Since many people in Australia seem oblivious to police brutality here, a young Indigenous man, Kyle Corpus, felt compelled to highlight just one of the many cases experienced by himself and many other Indigenous people across Australia.
Kyle’s story takes us back to his 13th birthday in 2003. While making his way back home after a night of partying, he found himself being questioned by police. With nothing to hide, he didn’t hesitate to answer their questions. Kyle recalls that police became infuriated by his very reasonable answers to each of their questions.
At first, he was choked and called a cheeky little black C### and told to F### off home. But soon after he was stopped again by the same officers who this time said they wanted to give him a ride home for his own safety. Knowing that running away could result in something worse, Kyle reluctantly got in. Within seconds Kyle knew the vehicle wasn’t taking him home and he was trapped in the back of the Paddy Wagon.
After trying to convince himself that perhaps the police were responding to an urgent matter, he soon found himself in the car-park of a local isolated reserve. He was then instructed to get out, and when he did, he was set upon by police who struck him in the back with what he described, “felt like a baseball bat”. The attack continued with police punching and kicking the 13 y.o repeatedly until he lost consciousness. The violence ended after he was spat on and abandoned in the reserve. (You can read his full account of what happened before, during and after the incident here or on the Facebook post below).
*LONG POST*IN RESPONSE TO THE GEORGE FLOYD MURDER, I'VE SPENT THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS REMEMBERING THE COUNTLESS TIMES…
Posted by Kyle Corpus on Friday, 29 May 2020
Kyle describes police brutality as a culture and it’s his and our hope that we can break that culture by encouraging more people to speak out about what really happens in our communities.
If you want to do the same, send a message to our Facebook page and we can share your post. If you don’t feel comfortable posting publicly, pages like ours & Blackfulla Revolution can help to share your story anonymously.
Welcome to Country is an Independent Indigenous news/media website. We’re re-defining how our voices are heard by providing a direct link from grass-roots communities to the world.
From the earliest years of invasion there are countless stories of massacres handed down from generation to generation and there are settlers records found in old journals and letters that give grave insights into those early years. Some of the worst crimes against humanity happened right here in Australia. Complete communities wiped out by gunfire, herded off cliffs, burned alive and poisonings by the use of strychnine which is widely regarded as one of the most excruciating ways to die.
Queensland station owner had 40 sets of Aboriginal ears nailed to walls
Sadly, politicians get away with their efforts to gloss over this early treatment of Aboriginal people. Australia’s education system also does little when it comes to highlighting these atrocities. ANZAC Day still omits the documented Frontier Wars even though the War Memorial states the day is about remembering all wars.
Something far less easier to hide and gloss over is the trove of images from around the turn of the century, a time when Australia was supposedly “young and free”. But these images show that life for Aboriginal people was more about incarceration and slavery.
Self Education: Understand why saying Japan would have wiped us all out is a very ignorant statement.
In recent years, Indigenous Facebook pages have been trying to share these images with the international community, however our voices often fall upon deaf ears. Many of the following images contain images of Aboriginal men and children in chains who were often chained up by the neck and sent to Aboriginal concentration camps.
The images highlight Australia’s history of slavery. All of this history as well as present day issues are often suppressed in Australia and subsequently overseas as well. Now that the truth is being recognised internationally, will there be any pressure for justice to be served for the theft of a continent and an ongoing attempt to wipe out our culture and rights?
Will we see international sanctions imposed on Australia, similar to those imposed upon South Africa? The argument that all this happened under Britain’s rule is not true. All of these images are from after 1901 when Australia became a nation. The neck chains were used well up until the 1960’s and only used on our people.
Neck chains were used while Aboriginal men were marched from their homelands into prisons, concentration camps known as missions and lock hospitals or forced into slavery. Women were also forced into slavery as domestic servants.
The oppression continues today as well. In recent years, the United Nations have handed down multiple scathing reports on Australia’s lack of effort when it comes to improving the shocking rates of suicide, incarceration, health and education. Australia doesn’t even bother responding to these reports any more. There is no pressure for them to do so. They have created the perfect strangle hold on our existence as they try to force us to assimilate into their toxic and destructive society.
And just when you think Australia could do no worse… today, they even choose the date of British invasion (Jan 26) to celebrate ‘Australia Day’. And that is why hundreds of thousands of us hit the streets each year in protest.
https://www.facebook.com/goannafella/posts/10158069615669461
Welcome to Country is an independent Indigenous news/media website. We publish news and informative articles that are often absent from Australia’s mainstream media.
Michelle Possum Nungurrayi – Showcases the beautiful colours of the central desert that many of us will never live to see. Her sizable Aboriginal art often take days for her to complete. Art truly runs in her family with her sister Gabriella who herself is an established Aboriginal artist as well as their father, Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri.
