Survival Day Statement
26 January 2023
Women’s Health Grampians acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as Australia’s First Peoples and the Traditional Owners of the lands, waterways and skies where we live, work and play.
26th January is not a day of celebration. It is a day that marks the invasion of Australia, which involved genocide and the dispossession of land and culture.
We stand in solidarity with First Nations peoples. We reflect on how the privileges and benefits we enjoy in Australia are underpinned by the suffering and ongoing injustices perpetrated against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples through colonial systems. We recognise and value the voices, strength and resilience of Aboriginal women of the Grampians region.
Staff at Women’s Health Grampians are supported to work on 26th January, if they choose, as a way of acknowledging that this is not a day of celebration; and to support truth telling about our shared history, understanding, respect and reconciliation. Many of our staff will attend ceremonies to commemorate and acknowledge those who died as a result of invasion and those who continue to suffer under the ongoing impacts of colonisation. We stand with those who march in protest, and in pursuit of self-determination for First Nations Peoples.
Sovereignty was never ceded. This always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
