Katie Goes...

I have not been able to write, because there is so much to say. I thought I had good empathy and my mind was open, but the education I got at Garma had little to do with the structured festival. The journey began at the Darwin airport, where I camped out the night before flying to a tiny airport called "Gove". My travel tiredness was whisked away as we sailed into the clouds of the Northern Territories and over the red and brown dirt below. I met a lovely girl called Trudie on the plane, who works with Aboriginal Law, and on the bus to the festival grounds I met another rock star named Louise, who teaches in Melbourne. One thing that surprised me straight off was how many whitefellas there were. It turns out that the Garma festival is owned by one white man, even though there is ostensibly a board of directors (with, believe it or not, not much black representation). It was like splitting into two people then, one for my experience as a white person, and one to observe a...

My first day in Sydney was a wonderful transition- and no jet-lag in sight!!! I unpacked and watched movie s from the very comfortable couch of my brilliant friend Summer Foley. Day two it was time to explore my new city! I made it out to Tranby Aboriginal College, in the hip neighborhood of Glebe, and met up with my friend Darryl that I met seven years ago at Macquarie University. He is now the Program Director for Community Development at Tranby, and the catalyst for my trip here. From the outside, the college is unassuming, but as you walk through the Burnt Sienna hallway you come upon another world, formed with curved walkways and round classrooms . The administration buildings and the circular, tribal, classrooms are connected by the "reconciliation" bridge that symbolizes the link between the European and Aboriginal worlds. After a tour of the campus, I had lunch with some of the staff and students. Everyone was incredibly nice and had great senses of humor. I...

This is a more academic version of a possible future. All I have at the moment is my vision, which will be informed by experience after my trip to Oz. VOICES OF WISDOM For the last six years I have been working on creating a program that could begin to address the travesties surrounding Native/First Americans and Aboriginal Australians. I really began to understand the atrocities endured by the Aboriginal population in Australia, and consequently in my own country, while pursuing my Masters degree at Macquarie University, north of Sydney. During school breaks, on-campus housing was made available to Aboriginal students through the Warawara program, and as an international student, I also stayed on campus during holidays. As a fellow outsider, I became friends with members of this program and was allowed into their inner circle to begin a video storytelling project, as part of my degree. While listening to their stories I couldn't help but think of the Cherokee community w...

I was invited to attend the Garma Aboriginal festival:  www.garma.telstra.com      It's truly amazing, but the challenge is the $2,200 additional funding! I'm having a documentary film showing on July 22.  Fine Arts Theatre, 7pm -Whaledreamers: www.whaledreamers.com but if you can't make it, do try to see the film, it is brilliant.        I am learning so much. For instance, I had not realized that playing the yidaki (didjeridu) is only for men.  It's men's business and illegal for women.  Cultural understanding then comes in bits in pieces:  The sound of the yi d aki at Gulkula is a call to the Yolngu clans of Northeast Arnhem Land to come together. It is a call to all peoples to come together in unity. Every August it is also a call to men from around the world who are enthusiastic about the "didjeridu" enthusiasts to come visit the home of the instrument and learn from traditional masters at the Garma Festival. Non-Indigenous use of yi d aki In the Nort...

If I had to speak so that everyone completely understood me, I would have to be silent.  In 25 days I begin a new journey, this time to Australia.  It'll be an intense road ahead, but it's also a chance to start work on a dream I've had for over six years, to facilitate an exchange program between Aboriginal Australians and Native Americans to heal historical trauma through shared experience.  Dr. Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart has an excellent website on historical trauma, if you want a better understanding:  http://www.historicaltrauma.com/  

I envision a country where domestic violence and sexual abuse is Unthinkable.  I hope for a place where Women and Men will find what is sacred inside themselves and be inspired to dialogue with their communities toward the common goal of sustainability.  I see a country where humanity isn't quantifiable and we practice economics as if people mattered (thank you E.F. Schumacher) and money is not the highest value in the land.  *And that land is seen as a limited capital resource, not unlimited income. I hope to see a place where girls find and respect their power and boys realize that feelings, compassion, respect for creation and humble love are all vital parts of being a warrior.  I also wish that people could stop having so many babies and be willing to sacrifice selfish need for the sake of the planet (even though my heart breaks at not being able to hold my own child), because there won't be a planet to leave to our children if we continue to overpopulate. I hope to see a p...

I got an email from our new leadership, asking what I envision for our country.  I have to admit, that's pretty cool to be asked.  save the cynicism, there is no time for that anymore.  Here's what I wrote: