Charles Sturt University
RECONCILIATION STATEMENT
‘There can be no reconciliation without social justice and
there can be no social justice without reconciliation’
(Mick Dodson, National Reconciliation Convention, Melbourne 1997)
‘As sites of critical learning, universities are powerful agents for social change and
have a responsibility to provide an environment free from racism in all of its forms’
(Wright, J 2002, Apartheid: Australian Style)
RECOGNITION, ACKNOWLEDGEMENT, RESPONSIBILITY AND COMMITMENT
Charles Sturt University is committed to the process of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. As Australia’s leading national university of inland Australia, it recognises the particular role and responsibility this tertiary educational institution has in promoting social justice and human rights for Indigenous Australians, both nationally and within the footprint of Charles Sturt University.
Charles Sturt University recognises and acknowledges:
- the diversity and unique position of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the traditional owners and custodians of Australia and the islands of the Torres Strait, in accordance with local Indigenous laws and customs
- that connection to the land sustains contemporary Indigenous cultures, languages, art, spirituality, laws and customs
- the historical and ongoing impact on the lives and futures of Indigenous Australians of the political, social and economic process of colonisation
- the fundamental importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures to the heritage and identity of Australia, and the valuable and dynamic contribution of Indigenous people and cultures to the community and life of the University
- the human right of Indigenous Australian peoples to self-determination, to equitable participation in the community and the University and equitable access to resources and services
- the significance of the University’s role in the reconciliation process in building an informed and mature society that acknowledges the past, understands the quintessential connection between the past and present, and is committed to ethical action, social justice and human rights
- that reconciliation in practice is a shared responsibility requiring commitment to a whole-of-institution approach and active engagement with the Indigenous community
This statement of reconciliation was adopted by University Council on Friday, 7 December, 2007.