Nathan Patterson – Nathan burst on to the scene around 4 years ago with his ever evolving modern Aboriginal art. He has been commissioned for numerous large scale mural projects as well as featuring on several AFL Indigenous jerseys. Nathan is not afraid to try new things and last year began experimenting with feather paintings and Facebook went into overdrive thanks to his creations.
Winston Walford – Is the King of perfection. When you look at his modern Aboriginal art, you won’t believe they have been painstakingly created by hand. One of his unique abilities is to create thumbprint replicas on canvas. You can see his artwork below and on his page but to really appreciate his work, you have to see it in person. Winston was our first featured artist on Welcome to Country earlier this month.
Tradara Briscoe – A young Aboriginal woman from central Australia who now calls Darwin home. Tradara is already creating waves on social media and internationally with her Aboriginal art blazoned not only on canvas but on fabrics & handbags. Her skills are truly out of this world.
Allan Mckenzie – Allan has been growing from strength to strength and every time he gets busy, social media goes into a frenzy. Whether he is designing tattoo’s, painting on canvas, painting on didgeridoo’s, making didgeridoo’s or playing didgeridoo’s, Allan is always feeling the love online and that has transitioned over to success after being featured recently at an International exhibition.
Jordan Roser – Another King of perfection! His dot work is out of this world. Jordan’s inspiration for his Aboriginal art comes from deep within. His artworks are an expression of his history, depression and his spirituality.
Ronald Edwards Pepper – Is a Gunai/Kurnai artist based in Morwell, Victoria. He is a respected artist and is a strong community leader who helps promote Indigenous culture through his art and also by conducting welcome to country ceremonies in the region.
Nerolie Blurton – Is the queen of the west. Her unique, modern & spiritual designs are almost always full of colour. Nerolie is an established artist who is quite well known for her Aboriginal art.
Julie Dowling – Another wonder from the west, Julie is a proud Badimia woman. One of her most striking paintings, is her portrait of Walyer. Julie has a unique style that is easily recognisable once you are familiar with her work.
Loretta Egan – Is a Yamitji artist from Western Australia. Loretta paints in a number of different styles and some of her paintings are truly mesmerizing. Not only are her colours vibrant, she has an ability to make it look like her painting are coming off the canvas right before your eyes.
Elizabeth Close – The next time you’re in Adelaide and spot some public Aboriginal art, there is a strong chance that it was created by her. Elizabeth is an Anangu woman based in Adelaide. She is an emerging artist that is quickly making a name for herself in the city and nationally across social media too.
Jandamarra Cadd – Is an established artist who is most well known for his portrait works created with dots. Jandamarra spends more time truly getting to know his subject than he does painting them. It is through this connection that really brings his artworks to life.
Garry Purchase – Is another emerging artist who is another King of perfection. Interestingly, Garry was a drummer for over 20 years and has only been painting since 2013. You wouldn’t believe when you see the incredible paintings that he has created.
J.J Lane – Shot to fame after being featured on Young Black n Deadly’s Facebook page. What is so remarkable about this artist is her age. She was only 14 at the time and already creating detailed Aboriginal art. Since that time her skills have only been improving as she realises that there is a wonderful career ahead with her art.
Daren Dunn – Chances are that if you have seen a pair of football boots painted with Indigenous designs, it was painted by Daren. He has painted custom orders for our Rugby League stars as well as Indigenous boxers. He has helped design jerseys and can paint on just about any kind of sporting equipment.
Chern’ee Sutton – Is the artist behind the incredible NRL Indigenous all stars jerseys. There is so much going on in her designs that you could spend half an hour studying the different features included in her work. Chern’ee has also been commissioned to work with the commonwealth games team by designing the marking and story of the games mascots.
Lee Anthony Hampton – Lee is the man behind Koori Kicks Art and is another King of perfection. One of his most famous artworks was his Aboriginal flag design that features red poppy’s that reflect fallen Indigenous warriors who have died defending our lands both at home and overseas.
Danny Eastwood – Danny’s Aboriginal art brings out raw emotions from our brutal past. Some of his works have featured prominently across social media and have helped spark the conversation that is often ignored in Australia’s society. Danny also works on many community projects too.
Well there you have it! We hope we have helped unearth some serious talent for your newsfeed. Who knows, you might be tempted to purchase some art directly from the artists. To follow these artists, simply click on their names and that will take you to their social media pages. If you are an upcoming Indigenous artist not featured here, please get in touch with us as we can always do a follow up article to this one.
*The featured link image of this article is by Tradara Briscoe
Welcome to Country is an independent Indigenous news/media website. If you would like to have your own story published, please contact us via our Facebook page or our contact page and we can help make it happen.