INDIGINOUS/ABORIGINAL ACTIVISM
In the past decade, social media platforms and its increased growth of users has led to an array of different types of engagement, one of which is digital activism and protest. Digital activism is the growing interest and expansion of utilising digital technologies, of internet enabled devices to fight for social and political change (Sivitanides et al. 2011).
According to Professor Bronwyn Carlson, social media technologies and activism have positively affected the Indigenous community in Australia. It has decreased isolation and increased the health and wellbeing of the community and culture (Skelly, 2022).
In Australia, the utilisation of social media is very important to Indigenous people as most social and political movements depend on social media as a means of efficient and effective communication (Carlson & Frazer 2016).
“Social media technologies bridge distance, time, and nation-states to mobilise Indigenous peoples to build coalitions across the globe.” (Skelly, 2022). Professor Bronwyn further believes that social media has allowed Indigenous groups to unite and support one another in solidarity (Skelly,2022).
Social media has had many benefits to the Indigenous community, these include redefining and navigating identity, individual and collective activism and creating and maintain ties with family and the extended community and mutually supporting one another (Kennedy, 2021).
Aboriginal activists embrace social media by challenging the mainstream stereotype and self-write their own definition and understanding of what it means to be indigenous (Petray, 2021). This self-writing on a collective level challenges the narrative and creates space for more in-depth conversations. “For Aboriginal activists, the online self-writing of collective identity allows for static and stereotypical notions of Indigeneity to be challenged, and for more complex versions to take their place,” (Petray,2021).
Examples of some viral indigenous-led online campaigns:
#SOSblakAustralia
A social media-based campaign bringing awareness to enforced closure of Aboriginal communities in Western Australia. The campaigns aim was to prevent the closure of these communities (Carlson,2018).
#IndigenousDads
A campaign led to demonstrate how indigenous people use social media as a platform to be heard and protest the political status quo (Carlson,2018).
And here are some Aboriginal activists you can check out and support online:
Amy McQuire
https://twitter.com/amymcquire
https://medium.com/@amymcquire
Euginia Flynn
https://twitter.com/flyingenie1
https://eugeniaflynn.wordpress.com/
Celeste Liddle
https://www.facebook.com/blackfeministranter/
Joe Williams
https://twitter.com/joewilliams_tew
https://www.facebook.com/TheEnemyWithinJoeWilliams/
http://www.joewilliams.com.au/
REFERENCES
Skelly, S 2022, Social media changed the game for Indigenous activism: new book, viewed 28 April, 2022, <https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/article/august-2021/Social-media-changed-the-game-for-Indigenous-activism-new-book>.
Petray, T 2021, GMJAU - Self-writing a movement and contesting indigeneity: Being an Aboriginal activist on social media, viewed 27 April, 2022, <https://www.hca.westernsydney.edu.au/gmjau/?p=296>.
Carlson, B & Frazer, R 2016, Indigenous activism and social media: a global response to #SOSBLAKAUSTRALIA, viewed 27 April, 2022, <https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/indigenous-activism-and-social-media-a-global-response-to-sosblak>.
Carlson, B 2018, Indigenous voices are speaking loudly on social media but racism endures, viewed 27 April, 2022, <https://theconversation.com/indigenous-voices-are-speaking-loudly-on-social-media-but-racism-endures-94287>.
Kennedy, T 2021, 97% of Indigenous people report seeing negative social media content weekly. Here's how platforms can help, viewed 27 April, 2022, <https://theconversation.com/97-of-indigenous-people-report-seeing-negative-social-media-content-weekly-heres-how-platforms-can-help-162353>.
Sivitanides, M & Shah, V 2011, viewed 27 April, 2022, <http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.1073.6318&rep=rep1&type=pdf>.
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