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‘It is not your right to understand, but it is your obligation to accept difference.’

– Japanangka errol West 

Jillian West is a proud Bunurong and Palawa woman and lifelong Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advocate. We were fortunate to have Jillian generously share with us her knowledge of First Nations cultures and customs along with a moving story of her father, Japanangka errol West, an internationally recognised poet and scholar in the field of Indigenous methodologies and pedagogies.

Jillian gave a particularly poignant Acknowledgement of Country, urging us all to acknowledge and reflect on our reconciliation journey. Encouragingly, she said that in her many years working for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, our shared history and who we are today is more prominent and meaningful than it’s ever been. Jillian is very heartened and emboldened by the progress toward reconciliation that she is now seeing.

Enhancing cultural awareness and appreciation

Jillian began the presentation with a basic history of Indigenous rights, dating back to the 1967 Referendum. This was when Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were finally recognised as citizens in their own country, and were able to be a part of the census. She stressed that sharing this information was not about guilt; we were collectively robbed of an education about the history of Australia. It is more about learning and understanding the past of this country.

Jillian went on to discuss the fundamental core values of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture: reciprocity, obligation and avoidance. These three values have shaped their society and way of life. Further, Jillian explained the separate cultural obligations of women and men, namely women’s business and men’s business, as well as shared obligations.

She concluded the cultural education by describing the fundamental challenges faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in modern-day Australia. These include language barriers, kinship and cultural issues, health concerns, caring responsibilities, contact with the criminal system, and feelings of displacement. These issues are all well-documented but Jillian shed new light on them for us with her personal and emotional account.

The legacy of Japanangka errol West

In relating the story of her father, Japanangka errol West, Jillian was brave and steadfast. She described him as first and foremost an ardent advocate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights, and passionate about access to education. He was also a valued and strong contributor in the world of higher education. His goal was to confront institutional and societal prejudices in the interests of restorative justice and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ sovereignty. Japanangka errol West served in several senior positions in the National Aboriginal Education Committee. As he said at a conference for World Philosophy Week in 2000, ‘It is not your right to understand, but it is your obligation to accept difference.’

For ESA, it was an emotional and powerful event that educated some and inspired others depending on their level of knowledge. We learnt that, above all, the most important thing we can do is attempt to learn about and understand our history and listen to its lessons. In our actions, we should ‘Get Up! Stand Up! Show Up!’ for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples every day. As Japanangka errol West said, we must ‘walk softly on the land as it holds the story of our grandmothers’.

Learn more about Japanangka errol West’s research and legacy by reading his thesis: An alternative to existing Australian research and teaching model: Japanangka teaching and research paradigm; an Australian Aboriginal model. (2000).