Benz World Blog » Indigenous

The Voice

Jason Benz — Thu, 06 Jul 2023 06:17:03 +0000

Amidst the chaos of the 2016 Brexit and Trump campaigns, I became an Aussie. Here the climate wars were in full swing and politicians were attempting to break the world record for toppling Prime Ministers.

Among the indigenous population, a series of corroborees occurred around Australia. In 2017 they culminated in a gathering at Uluru (Ayers Rock) with delegates from 100 Nations. After 4 days of collaboration, they produced “The Statement from the Heart” A single piece of text and art which would be given to the government instead of a chorus of voices. For people who never ceded their vast land, the statement contained seemingly modest requests; Voice, Recognition and Truth-telling.

Australia’s PM du jour was Malcolm Turnbull. His qualifications for the top job were, being a millionaire with media training and a willingness to write a 7 figure check to the Liberal Party’s election campaign. He was rare among Aussie Polies in talking about climate change but when it came to responding to the statement from the heart, He dismissed it completely. After leaving power he said that was a mistake and joined the Yes campaign. Prudent to judge actions, rather than words, especially with politicians.

Ignored for 5 years until Bluesfest 2022 and the then opposition leader Anthony Albanese, stepped on stage to introduce Jimmy Barns. Albo got a frosty reception and was booed immediately by a loud section of the large crowd. The Murdoch press may fail to mention the cheer he got later when he said he would take action on the statement. Speaking about the voice turned the crowd and saved him from complete humiliation. He was elected the following month, and in his acceptance speech, he confirmed he would put the Indigenous Voice to Parliament to a national referendum.

Political parties took predictable sides. The right of politics was against giving indigenous people a voice, and the left supported it. As the national debate continued the No Vote was joined by indigenous people who thought it did not go far enough. They believe by voting it down, Albo would be forced to go further. The promise of a perfect solution in a second referendum, which never happens, is a trick that has worked here before and resulted in this egalitarian nation continuing to stamp every coin with the owner of the world’s most expensive hat.

Spinifex Gum

Jason Benz — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 13:59:41 +0000

This is Spinifex Gum charming the audience on the Crossroads stage at Bluesfest 2023 in Byron Bay. This teenage indigenous female choir draws on musicians and stories from every corner of Australia. Melbourne-based Felix Riebl and Ollie McGill from The Cat Empire produce the music to tell stories of the Yindjibarndi people from the Pilbara in WA. They are brought to life by the Marliya Choir based in Cairns in far North QLD. The band are fearless in shining a light on issues facing Australia’s First Nations people. The choir singers are individually mic’d which gives them freedom of movement which traditional choir setups do not have. This song, called Sisters, comes from their second album of the same name released in 2019.

Spinifex Gum has one more show on the Mojo stage on Friday. Tickets still available via the Bluesfest Website.

Mabo Day

Jason Benz — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 14:01:16 +0000

Today is the anniversary of Mabo Day. It marks a historic decision in the High Court of Australia in 1992. This David and Goliath story resulted in overturning the legal framework used by the British Empire to pull off the biggest land grab in history. Eddie Mabo was an Indigenous Australian who spent the last ten years of his life battling the concept of terra nullius (nobody’s land) which attempted to justify disinheriting native people from their land.

This image is available for download here.

Indigenous Recognition

Jason Benz — Fri, 26 May 2017 14:01:24 +0000

Today is the 50th anniversary of the Indigenous Recognition Referendum in Australia. It seems self-evident that you would grant native people citizenship of their own country. However, in 1967 the politicians in Canberra decided a referendum was needed. At more than 90% of voters, it was the most decisive result in history.

This image has been accepted by Shutterstock for Stock Photography and is available for download here.

Boomerang Dancer

Jason Benz — Sun, 07 May 2017 22:39:07 +0000

This is one of the dancers from the Boomerang Festival performing with OKA at the 2017 Bluesfest. This year the indigenous ‘festival within a festival’ booked the first 4 hours of the Juke Joint stage for 3 of the 5 days. The result was I woke to the sound of my favourite Queensland band from the campsite. I grabbed my camera and ran to the stage. After getting this photograph I could not help but join the crowd for a dance. Although I skipped the caffeine routine it was the perfect start to a day of music.

This image is available for download here.

Tipi Village

Jason Benz — Wed, 12 Apr 2017 06:42:30 +0000

I arrived at Bluesfest 2017 today. After setting up the van I went looking for something to photograph before the music starts tomorrow. These are the rainbow tipis which have provided alternative accommodation for festival goers for the last 3 years. They are based on traditional sioux style tipis of the native americans and have been refined by Ray Brown to suit the australian climate.

This image is available for download here.

Boomerang Festival

Jason Benz — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 12:02:40 +0000

This is the Malu Kiai Mura Buai Dance Troupe from Boigu Island in the Torres Strait performing at the Boomerang Festival in New South Wales, Australia. In 2016 this Indigenous art festival took place inside Bluesfest giving everyone the chance to discover cultures with talks, workshops and performances.

Medicine Tribe

Jason Benz — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 10:12:45 +0000

This is Nahko and Medicine For The People playing a moving and high energy set on the Mojo stage of the Byron Bay Bluesfest in Australia. They are a world music collective which blend Reggae, Dub and Hip Hop with a message of humanitarian and environmental harmony. I got hooked on their tunes a few weeks before the festival thanks to a 2016 Bluesfest playlist which had been assembled on Pandora. The stage performance confirmed this is a special band worth checking out. (image download here)

UPDATE: Nahko will return to the festival in 2025, tickets are available via the Bluesfest Website.

UPDATE: In 2026 Bluesfest will be the last in a line of major festivals closed from increasing headwinds. This began before covid, with the previous state government’s legislative “war on festivals“. The new government risks letting this trend continue through inaction. #savebluesfest, international petition on change.org Sign up here.

Boundary Hotel

Jason Benz — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 01:36:35 +0000

This is a band called OKA playing at the Boundary Hotel in Brisbane last weekend. Their music is a beautiful blend of Reggae, Dance and Didgeridoo. I had seen them put on a great performance once before on their home turf of the Sunshine Coast so did not need any persuasion to go to the gig. I was in Brisbane to take my Australian citizenship test the following day. The test went well and I should get sworn in in around 6 months.