Tasmanian Aboriginal leader Rodney Dillon can remember when it was impossible to even fly the Aboriginal flag in the state, but he and other Aboriginal leaders say NAIDOC week has changed that.
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Since NAIDOC week began being celebrated Tasmanian Regional Aboriginal Communities Alliance chair Mr Dillon and Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania chairperson Michael Mansell said the change in attitude towards Aboriginal people in Tasmania was stark.
The week is a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their achievements, stories and histories, and Mr Dillon and Mr Mansell said it was something that had developed from a special day for Aboriginal people, to one everyone could share in.
"It's like Aboriginal Christmas," Mr Dillon said.
"It has changed the approach and has started acknowledging that we are here and the culture is ancient."
Mr Mansell said the week had risen to prominence in the mainstream and had underscored a better understanding of Aboriginal history and culture across the whole population.
"There's a much more softer attitude towards Aboriginal people now than there was 30 years ago. The public who become involved in NAIDOC week seem to have a much deeper undertaking about it, what reconciliation means and what justice might involve," he said.
While both Mr Dillon and Mr Mansell said attitudes had changed over time, it took some time and leadership to alter long ingrained perceptions of Tasmanian Aboriginal people.
In 1827 a group of Aboriginal people leaving an area at St Leonards were shot at as they fled, the Van Demonian wars saw Tasmanian Aboriginal genocide and diaries explain of sealers taking young Aboriginal females away from their families, and Mr Mansell said NAIDOC week was a time when these truths needed to be told.
He said recent discussions arising from Tasmanian parliament about a treaty in the state coincided perfectly with NAIDOC week and together they had the potential to underscore genuine change for the Aboriginal community.
"It will spark discussion about what we mean by truth telling and treaty and what the end product could be," he said.
"Though it can trigger the discussion, the conversation and result has to have an end point so we don't just keep talking about it forever."
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