Resources To Help You Be A Better Ally To First Nations People

One of the most important steps we can take to become better allies to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is to educate ourselves. While it's essential to listen to and platform their voices, the burden of education can weigh heavy. That's why we must take it upon ourselves to self-reflect and learn in our own time in order to alleviate some of that weight.

There's obviously a lot more we can do — sharing information on social media, donating to the right organisations, having difficult conversations with family members and friends as a start — but reading, listening and learning are foundational steps in helping to end systemic racism in our country.

Below you can find a range of reading materials, news sources, videos, podcasts and books that will help you to learn about the true history of Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and how to be a better ally, including recommendations from Sky Thomas' Instagram account (@soju_gang).

Path to Equality is an online directory featuring artists, organisations to donate to, and brands and petitions to support. The purpose of this resource is to help "educate, support and empower" its users in "dismantling our current injustice system".

Indigenous-X is an online platform that's working to create a media landscape where Indigenous voices can be shared and heard. The Indigenous-X Twitter account is a platform for a different person every week, who tweets about issues that are important to their own community and give local Indigenous people a platform to share their stories and be heard.

NITV is a free-to-air channel, radio and news site made by, for, and about Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander peoples. It champions the stories and experiences of First Nations people through storytelling, panels and debates, entertainment, and daily news.

Share Our Pride acknowledges that when it comes to racism there are tricky questions on the road to education, they aim to help to debunk myths and answer those questions so that there is an open dialogue and better understanding of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander experiences and their perspectives. They also offer a huge range of reading materials written by our First Nations Peoples explaining their culture, their relationship to the land and social justice issues.

The #DoMore Project is a call to action for Australians wanting to be more informed, more educated and more engaged in challenging racism. Within the website, you'll find a fortune of useful information, personal stories and practical guides to checking your own bias and taking action to dismantle racism within your own life. Their explainer on interrupting casual racism is a great place to start.

Common Ground is a First Nations-led not-for-profit that works to shape a share knowledge, cultures and stories of First Nations peoples and their experiences. Their 'Learn' page is an incredible resource for historical research and insight into ongoing movements.

There are over 120 Aboriginal community radio stations across the country. At the National Indigenous Radio Service (NIRS) website, you'll not only find a heap of news and resources, but you can also find Indigenous radio stations near you using their map feature.

Being a better ally means understanding and learning more about the traditional custodians of the land. You can do this by reaching out to your local councils, or utilising resources like the Local Aboriginal Land Council (LALC) or Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) to find out the history of your community and the land your town was built on. The AECG also has local representatives in each area that you can connect with, listen to and learn from.

Australians Together is a not-for-profit that aims to help non-Indigenous people learn the true story of our shared history and understand how it's still having an impact today.

An important part of being a better ally is listening, whether it's via podcasts, local radio or in person. Listening to the stories of the traditional custodians of the land allows their voices and perspectives on issues that are affecting them to be heard. Below is a list of eye-opening listens that will help educate you on how to be a better ally and to understand First Nations culture better.

The AWAYE! podcast presents a diverse and vibrant range of Aboriginal arts and culture from across Australia. You can listen to it via ABC Listen app, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

Speaking Out is a politics, arts and culture radio segment from a range of different Indigenous perspectives. Speaking Out broadcasts on Radio National on Fridays at 8pm (repeated Tuesdays 2am) and on ABC Local Radio on Sundays at 9pm, or you can listen to it online here.

Bobo and Flex are on a quest to decolonise our minds and intersect our feminism (and give us the tools to avoid f*ckboys). While every episode is worth listening to, when it comes to the topic of racism we'd recommend listening to these two: 'Lana del Rey, Doja Cat and Anti Blackness' and 'Tanning vs. Blackfishing'.

Led by Indigenous writers and actors Miranda Tapsell and Nakkiah Lui, Debutante: Race, Resistance and Girl Power explores the little-known space of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander debutante balls, trying to unpack whether the strange colonial tradition, rooted as it is in oppression and colonisation, can be hijacked and made empowering.

Blood On the Tracks is a true crime podcast from journalist Allan Clarke that delves into the unsolved murder of Gomeroi teenager, Mark Haines. It tells the story of a divided town, an investigation bungled, evidence lost and explores why critical leads were never followed up by police in the death of this Indigenous teen.

First Nations Foundation (FNF) launched a new podcast series, Beyond the Gap, to explore best practice reconciliation and Indigenous engagement for corporate Australia and beyond. The conversations investigate the influences and constructs that should be considered for Reconciliation Action Plans, and what is the best path forward to engage and empower our country’s First Nations peoples.

The host, Phil Usher, is a proud Wiradjuri man who grew up in the rich culture of the Gamilaroi people. He chats with a variety of guests to dig deep into our country’s history to better our future.

Frontier War Stories is a podcast dedicated to truth-telling about a side of Australia that has been left out of the history books. Hosted by Boe Spearim, Brisbane-based Gamilaraay & Kooma radio host, each episode features interviews with different Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. Through these stories, we uncover research, books and oral histories that document the first 140 years of conflict and resistance.

While the list below contains a wide variety of educational anti-racism books (including some on racism in America), it's also important to read the stories of our own people to understand our history and how it still affects our society today. We recommend adding these to your reading list.

Welcome To Country, Marcia Langton

Growing Up Aboriginal In Australia, Anita Heiss

Dark Emu, Bruce Pascoe

City of Gold, Meyne Wyatt

Kill the Messenger, Nakkiah Lui

White Fragility, Robin DiAngelo

Citizen, Claudia Rankine

Biased, Jennifer L. Eberhardt

When They Call You a Terrorist, Patrisse Khan-Cullors

On the Other Side of Freedom, DeRay Mckesson

Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates

Monument: Poems New and Selected, Natasha Trethewey

The Tall Man, Chloe Hooper

Talking To My Country, Stan Grant

Terra Nullius, Claire G. Coleman

The White Girl, Tony Birch

Here are some informative videos that will help non-Indigenous people to better understand the history of oppression, racism and suffering experienced by our First Nations Peoples. It's important that we hear these stories directly from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people to help us understand how we can be better allies and fight against racism.