A newsreader in Australia has called on Britain to apologise for the historical persecution of other people under colonialism following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Narelda Jacobs, a presenter on Australian morning show Studio 10 who has Indigenous heritage, expressed her right to feel resentful towards the British monarchy – the British crown remains the head of state in her homeland – and said that her own people shouldn’t be expected to mourn her passing, nor criticised for refusing to.
You can hear her tell her story in the video below.
It’s a defensible position, given the historical actions of the UK around the globe.
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Jacobs called the British monarchy a ‘symbol of colonisation’ and questioned whether the current royal family have done anything to ‘make up for that’.
She explained: “There was a great wrong that was done. Australia was settled without the consent of First Nations people that were here.”
Jacobs went on to tell the ‘frustrating’ story of her father Cedric Jacobs, who was a reverend and a survivor of the Stolen Generations, where acts of Parliament saw Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children taken away from their families.
Cedric Jacobs met with the Queen and Prince Philip in the 1980s to be made a Member of the British Empire (MBE), as well as – he hoped – to discuss his plans for a treaty between Indigenous people and the Commonwealth.
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However, that subject was not discussed, according to his daughter.
She questioned why the Queen didn’t ‘say anything’ about that treaty, despite knowing of the ‘trauma from colonisation’.
Jacobs went on: “They knew full well that plans for a treaty were afoot, as there were treaties [with Indigenous people] in New Zealand and also in Canada.
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“But what did they do? That's the source of the frustration.”
She believes that there was ‘more’ that could have been done by the Queen and her late husband about the ‘intergenerational trauma’ experienced by the Indigenous Australian people about British colonialism and their involvement in racist Australian government policy-making.
Jacobs admitted that ‘the monarchy is above politics’ but asserted that she wishes they’d done more to recognise the struggles of Indigenous Australians, as well as other victims of British colonialism around the globe.
She then said that the monarchy should make an ‘acknowledgement or apology’ to colonised peoples.
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“While the world has united in grief over the Queen's passing, colonised people have also united over their trauma,” she said.
“Because we know that in British museums are stolen artefacts. Stolen gems, diamonds. There are human remains that are sitting in British museums, even now.
“And there has been no acknowledgement of that, or apology for that.”
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In a later statement that we could all do well to learn from, she urged people not to be ‘dismissive’ of those who aren’t grieving the loss of the Queen, nor wish to celebrate her reign.
Instead, she argued that people should ‘listen’ to them.
Her full post read: “This was a very personal & difficult share on studio this morning. The photo of my dad receiving an MBE from the Queen in 1981 sat pride of place in our family home. It was a symbol of achievement.
“When Cedric Jacobs was forcibly removed from his family as a child, he vowed to beat the white man at his own game. Receiving his MBE must’ve felt like he’d achieved that goal.. but there was still much to do.
“He met with Queen Elizabeth II 4 times & spoke with her & Prince Philip about his work leading talks on Treaty, in fact a few months after receiving this honour, my dad was at the UN in Geneva presenting a plan for Makarrata.
“In 1981 First Nations people were the architects of Treaty, but it should’ve been the job of Captain Cook. In 1768 Cook was ordered to settle the land in the name of the monarch of Great Britain only with the consent of the natives.
“Consent was never given – sovereignty was never ceded."
“The Queen knew Australia’s First Nations people wanted to have their sovereignty recognised.
“The royals would’ve have also witnessed the disadvantage of Aboriginal people stemming from colonisation.
“While the world has united in grief, the colonised have also united to acknowledge generations of trauma. There has been no acknowledgement or apology from the Monarchy.
“My dad had a great fondness for Queen Elizabeth. Reaction to her passing is complicated. The world is grieving for different reasons.
“Please don’t judge or dismiss anyone’s feelings of loss.”
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Topics: UK News, Australia, King Charles III, The Queen, World News, Politics
Tom Wood