(Part 2 of 2) Gender and Ethnic Equality - with Marijke Bassani

"Many non-Indigenous people will have just one negative experience with a First Nations person, and then write off an entire community that is so inherently diverse. But Indigenous people are expected to continually remain open minded about non-Indigenous people and to continue to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but it's really difficult to that when it's not returned." - Marijke Bassani

What are the misconceptions that exist regarding Indigenous people? How can a non-Indigenous person be a strong ally to Indigenous people? How has intergenerational trauma impeded upon Indigenous people's opportunity to flourish? 

On this week's episode of the Time to Listen podcast, we proceed with the second part of our interview with human rights lawyer and CYLP alumna Marijke Bassani. Marijke is a First Nations woman from Cape York who is an advocate for gender and ethnic equality. She is currently completing PhD research in that space, particularly focusing on the rights of LGBTQI+ Indigenous people.

Marijke continues to explain the modern state of racism in Australia that is directed toward Indigenous people. She describes how this manifests as behaviour and misconceptions in the workplace, online and in the community, and gives examples of how she has been acutely impacted by it.

Marijke outlines what it means to be a true ally to Indigenous people and Indigenous culture, and what a false alliance looks like. She explains how intergenerational trauma has played a disruptive role in Indigenous culture, and how mental illness has impeded upon her life and the lives of many Indigenous people. She then describes the importance of seeking professional help to resolve such matters.

Marijke gives her opinion on whether or not there are a sufficient amount of role models for Indigenous youth. She then identifies a lack of diversity in Indigenous public figures and explain the detrimental effects of this.

Marijke concludes our discussion with the advice she would give to her younger self with the benefit of hindsight.

Thank you for taking the time to listen.

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