We are proud Blak women, and our sovereignty has never been ceded.
Blak Cede is a play on words.
The origin of the term ‘blak’ goes back to 1991 when Aunty Destiny Deacon, a descendant of the K’ua K’ua, Erub and Mer peoples, exhibited her ‘blak lik mi’ photography art series, reclaiming historical, representational, stereotypical and romanticised notions of Black or Blackness. The term symbolises taking back power and control within a society that does not privilege Indigenous self-determination for individuals and communities, and so it was “taking on the ‘colonisers’ language and flipping it on its head” as an expression of authentic urban Aboriginal identity. ‘Blak’, unlike ‘Black’, was Aunty Destiny’s way of self-determining her identity and originating a version of the self that comes entirely from within. The legacy of this work has been tremendous, and we at Waminda aim to continue its unapologetic resistance, to challenge and disrupt practices, beliefs and barriers that discriminate and marginalise Aboriginal people and communities and ensure Aboriginal voices are heard and supported. Blak Cede is bold—more than bold. We are staunch.
‘Cede’, firstly, honours the unceded land in which we come from. It is an invitation for people to think more deeply about what being unceded means. For us, it signifies reclamation and truth-telling. It’s laden with the story of the women behind Waminda and our commitment to celebrating and uplifting them. Secondly, it is a homophone with the word ‘seed’, where both words sound the same but differ in meaning and spelling. It represents growth, bush foods, and the start of something new that will grow big and provide for our community’s future.
Lastly, ‘Gunyah’, a Dhurga word signifying a home, represents a place for our community to feel welcome, safe and where they belong.
