Acknowledgement of Country

The University of Sydney stands on stolen Indigenous land. These are the unceded lands of the Gadigal, Darug and Gandagara people. The Students’ Representatives Council (SRC) primarily organises and meets on Gadigal land of the Eora nation. Beyond campuses, we live and work on many other sovereign First Nations lands: Dharawal, Bidjigal and Cammeraygal, to name a few. We pay our respects to elders past, present and emerging.

The year marks the 233rd year since British imperialism invaded Gadigal lands—233 years of violent dispossession and colonialism. This violence has not stopped, but adapted itself, reaching across all aspects of First Nations peoples’ lives. Police and prison systems, harmful child removals, and land dispossession all continue the violent legacy of the settler state. Reforms, ‘reconciliation’, and so-called ‘apologies’ are not enough. There is no Indigenous justice without complete abolition of the settler state and decolonisation. USyd is an elitist institution, of which many First Nations peoples will never benefit from, given the deep socioeconomic disparity between settlers and First Nations peoples. Not only do First Nations peoples not benefit from universities, but they are actively harmed by these institutions which stand on stolen land and profit from the hierarchisation of knowledge that devalues Indigenous knowledges that are thousands of years old. As we fight for decolonisation, we also fight for the abolition of universities and hierarchisation of education and pedagogy, towards a more liberatory, collective sharing of knowledge and skills.

In an elitist institution which silences poor and Indigenous people, we must amplify Bla(c)k and Indigenous voices and perspectives and centre Bla(c) k and Indigenous justice in all that we do. In fighting for a better education and brighter future, we fight for First Nations liberation.

This land always was, and always will be, Aboriginal land.