Carly Jia | Indigenous knowledges and perspectives

Carly Jia is a proud Yidinji, Badulaig and Meriam woman from Far North Queensland. She has a very diverse career spanning over 25 years in community development, social history and the arts, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education and, more recently, the truth and treaty movement in Queensland.

Indigenous knowledges and perspectives have always played a huge part in my life and career. These foundations have enabled me to understand that ‘third space’ and how it impacts the content or narrative you develop as an Indigenous Australian. Growing up, a lot of things told to me by my Elders and community were difficult to sit with. Even in the teachings I was exposed to as a child and young person during my formative years, there was always a sense of imbalance because what was being taught did not reflect what I knew of our history or my grandmother’s history.

My grandmother grew up in the protection era. Her father (my great-grandfather) was removed from his motherland on Mer Island to Palm Island, where he met his Aboriginal wife. I was always being told that he was a troublemaker known to the law, but looking through archival paperwork gave me a completely different perspective of who he was. He was an advocate for his people. Fair wages and sovereignty were his war cries, along with the occasional party.

This always made me think that the historical recordings of our people have not always favoured our own, but rather the perspective of the author. Such recordings weren’t written to document what was really occurring – they were written to let higher authorities know that all was under control with the natives and the plan for assimilation was on track and succeeding. Not under my great-grandfather’s watch!

As the Chief Executive Officer of the First Nations Treaty Institute, I reflect on these learnings and the positionality that has shaped who and where I am today. I feel as though the previous roles I have had, the education I chased, the people I have spoken to, and the family I have raised have all created an intense desire for truth-telling and healing. I desire treaty making that will make measurable economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts for our people.

This year’s NAIDOC theme, Keep the fire burning! Blak, loud and proud, resonates with me for many reasons. It has little to do with the outcomes of the referendum and more to do with the momentum our people have been gathering over the past few years. We're experiencing a change in the tide of leadership; it's time to continue the legacy of those who have kept the fire burning until now and take charge into the future. Those who sparked the fire have done us so proud. Not only am I ready to build on the legacy of others, but I also want to build a legacy of my own. I want nothing more than to leave behind a trail of freedom and liberty for our people and I’m going to do that BLAK, LOUD and PROUD.

Carly Jia

QUT Degree - Graduate Certificate  in Education (2021)

Have a question for Carly? Connect with her on LinkedIn.