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Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
British settlers guilty of genocide against indigenous Australians
July 2 (UPI) -- Genocide by 19th-century British colonists in what is now the Australian state of Victoria saw 75% of the indigenous population wiped out by violence and diseases to which they had no resistance within 20 years of the arrival of the first settlers, according to a royal commission. The final report of the four-year Yoorrook Justice Commission, which was presented to the Victorian Parliament on Tuesday, documented massacres, mass abduction of children, the erasing of Aboriginal culture and economic discrimination, the consequences of which were still impacting the First Peoples of Victoria. "Yoorrook found that the decimation of the First Peoples population in Victoria was the result of a coordinated plan of different actions aimed at the destruction of the essential foundations of the life of national groups," the commission said. "This was genocide." The commission also found that the "decimation" of the First Peoples -- the group's population collapsed by 45,000 to under 15,000 in just 17 years -- was the result of a "coordinated plan of different actions aimed at the destruction of the essential foundations of the life of national groups." "First Peoples in Victoria have been consistently excluded from opportunities to generate wealth. Colonial systems prevented First Peoples from participating in economic life and wealth creation, including through education, employment opportunities and owning property," the report said. It added that the economic inequality suffered by First Peoples could be traced straight back to past "colonial practices and state-sanctioned exclusion." The truth-telling commission, providing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with a platform to tell their stories and experiences for the first time, makes more than 100 recommendations to compensate for past harms and the resulting "systemic injustices." The primary focus is on a treaty-type architecture to deliver redress as well as major structural reforms. These included urging the state government to overhaul education, building in Aboriginal content to the curriculum and anti-racism training to educators, as well as making disciplinary policies fairer so that Aboriginal students were not discriminated against. On health, the report found a system in which racism was deeply ingrained and called for more funding for targeted services for indigenous Australians. It recommended investing in tailored, dedicated mental health provision -- removing that responsibility from the police -- and switching responsibility for the health of incarcerated First Peoples from the Justice Ministry to the Health Department. The commission also urged greater inclusion of First Peoples in professional and leadership positions across the education and health care systems. Recommendations regarding land were also high up the list. The commission demanded an official apology and redress for a veterans' scheme under which all troops returning from fighting in the two world wars were granted plots of land, but not First Nations soldiers. It also said land now owned by institutions such as the church and universities "acquired for little or no consideration" or expropriated by the Crown should be returned to the original owners. Yoorrook also urged better political representation for First Peoples to be able to hold government to account, saying virtually all of the issues flagged up in the report could be traced back to a lack of accountability and broken trust. Specifically, it called for a permanent First Peoples' assembly with the authority to make decisions when it came to policies affecting them. However, the commission was split over the recommendations, with three of the five commissioners arguing against them being in the final report. Victoria Premier Jacinta Allen initially welcomed the publication of the report, but on Tuesday said the government needed time to digest its recommendations and urged all Victorians to read the report Earlier, she had pledged to back strengthening the First People's assembly but stopped short of granting it decision-making powers. "When you listen to people, you get better outcomes, and that's what treaty is all about. I reckon we're up for that as a state. Thank you to the commission for these historic reports -- they shine a light on hard truths and lay the foundations for a better future for all Victorians, she said. Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization CEO Jill Gallagher said the finding of genocide was beyond question. "We don't blame anyone alive today for these atrocities, but it is the responsibility of those of us alive today to accept that truth -- and all Victorians today must accept, recognise and reconcile with these factual findings." Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
