CENTRAL Victorian Indigenous people hope to see real change as they and others join in an international wave of anti-racism protests.
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Hundreds gathered for a solidarity event in Castlemaine, organised by Uncle Rick Nelson. Supporters came in person and via Zoom to show their support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
The crowd stood spaced at 1.5 metre intervals, in small groups, throughout Victory Park, many wearing masks.
Those present put forward declarations of intent - then burnt to symbolise messages going up - stating how they could support the Indigenous community.
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Kath Coff, a Yorta Yorta woman living on Jaara country, said the Indigenous community wanted to show solidarity with brothers and sisters in the United States, and honour the death of Tanya Day.
Uncle Rick Nelson, Declan Furber Gillick, Aunty Maxine Briggs, Aunty Julie Mchale, Aunty Janet Bromley, Ms Coff, and other Indigenous community members spoke.
Ms Coff said the Indigenous community wanted non-Indigenous allies to commit to support them, as they were the majority. She said having the biggest voice meant these people could change things for Indigenous people.
"We need other people to step up, we need other people to have a voice about this and to act," she said.
Ms Coff urged people to fight for change, to engage with Indigenous people in their workplace, to bring their voice into decision making, and to read things written by Indigenous people.
She said it was a heartbreaking time for Indigenous people, but not new.
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But Ms Coff said she hoped people would open their hearts and minds, to honour country and Indigenous ways of living.
"We're hoping that people will make change. They'll change how they see us, they'll change how they live, they'll change how they employ us educate us, there will just be change. There needs to be change," Ms Coff said.
"We hope that it's not a one off scenario, then everything goes back to normal. That this is actually something that's an ongoing change. That people will sustain this."
The Castlemaine event came as thousands of people rallied to support Black Lives Matter in Melbourne, Sydney and beyond.
It was a local response to a wave of protests that has gripped the United States, sparked by the death of African American man George Floyd after a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.
Australian advocates have pointed to the death of more than 400 Indigenous people in custody within the nation since 1991.
This includes Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day, who died after she fell and hit her head inside a Castlemaine police station following her arrest for public drunkenness.
With AAP.
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