Up early, can't sleep, watching NITV. I discovered Ruby Hunter.
Too often I find a gem like Ruby too late on National Indigenous Television.
The long time partner of a famous musician Archy Roach, I am saddened to tell you that our nation knows very little about Ruby Hunter.
Why is she not remembered as a national treasure?
She has toured the world, played with the likes of Tracy Chapman and Bob Dylan.
She met her partner Archy Roach as a homeless teenager.
She was one of the many stolen generation of indigenous Australian children.
Children were forcibly taken from their families to effect assimilation into white culture. This continued up until the 1970s.
Ruby was stolen from her mother by the government at the age of 8.
The number of children from indigenous families who are in out of home care and separated from their family, language, traditions and culture remains alarming disproportionate.
The policy that was designed to wipe out thousands of years of culture and tradition had and still has a devastating effect on lives.
In spite of these heinous crimes, these policies failed to take the spirit and family away from the oldest remaining cultures on earth.
Ruby fostered over 30 children and was known to many as Aunty Ruby.
She worked tirelessly to advocate for the stolen generation, to protect the next generation and to nurture culture and country through music and love.
This final tribute was performed by Archy Roach and posted to YouTube by there grandson Wesley Brigham.
Wesley continues the work of his grandmother.
Supporting young hip-hop artists and the older generation's R and B.
“Whatever people have inside them, I want to get it out there.”
Archy Roach sings Kutjeri Lady.
The Rock Against Racism concert in Melbourne 10th July 2010.
This post has been Resteemed and Upvoted by @familyprotection
are using "Child Protection Agencies"
to take children away from loving families
and place them in foster care or group homes.
THESE FAMILIES NEED PROTECTING.
{Funds are being raised so that in the future we can help families fight the system and stay together. Your UPVOTE of this comment will support this cause.}
How awful that the Australian Government stole a generation of children away from their Aboriginal Parents.
And as you pointed out (and the website you referred to shows) Aboriginal Children are still being taken away in high numbers from their families even today.
These atrocities have got to stop!
This is not only a problem from the past. Governments have not yet learned any lessons -- and children all over the world are still being ripped away from loving and caring families, just because government Social Workers make ill-informed and often vindictive decisions that these families do not deserve to stay together.
Thank-you for bringing this to light @girlbeforemirror !
Thank you for your support. I will be writing more on the subject of child and family safety in future.
Ruby hunter is but one untold story.
I did a follow up on an art appreciation post. I speculated that the artist was Koori (indigenous). I shouldn't have been surprised that the background of his story involves the removal of his father from his family and culture, and his art a re engagement with that culture. https://steemit.com/art/@girlbeforemirror/an-unexpected-doctors-visit-yesterday-proved-very-revealing-regarding-the-paintings-i-admired
I've watched a ton of videos about how terribly the indigenous people were treated there- especially the children! There's another musician from Australia I like, Xavier Rudd
Were treated...are treated.
Australian's don't like to talk about it. We call it history, but it is still happening and is in living memory.
I like Rudd too. I just looked him up to find a specific song. I didn't find it, but I did learn that his grandmother is also from the stolen generation.
He looks 100 percent European. The assimilation policies relied on the idea that the indigenous people would die out. The government kidnappers targeted the light skinned children and placed them with white families to be brought up away from their culture, language, family.
I understand that the language has become more refined but the treatment of the people stays pretty much the same.
Recognizing these kind of unappreciated talented people and doing a post on them shows me that you @girlbeforemirror possess a meticulous soul.
Thumbs up to you and late Aunty Ruby.
And you @xabi are too kind to me.
Ah this is the least a person like me can do. Be courteous and kind. For me that's the reason of being human.
Ahhhh. I've been chatting and typing and eating and running around for the past few hours and suddenly, this music slows everything down beautifully. I should sleep soon. Thanks for introducing me to this gem!
What a lovely response. Thank you for appreciating my post and Ruby and Archy. Archy Roach is very well known. I can't believe they toured together all these years and I didn't know of her.
The song that he sings in the tribute to his wife I have heard before, performed by Vika and Linda, also fabulous indigenous woman teeming with talent.
I was lucky enough to see them play in centennial park in Sydney, when they opened for Bob Dylan with Paul Kelly.
I think Paul Kelly wrote that song, he has written thousands of well-known narrative style songs.
It was cool to see Dylan, but discovering Vika and Linda was the real win that day. AND I'M A HUGE DYLAN FAN!
Check them out -
Thank you for sharing this !
Thank you for resteeming. I hope to post more on the subject in the coming weeks.
I look foreward to seeing it thanks again ! Most welcome!
Thank you for putting this video together, it's so important not to forget what happened to and is still happening to so many native Australians, for too long they have been suffering and been persecuted. I lived for three years in Australia and was shocked by what I saw, the open disrespect that is shown towards them is appalling. Their culture and way of life is slowing being taken from them. It is only in the last 9 years that they started to teach children about aboriginal history in schools, before that the history been taught started with Captain Cook arriving there. Thanks again @girlbeforemirror
Australians don't like the truth. It is weaved into everything and has to be named to be addressed.
Living in Sydney it is easy to not see, to close your eyes. When I moved to western Australia I worked in health services and met people from all over the state. The division is shocking. Adjacent worlds.
I wrote a kind of related post today. Unintentionally related when I did some research. https://steemit.com/art/@girlbeforemirror/an-unexpected-doctors-visit-yesterday-proved-very-revealing-regarding-the-paintings-i-admired
What an amazing woman! Wow.
This post has received gratitude of 1.00 % from @jout
The indigenous people suffered much. Ruby was indeed "Ruby the Gem". All the tribute is deserving of her. More Rubies we pray!. Thanks for this post @girlbeforemirror
Thank you for your lovely words.
Great musician and singer too. They sing for their own soul and not for fame, is not it.