Respected global First Nations and diverse cultural voices have examined the continued harm and impacts of colonisation that were highlighted by the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
At Sydney WorldPride's Human Rights conference presentation on decolonisation, sovereignty and First Nations justice in the Asian Pacific last week, associate professor in human rights law and Amnesty International UK chair Dr Senthorun Raj, Maori activist and New Zealand MP Dr Elizabeth Kerekere, Yuin man and Victorian barrister Tim Goodwin and Samoan fa'afafine (culturally specific non-binary person) and ILGA (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) project lead Tuisina Ymania Brown gave their thoughts on the subject.
Neralda Jacobs hosted the forum.
Following discussion surrounding introduction of gender binary standards with European arrival and traditional medicine knowledge becoming rebranded internationally, the panel shifted to unpack what they posited to be a glaring example of colonial bias within very recent memory.
The Queen's passing in September 2022 and mourning throughout the Commonwealth - if not globally - in its wake was labelled as "troubling" for Indigenous peoples for varying reasons.
Dr Raj, who lives in the UK, recounted witnessing a nation grieving firsthand and the resulting silencing of uncomfortable truths.
"What I witnessed during the time of that morning was any attempt to kind of draw attention to the violence of colonisation, the histories and the present, the ways in which a number of quote-unquote 'post colonial nations' are still struggling…It was almost to be seen as disrespectful or blasphemous at an extreme to point this out," he said.
"I often try and point out in those moments that, yes, people can have complicated relationships to icons and to institutions. But we also cannot allow ourselves to use any one moment as an excuse to then completely erase all the other injuries and harms that are still existing in the world."
Dr Kerekere echoed Dr Raj's point.
She said in the immediate period afterward "you weren't allowed" to express points at odds with the monarchy despite the raft of social issues disproportionately affecting First Nations people in the colonies.
"(The royal family's) entire wealth is built on the backs, and deaths, of Indigenous people around the world," Dr Kerekere said.
"You weren't allowed to say that without saying 'oh, this is not the right time'. Every day is a good day to say the monarchy sucks."
Across the world, nations with ties to the crown observed ethical, largely official, periods of mourning.
The response from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was varied and passionate, often with resistance to the sentiment.
Much of the scrutiny was spurred from the monarchy's place in the two centuries since European occupation began.
Individuals such as NRLW player Caitlin Moran received serious backlash for voicing their perspective.
In some cases, moves in either direction penetrated the work force.
A Naarm-based community health organisation allowed staff to reject a nationwide public holiday following the Queen's death.
As an Indigenous man, Mr Goodwin raised an eyebrow at the why something which lasted just days in the UK extended into weeks closer to home despite the nation dragging its heels on public discussions central to Indigenous concerns.
"We have to think about the psyche that led Australia and New Zealand to go above and beyond her own home country in terms of the way in which public mourning occurred," Mr Goodwin said.
"It's that psyche that's concerning to me because it speaks to a level of immaturity about ourselves and our sense of comfort with our own identities.
"The fact that 'change the date' is still on the agenda, in circumstances where it took barely 48 hours to declare a day of mourning here...that says to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, you are still invisible.
"That's a real problem and we need to interrogate why that continues to happen in this country."