What To Read In July: 5 Noteworthy Books Worth Your Time This Month
Want to spend your July in a way that makes you feel enriched? Whether you're soaking up the sun or staying cool indoors, July is the perfect month to get lost in a good book. From gripping thrillers to thought-provoking nonfiction, here are five books that deserve a spot on your TBR (To Be Read) list this month: 1. The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (Historical Sci-Fi, Debut Fiction) This stunning debut blends historical fiction with speculative sci-fi. The story follows a civil servant tasked with managing a time-traveling Victorian polar explorer in a near-future Britain. It's sharp, fresh, and emotionally layered — perfect for fans of The Time Traveler's Wife and Never Let Me Go. 2. The God of the Woods by Liz Moore (Mystery / Literary Fiction) Set in a prestigious summer camp in the Adirondacks, this atmospheric mystery dives into the disappearance of a young girl — echoing a tragedy from decades prior. Moore masterfully crafts suspense while exploring family secrets and class dynamics. A must-read for fans of Gone Girl and The Secret History. 3. Real Americans by Rachel Khong (Literary Fiction / Family Saga) Spanning three generations, this novel examines identity, immigration, and family through a Chinese American lens. With lyrical prose and moving characters, Khong's latest novel is as intimate as it is sweeping — a powerful read for those interested in heritage and belonging. 4. A Death in Cornwall by Daniel Silva (Thriller / Spy Fiction) Gabriel Allon returns in the 24th installment of this bestselling espionage series. Silva delivers another fast-paced, intelligent thriller that traverses art, politics, and betrayal — all set against the haunting beauty of the Cornish coast. A great pick for fans of John le Carré or James Bond. 5. The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger (Science / Nonfiction) Ever wondered how plants think, communicate, and adapt? Schlanger's deep dive into plant intelligence and the science of botany reads like a journey into a hidden world. It's equal parts poetic and informative — a fascinating read for science lovers and curious minds alike. Final Thoughts
New Statesman
an hour ago
- New Statesman
The endless variety of England's folk traditions
Photo by Tom Jamieson / New York Times / Redux / eyevine Perhaps there are two kinds of people in the world. There are the collectors, the enthusiasts, who want to keep, save and preserve: 'Nequid pereat,' they might say, 'Let nothing perish.' Then there are the others, already on the phone to the skip-hire company. Lally MacBeth is firmly of the former persuasion. If you're of the latter, The Lost Folk might make you hyperventilate, so crammed is it with places, practices and stuff. The word 'save' appears many times. So indeed does the word 'skip', as in 'saved from a skip'. But persist, because you might see the culture of the UK in an unexpected light. MacBeth says 'Britain', but even in her introduction she apologises for the lack of coverage of the devolved nations; her book stays close to her home in south-west England. It's forgivable: we only have one lifetime and it would take several more to extend her project into the Celtic countries. Generation succeeds generation, and what she wants to save is their multifarious folk productions, old and new. Of folk, MacBeth gives a definition that widens as we go: she means the unofficial, hand-made and localised, the private collections and archives, the pageants and dances, the costumes and cakes. If not physically saved, then everything must at least be documented, and the means of recording archived too. She writes: 'We must use all means of recording to build a full picture of the customs, traditions, people and places of Britain, and we must work to preserve all methods of documentation.' This picture is not just of the past, not only tradition or lore, but of now and the future because 'folk' is happening, arising and emerging everywhere. In MacBeth's mind, her own predecessors now need saving. 'The Lost People' she calls them, meaning the early folklorists and folk collectors. Many have fallen from view, especially the women. Cecil Sharp, active at the turn of the 20th century, remains well known as the 'collector of folk song and reinventor of Morris dancing'. But despite being 'tireless', Sharp managed, in McBeth's opinion, to 'write women and people of colour out of his work… creating a folk that suited him: sanitised, classist, racist and very, very male'. To counteract that, MacBeth introduces us to an alternative roster of folk-collectors, often female. From Victorian days into the mid-20th century, there were women who travelled about gathering recipes, stories, costumes, tools and 'country ways' just as these were dying out, and whose notebooks and collections were often dispersed or destroyed when they died. It sounds harmless but collecting was not without tensions: it could get competitive