【Woman Who Does as Her Oppa Wishes (2024)】

In Australia,Woman Who Does as Her Oppa Wishes (2024) the date of Jan. 26 goes by many names.

"Australia Day" is what you might hear in media and on TV. But for many people, Indigenous or otherwise, it also goes by "Invasion Day" or "Survival Day" and it's often called the "Day of Mourning."

Marking the beginning of colonialism and the cultural loss, genocide and systemic racism that came along with it, the anniversary is a bank holiday marked by increasingly large protests and calls on social media to #ChangeTheDate. Or hell, even simply #CancelTheDate.

The town of Wilcannia -- found in outback north west New South Wales and belonging to the Barkandji people -- is made up of around 800 residents with diverse and deep-rooted emotions stirred around this date.

Artist and photographer Justine Muller spoke with Aboriginal residents of the town, on Jan. 26, taking their portraits with just her iPhone 7 Plus and asking them in their own words: What does Jan. 26 mean to you?

SEE ALSO: 'You wouldn't steal a car': A safety message about celebrating 'Invasion Day'

Leroy Johnson, Barkandji man

"Tick tock, tick tock tick tock, tick tock, it's here again. The first month, the 26th day." -- "The 26th of January" lyrics by Leroy Johnson.

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"I wrote this song around 2010 I think. I wrote it in response sort of to the silly questions that you always get around this time of year, mostly from white fellas and the mainstream media about why we Aboriginals don’t like the day and the date. The tick-tock part at the start is like, 'Wait for it, the same questions will come.'

"Do I think the date should change? It is very significant to us, so the day should be acknowledged, but in a completely different way, like ANZAC Day for example (where Turkey celebrates the defence of their nation and ANZAC mourns the losses). We need to honour those who have died to defend their country against the foreign invader. Unfortunately, the invader now celebrates their victory and we mourn our losses. Different sides of the same coin.

"Australia should celebrate its nationhood, which is Jan. 1, 1901. The other date is just the establishment of a colony of Great Britain, not the birth of a nation. We (Australia) need to separate ourselves from Mother’s (Great Britain’s) apron strings and grow up and form our own identity, which is definitely not a British Colony, as long as it stays this way, that’s what we will be."

Monica Kerwin Whyman, 47-year-old Barkandji woman

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"1788 to 2017. Celebrating Australia Day traditions with family and friends drinking beer, having BBQ's in back yards near rivers and on beaches across this nation is cultural for many non-Aboriginals to do on the Jan. 26 each year but the true traditional of this country we will mourn on this day because we have nothing to celebrate.

"We mourn for the loss of land on this day. We mourn for the loss of our ancestors on this day. We mourn for the loss of our children on this day. We mourn for the loss of our identity on this day.

"Yes, Australia we will mourn on this day but we won't do it in silence. We will march the streets. We will protest. We will raise our Aboriginal flags and we will make noise. Because we have asked you to change the date and you never listen. You have stolen a lot and gave back little to compensate for the wrongs you have done and yes, it has been over 200 years since you invaded our land yet you still celebrate on this day.

"You say you want to reconcile but what does that mean, Australia? You will never understand why we are angry on this day. You will never know the pain because you treat us like we are strangers in our own country and your non-Aboriginal generation will grow to know your Australia Day traditions but what do I give mine?

"So please change the date so we all can celebrate together. For all Aboriginals across this nation, it would mean a lot."

Reena Staker, 35-year-old Barkandji woman

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"It's an insult to celebrate on a day that is an emotional time, especially for our elders. A lot of our history is still not recognised, and the truth is covered up. Australians need to be better educated about the reality then they would understand it is not a day of celebration for us.

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"The Day should be on any other day, but not the day our land was invaded."

Uncle Woddy Harris, 66-year-old Barkandji man

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"I am an original Australian person. We are due for change. Stand up and say enough is enough let's all come together. No more hating, we are all people. Australia is important to everyone. Life is about trust and choices. Let’s choose to move forward together.

"If they want a day of celebration for all Australians then it's not this day."

Timothy A. Quayle, 47-year-old Barkandji man

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"I think all Australians should have a great day on behalf of our great country.

"We are all Australians we should all celebrate together black and white. We should come together as one and get along.

"I’m not a racist, I love everyone, so if they want to celebrate on that day I don’t mind but I think there should be recognition of what happened, perhaps a minute silence as a sign of respect.

Alison Whyman, 44-year-old Barkandji woman

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"Australia Day to me means Invasion Day. For us Aboriginal people it is nothing to celebrate. Even if you change the day I’m still not sure how I’d feel about it. It is hurtful to us. It's a hurting day. We are still suffering."

Brendon Adams, 40+ year-old Ku Ku Yalanji man

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"The day of celebration for non-Indigenous, is about the landing in our country. They did steal our land even if politically they are ignorant to it. Admitting it yet still celebrating is ignorance and hurtful.

"For us to move forward together, the truth needs to be recognised. Our people died for their country, and their blood has soaked this land.

"We have a minute silence for the Anzacs. Why can’t we have a minute silence for our people who also fought for their country? I think if we did that people would start to understand and think about the past and we could take a step towards breaking down that ignorance.

"We Aboriginal people used to call Australia Day, Mourning Day but we now call it Survival Day. This change in attitude is an example of the strength of our people to want to move forward. In the past protests led to anger and led to conflict but now we celebrate our survival our strength, our culture.

"A lot needs to happen before Australia can become a united country. We need to be recognised. We need a treaty, we need to be treated as equals.

Ron Kinsela, 54-year-old Wiradjuri man

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"A lot of bad things happened to our people cause of that day and they celebrate it. I don’t know why they celebrate. People were killed, massacred. There are still properties around here with massacre sights and they are still not recognised.

"Like when our soldiers went over seas and fought wars for this country they came home and still had no rights. We died on this soil defending our country but we don’t do anything to remember that like they do for white soldiers.

Shaylin Whyman, 20-year-old Barkandji woman

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"Celebrating Australia Day isn't a crime and I think it's great to celebrate what a wonderful country we live in but celebrating on the Jan 26. is the worst thing the government could have done for Aboriginal people.

"Jan. 26 is a day to be remembered forever because it's the day our people were murdered, our children taken, a religion we knew nothing about was forced on us, our women were raped, and we were forced to speak a language that isn't ours. I think the date should be changed so that everyone can celebrate together. Jan 26. is known to all Aboriginal people as Invasion day, which for us is not a day to be celebrated."

Murray Butcher, 40+ year-old Barkandji man

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"Jan. 26 I think is the wrong date for Australia Day. It represents the date the First Fleet falsely claimed the land belonged to nobody. The land belonged to us, we belonged to the land and we looked after the land. It's still our land we never gave it up.

"1788 was the start of the destruction of Indigenous cultures of Australia, the decimation of our world. That date needs to be changed to a day we can all celebrate regardless of were we come from. I would suggest Federation Day. Jan 1.1901, when all colonies agreed to become one nation of Australia.

"Jan. 26 only represents a small portion of this nation’s history: The European part and we are much more than that. We are a nation of nations and people of all countries of the world have come to call our Aboriginal lands their land."

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