Tallara Gray is an activist with Seed and studies visual art at the University of Queensland. Linnea Burdon-Smith spoke with her about Seed, activism, her art and upbringing.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Maroon, which is a rural community in South East Queensland, (Jagera/Yuggera and Bundjalung country). I grew up on a property with my Mum, Dad and sister Kirri.
What’s your fondest childhood memory?
The period of my childhood I remember most clearly is when I was 7. I was in grade 3 and we moved to Emerald for 6 months for my dad to do a work contract at Lake Fairbairn – he is an outdoor education teacher. Then we spent July through to January travelling around Australia, heading up to Cape York first, which is where my family’s Aboriginal and Torres Straight connections are, although we didn’t know it at the time. My mum and dad schooled us while we were on the road. My school teacher back home was more than happy for me to miss grade 3 in a classroom setting – she said I would learn more travelling and I certainly did.
If you had to describe yourself in 30 words or less what would you say?
I am a determined, stubborn and committed young woman who is a bit of a people pleaser. But I am passionate about causes I care about.
Who inspires you at the moment?
Always my mum, and my fellow Seed vols. My mum is so strong in herself and has always been a great role model. The Seed mob is a fantastic support network and they continue to keep me motivated because they are all so passionate.
When did you become interested in advocacy?
I started regular advocacy work about a year ago. My parents raised me with a strong set of values, which have given me an acute awareness of the injustice that has surrounded me throughout my life, and has given me the drive to act against the inequities in the world rather than stand by. My first ever action was with the Lock the Gate Alliance, which is a grassroots movement to stop the infiltration of coal seam gas mining in rural communities, most of which is prime agricultural land. The action was called “protesters on peaks”, and we did just that. Members of the community climbed mountains around the Scenic Rim (there are a lot) and laid out banners on the peaks. There was a helicopter, media and everything. To this day there is no coal seam gas in the local area. The people of the Northern Rivers in NSW and South East Queensland have been really proactive with resisting such projects. It was a very empowering first action.
What is Seed? How was it founded?
Seed is Australia’s first Indigenous Youth Climate Network. It was founded by the amazing Millie Telford, who is now our National Director, in mid 2014. She had been a part of AYCC for quite some time and recognised that there needed to be a space specifically for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to take action in their communities.
How are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth particularly impacted by climate change and destructive environmental practices?
In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are already facing these impacts. We are experiencing rising sea levels in the Torres Strait, the loss of sacred country and diminishing food and water accessibility. Although the risks of industrialisation, mining and mineral extraction have undoubtedly brought hardships on our people for decades, climate change is the most pressing issue we are dealing with today. But, for our people, the injustice goes beyond the climate impacts; the fossil fuel industry has been putting stress on our land, our culture and communities for decades. Due to the complex history of colonisation and its effects on our people, many of our young mob, like myself, face identity issues. How can we go out onto country and learn about our culture if the land is scarred by infrastructure, the groundwater polluted and sacred sites ruined? Not to mention, our families and mobs divided because of money offered in ‘compensation’ by mining companies. At Seed, we talk about climate justice, because when the time comes that large scale wind and solar are commonplace, we will still have issues with compulsory acquisition of Aboriginal land. We need to change the systems and processes in place and make this a social justice issues, not just an environmental one.
Is there much international collaboration between Indigenous peoples in the realm of Environmental advocacy?
Yes. First Nations people all over the world are experiencing similar challenges at the moment. Particularly in the Pacific, where their very existence is under threat from rising sea levels and in North America where they are resisting huge fossil fuel projects. Many Seed volunteers have been lucky enough to hear other young Indigenous peoples stories first hand at summits and conferences, and some have even been to North America and Canada to work with First nations people over there.
What are Seed’s current priorities/campaigns?
We had a really exciting win recently where both Commonwealth Bank and the National Australia Bank (NAB) publicly announced that they won’t fund Adani’s Carmichael mine in the Galilee basin. AYCC and Seed have been campaigning on this for almost 3 years and it is amazing to have a win, but the project isn’t completely over yet. With other banks staying silent and the Federal election coming up, we need to maintain pressure to ensure that this disastrous project doesn’t go ahead. That has been a long term project and continues to be of a high priority today.
Right now, we have an amazing opportunity on our doorstep, as we approach the Paris UN climate negotiations in December this year. As a part of the global movement for climate justice and equality for all people, we need to ensure that the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are heard, and listened to, in the debates about our land, culture and our future. This is why Seed, alongside the AYCC and thousands of Australians will be hitting the streets for what will be the largest mobilisation on climate change we have ever seen. On the last weekend in November (27th-29th) this year, just before world leaders gather in Paris, people from all around the world including every capital city in Australia, will be coming together to send a clear message to our leaders that people want action on climate change now. Seed is also sending a small delegation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people to join the first nations meetings in Paris! This is a huge opportunity in Australia and for us as Seed, to be building our power as young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders in this movement.
How can people get involved with Seed’s campaigns?
Any young self-identifying Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people can get involved with Seed. You can head to our website and indicate that you would like to volunteer and we will be in touch. We are always striving to grow our mob!
What’s your advice to a young person trying to get involved in advocacy?
The more voices we have the stronger we are. And the more diverse the voices the better. Everyone has a place in this movement, so if you want to get involved, I can guarantee there is an organisation and role for you out there. It is an amazing space for learning and sharing experiences and there are amazing mentors to help you along your journey, which can be really challenging and rewarding. My favourite advocacy work to do is large scale media actions, because there is the opportunity to be really creative, and if you have strong messaging, it can be a really fast, effective way of sending a strong message to a lot of people.
Outside of activism you study visual arts, how does this relate to your activism?
It’s more like how does my activism relate to my arts practice! At the moment I am completing my honours thesis which is titled “You and I are worthwhile: Exploring cultural and environmental agency through contemporary art”. I explore my experience of Aboriginal identity as a young woman through my personal and family narratives and also, my experiences of social and environmental activism. Seed has been a critical space for fostering not only my experience of activism, but my identity. Seed is such an open and supportive space for mentoring and supporting young Indigenous people in not only our struggle for climate justice, but other issues our mob are having, especially identity issues.