and, as MacBeth again notes, classist, with one social class (usually the upper-middle) making judgements about what was worth saving from among the productions of the lower orders. The invention of recording equipment was revolutionary, with people's voices and dialects also able to be saved, as well as their tales and tools. There was, for example, Dorothy Hartley, born in 1893 in Yorkshire. Hartley cycled around collecting and interviewing and sketching. Thanks to her we know how to thatch a haystack, or bake bread in a brick oven. Others collected objects. Eva and Edward Pinto of Middlesex favoured 'wooden bygones': butter pats, mangles, hand-made boxes, toy animals and the like. They created a collection which soon outgrew their house, spilling into sheds and chalets and mocked up shops, which the public could view. Yet others were more nautically minded. In Gravesend, in a building fitted out like a ship, Sydney 'Long John Silver' Cumbers amassed a huge number of ships' figureheads. Cumbers sported an eyepatch, cigarette holder and yachting cap when he showed visitors around. MacBeth's embrace even includes 'living' collections – or what photos and notes now remain. Upon retiring in the 1940s, the Welsh miner David Davis turned his hand to topiary, creating in his garden a 'mystical paradise' of tableaux, mostly biblical: there were bushes cut to look like angels, and a hedge shaped like the Last Supper. Many came to see it. One might ask: was it art? To which the author would reply – it was certainly folk. 'If it's by the people, for the people, it is 'folk'.' Therefore, she welcomes the local parades and festivities up and down the land as folk. Hastings has an annual Jack in the Green festival as part of May Day, with Morris dancers, giants, milkmaids and choirs. There is Lewes's famous effigy burning. Penzance now has its mid-winter Moltol. Since 2017, Toxteth has held its own Day of the Dead, no less folk for being a modern introduction, and hardly traditional. Indeed, when it comes to tradition, there existed what MacBeth calls 'uncomfortable folk practice'. In Morris dancing, once the preserve of men, gender roles are now being contested. Molly dancing used to refer to men dressed as women, but today there are women's teams (or 'sides') of Molly dancers. In Bristol, the term has been reclaimed by a group called Molly No Mates, a 'queer drag Molly dancing team'. Some traditional Morris dances involved blackface, but in 2020, the Joint Morris Organisation agreed to ban the practice. 'It was a monumental moment in the history of Morris dancing,' says MacBeth. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe Pageants and galas are one thing, but what astonishes is the folk-stuff: the gloves and garlands, horse brasses and love spoons, pub signs and special cakes, the button badges, corn dollies, and 'obby 'osses. And it is everywhere, especially in pubs – and also in churches, where there are church kneelers, a special passion of MacBeth's. These are women's work, often embroidered to depict local scenes or stories. But the question keeps arising: if all must be saved – or at the very least recorded – what should be done with it? And where should it be kept? And who decides what goes where? 'Where people collect together of their own volition, there is folk, and it is not for collectors to judge the ways in which this happens or how the objects are made.' When decisions are made – when official museum curators judge that something should be brought in from the wild – it can be political. Take Sydney Cumbers' collection of figureheads: in 1953, he donated them to the Cutty Sark, where they are now displayed. MacBeth believes the fact that his collection was accepted 'was due in no small part to his… standing as a white male'. In contrast, there have been several efforts to establish an official museum of Romany culture, assembled from private collections, but all have floundered. The book itself is a veritable trove. There is no index. Perhaps appropriately, one has to rummage. MacBeth herself spends a lot of time in junk shops, on Ebay, or in county archives, searching for photos and newspaper reports, noting and saving. Folk, she says, is what gives us a sense of place and belonging. Perhaps she's right about that – and perhaps folk is what will save us from the samey-ness of our high streets, the soullessness of our new-build housing estates. It might be a council-sponsored pirate parade, or even – ye gods – a knitted post-box topper. If it's a real, of-the-people creation or event, she says, it's worth recording, worth getting involved. We just have to alert ourselves to its existence. And cancel the skip. Kathleen Jamie's books include 'Cairn' (Sort of Books) The Lost Folk: From the Forgotten Past to the Emerging Future of Folk Lally MacBeth Faber & Faber, 352pp, £20 Purchasing a book may earn the NS a commission from who support independent bookshops [See also: Jacinda Ardern's unexamined life] Related
