It’s 7,000 kilometres from Bamaga at the top of Cape York to Canberra in the ACT and Gooreng Gooreng man Alwyn Doolan is making the trip on foot in the hope that he can call upon the Australian Prime Minister at Parliament House to renegotiate a treaty with Australia’s First Nations People.
Last May the 29 year old took to the road on a journey he has called the Message Stick Walk. Along the way he has been talking to traditional owners and other Australians about the importance of reconciliation and a treaty.
Mr Doolan plans to be in Canberra on May 20 with a group of supporters to hand over the Message Stick Walk tribal lore notice in two forms of ‘Englishman’ – one on paper and the other of the land, three Message Sticks symbolising History, Colonisation and Healing.
After Canberra the Message Stick Walk will continue on to a First Nations Peoples summit to be held at Uluru in 2020, to discuss issues facing their communities. At this summit Mr Doolan plans to develop a healing motion to call for the healing of the land and people.
There will be a film screening and Q+A with director Celestial Serpent in Mullumbimby at The Rainbow Centre on Saturday April 13 at 7pm to raise awareness of Alwyn’s treaty campaign and to rally a crowd to join a freedom ride to meet him in Canberra for the momentous handing over of the tribal lore notice and message sticks at Parliament House.
The event is family friendly and free with a suggested donation of $10.
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