An Indigenous Australian newsreader has called on Britain to apologize for its colonial past in the wake of Queen Elizabeth II's passing on Thursday.
Narelda Jacobs shared her views on Aussie morning show Studio 10, saying that Aboriginal people shouldn't be condemned if they refuse to mourn Queen Elizabeth II's death.
She insisted that the British monarchy was a "symbol of colonization" and also suggested that little had been done by the Royal Family to "make up for that."
"There was a great wrong that was done," she said. "Australia was settled without the consent of First Nations people that were here."
Jacobs did acknowledge that the Royal Family is "above politics" but stated that the Queen could have still spoken out against the British Empire.
"While the world has united in grief over the Queen's passing, colonized people have also united over their trauma," she said.
"Because we know that in British museums are stolen artefacts. Stolen gems, diamonds. There are human remains that are sitting in British museums, even now. And there has been no acknowledgement of that, or apology for that."
The anchor explained that the matter was a personal one for her. Indeed, her late father Cedric Jacobs - an Indigenous man - was a survivor of the Stolen Generations and reverend of the Uniting Church in Australia. He met the Queen four times and was the recipient of an Order of the British Empire.
At one meeting with the late Queen and her husband Prince Philip which took place sometime in the 1980s, Cedric Jacobs was in the process of drafting a treaty between Indigenous Australians and the Commonwealth.
According to Jacobs, the treaty was not mentioned during the meeting, which she felt odd as the Queen had been aware of the "trauma from colonization".
"They knew full well that plans for a treaty were afoot, as there were treaties in New Zealand and also in Canada. But what did they do? That’s the source of the frustration," she said.
The newsreader went on to say the Royal Family could have made more of an effort to recognize the "intergenerational trauma" felt by Aboriginal people as a result of British colonialism.
In an Instagram statement, she urged people to "listen" to those who refuse to mourn the otherwise beloved monarch.
Her full post read: “This was a very personal and difficult share on studio this morning. The photo of my dad receiving an MBE from the Queen in 1981 sat pride of place in our family home. It was a symbol of achievement.
“When Cedric Jacobs was forcibly removed from his family as a child, he vowed to beat the white man at his own game. Receiving his MBE must’ve felt like he’d achieved that goal.. but there was still much to do.
“He met with Queen Elizabeth II 4 times and spoke with her and Prince Philip about his work leading talks on Treaty, in fact a few months after receiving this honour, my dad was at the UN in Geneva presenting a plan for Makarrata.
“In 1981 First Nations people were the architects of Treaty, but it should’ve been the job of Captain Cook. In 1768 Cook was ordered to settle the land in the name of the monarch of Great Britain only with the consent of the natives.
“Consent was never given – sovereignty was never ceded. The Queen knew Australia’s First Nations people wanted to have their sovereignty recognised. The royals would’ve have also witnessed the disadvantage of Aboriginal people stemming from colonisation.
“While the world has united in grief, the colonised have also united to acknowledge generations of trauma. There has been no acknowledgement or apology from the Monarchy.
“My dad had a great fondness for Queen Elizabeth. Reaction to her passing is complicated. The world is grieving for different reasons. Please don’t judge or dismiss anyone’s feelings of loss.”
