black Enough For You,  so in case you’re keen to know more during NRW, why not dig around your local library or bookstore to read up on Indigenous Australians or Australian history?

 Fancying myself as a deadly camera-woman!

Miranda, please, I’m not a nerd!

That’s cool, there’s also tons of interesting websites you can check out as well; www.indigenous.gov.au and www.recognise.org.au are two great ones that will lead you onto others. If you’re on Twitter follow Recognise  and Reconcilation Australia  They can both be liked on Facebook too!

Maybe let your peeps at work/uni/school know about the awesome websites or celebs I’ve mentioned above? Every little bit counts right?

If you’re a bit more outdoors-y then why not go on a walk? It could be out in a National Park or just along the beach. Taking the time to be out in nature might just inspire you to reflect on how precious this land truly is to it’s First peoples.

But Miranda, I’m not Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander!

That’s great as well, that’s what Reconciliation is all about! The more people we can get behind this Bad Boy, the better don’t you think? NRW isn't just about celebrating Indigenous excellence, but everyone coming together.

I was so elated to see how much The Sapphires  brought everyone together.  Everyone; young, old, male, female, black, white, pink and purple came to see the film and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Many were touched by the way The Sapphires shed light on the treatment of Aboriginal people in Australia’s history. It was because the film had universal appeal that Indigenous issues became accessible to a non-Indigenous audience.  Suddenly these four Yorta-Yorta women were seen by the audience as human, so the struggles that the four heroines had to overcome was something everyone was able empathise with.  The audience had asked themselves “How would this feel if it happened to me?”.  I only wish that this year all Australians would embrace National Reconciliation Week with the same feelings they had when they had first watched The Sapphires.  So please, party on down with me and Anita!

Lots of love,

Miranda Tapsell xxx

 With the lovely Ms Miranda celebrating positive stories!