Maroon Magazine 2018_266

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June 2018 Charles Town Maroon International Conference Magazine else in Queensland because of its natural beauty, and also the dominance of whiteness. How Aboriginal people are made invisible and irrelevant My own commitment to responding to The Games became serious once I had noticed that a young Maori woman (from New Zealand) had been appointed to the first new Indigenous Art Coordinator position at the Gold Coast Arts Centre in the lead up to The Games. I felt moved to organise a petition and to write about this: 'This strategic manoeuvre by White Gatekeepers was culturally and ethically wrong, to appoint a Maori to speak on behalf of Aboriginal people, and take an identified Aboriginal position, and the support that it entails (propped up by the gallery - while at the same time they block authentic Aboriginal artists and curators voices). It is also unnecessary because there are qualified, experienced and knowledgeable Aboriginal curators being blocked from this position.' - Jenny Fraser 2017 Australians, and Maori had a lot to say online in responding to my objection, merely for the sake of opposing an Aboriginal viewpoint, not so much reflecting any interest in the Arts. Until The Games organising frenzy, there was never an Aboriginal Curator position there, or anywhere else at the Gold Coast, and now that its over there still aren't any. I had attended an initial planning camp for the Commonwealth Games protests held in November 2016, but it wasn't until I was monstered by Police a few months in the paramilitary lead up to The Games, when my commitment to protest was affirmed. In September 2017. I was targeted by the Queensland Police on a train, and when I responded by writing down their ID numbers, I was arrested for Fare Evasion within minutes, handcuffed, manhandled, publicly accused of smoking and carrying drugs, escorted to a paddy wagon, patted down and driven to a car park, where I was let go. (Fraser 2017) I contacted the associated politicians and gallery figureheads. The Gold Coast Mayor and the Queensland Premier did send an official letter in response, but could only manage to point to each other for responsibility. However there was no response at all from the Management and Board of the Arts Centre, including their one (non-Yugambeh) Aboriginal Board member. Yet plenty of every day 61
Charles Town Maroon International Conference Magazine June 2018 I actually had a valid ticket, so the charge was quickly changed to Fail to Produce Ticket, and also Obstruct Police, and I was required to go to court. In order to get Legal Aid assistance, I was required to plead guilty, and because I had no prior record, the judge put me on a good behaviour bond for months, which happened to last until one week after The Games were over... This could have made protesting more of a risk for me, but it is a human right after all. I wasn't the only one harassed, as the preparatory Paramilitary exercises were being undertaken all around the region in South East Queensland and across the state border into Northern New South, other people were being monstered and also had batons, pepper spray and guns pulled on them which were recorded in places like Byron Bay. because we were part of a staged template, or a circus run by a circus, used by the Director of other Games formats already seen around the world. It was at Camp Freedom where our ongoing culture and consensus was consistently present throughout the two weeks, and as a parting gesture, a ceremonial Bora Ring was constructed with beach sand, in the shade of the space where yarning and decision making took place. Aside from the extreme Police response to the presence of Camp Freedom, I feel like our hopes were fulfilled and we did justice to our ancestors from all over the country. It must have been powerful, because sadly the Bora Ring was immediately removed once Camp Freedom was vacated. However, it does not seem like it is over, as one week after The Games were finished, I also got a phone call from the Police on the 22nd April, on a Sunday, informing me to expect a fine for a car accident that I had in 2017, which the Police had never even attended on the day in question... My personal hopes for Camp Freedom was for it be a spiritual and cultural experience for locals and visitors alike, such as I had experienced in 2006 during the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, it was at Camp Sovereignty where the spiritual healing developed. People felt peaceful and they felt safe, because the smoking ceremony at the sacred fire was healing. The introduction of our Aboriginal law, to the overall protest efforts, was the biggest contributor to the success of Camp Sovereignty. Similarly the Indigenous Arts Community and others also showed up to support Camp Sovereignty at The Gold Coast, performing and creating new work, which also helped to lift the vibration of the camp. We did this because real cultural practice happens, it cannot be stopped - not because there was money in it for us, not because we were welcome at the Royals’ table, not because a government institution anointed us, and definitely not Jenny Fraser Jenny Fraser is a Murri aesthete with an interest in other ways. She has refined the art of artist-curating as an act of sovereignty and emancipation. She is currently finalising her PhD in the Healing Arts and Cultural Apartheid at Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education in the Northern Territory. She initiated the online gallery cyberTribe and has produced over 50 exhibitions and events as dot_ayu. 62
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Maroon Magazine 2018_266

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