Forget Australia’s referendum. Indigenous people make strides on their own

Aboriginal residents of Shepparton have established thriving sport, education and cultural centres to support young people and their community.

Shepparton, Australia  – Brad Boon gestures towards the towering mural, one of many that dot the small rural town of Shepparton in Australia’s southeastern state of Victoria.

The faces of Indigenous heroes William Cooper and Sir Douglas Nicholls stare defiantly across the smattering of shops under the glare of the midday Australian sun. Despite the onslaught of British colonisation and discrimination, Sir Douglas became the first Aboriginal person to be knighted and was made the governor of South Australia; he was also a talented Australian Rules football player.

Cooper, meanwhile, long campaigned for Aboriginal rights and is also recognised for protesting against the Nazi regime, seeing correlations between Indigenous peoples’ treatment in Australia and that of the Jewish people under Nazi Germany.

Both Cooper and Nicholls came from the Indigenous Yorta Yorta nation – the traditional area surrounding Shepparton. That their faces – along with other Indigenous heroes – are emblazoned on the walls around the town are testament not only to the Yorta Yorta peoples’ survival and resistance to brutal colonisation but also to their enduring legacy.

Despite their long history of resistance and activism, however, the Yorta Yorta people are still fighting for their rights in 2023.