Modern cultures lacking respect

These days throughout many cultures Yindyamarra (respect) seems to be going missing.

Respect for the land, respect for law and respect for mayiny (people) needs to be something very important in all of our cultures.

Traditional cultural living relies very heavily on how we treat people and property, how we treat our families and how we respect ourselves.

Wiradjuri and the wider Aboriginal communities have survived for thousands of years by using Yindyamarra (respect).

Our culture could have not lived this long if we didn’t respect the land and her people.

Being the first Australians is an honour that Aboriginal people have not taken lightly. But it also has come at great cost and sorrow for madhu mayiny (many people) over the last two hundred years or so.

To have language, land and people taken away is something that must never happen again.

But we see something similar happening in Western Australia at the moment that could take our nations back two hundred years.

Governments wanting Aboriginal people moved from their traditional land is not a nation moving forward, but  instead is one that shows it hasn’t learnt from its past errors.

To know where you have come from helps you to know where you are going. If you are lost you need only to look back at your footsteps in the red earth to find where you have been. Wiradjuri and Aboriginal people have welcomed many visitors over many years to our beautiful Ngurambang (country) In return we would ask that Yindyamarra (respect) is given both ways.

All cultures are very important in our worlds, so to have one on our doorstep that is over 60,000 years old is just something very special and amazing.

We should all do as Wiradjuri have done for beyond time, stop, listen, learn, share and Yindyamarra (respect)

More information can be found on my Facebook page at, https://www.facebook.com/WiradjuriMob. – Mark Saddler