It’s TIME

JESSICA MAUBOY, SINGER

“My middle name is Hilda, after my grandmother. Nana was a soaring power. She was an Indigenous woman who fell in love with a white European man; it was a secret love because there was still segregation at the time. Being an Indigenous woman with a white fella, Nana struggled. But she stuck to her path. I think that’s where I get my fire from. I was born on Dreamtime land and grew up in Darwin with my mum and four sisters in the suburb of Wulagi. I walked to school every day hand in hand with my sisters, and we’d swim in the local waterfall in the afternoons – minding the freshwater crocs. I feel like I was born cultural. I am Darwin, I am the Northern Territory, I am the saltwater, the freshwater and the desert. I recently went back to Uluru in the Northern Territory, and digging my feet in the red dirt felt powerful. I was there just before they banned climbing it and removed the chain. Uluru has always felt really free to me, especially now the chains are gone. The same thing needs to happen with our constitution, we need to lift the barrier to move forward. For me, Indigenous constitutional recognition would mean freedom.”

LANCE FRANKLIN, AFL PLAYER

“My mum is a Noongar-Whadjuk woman and she taught me to be proud of who I am. But to be honest, our heritage and her story wasn’t spoken about a lot because of all of the hurt from the past. Our people have been subjected to discrimination and unfair treatment. There are still challenges facing our people to this day and I hope that my story can help educate people and bring respect and a sense of pride from all Australians about who we are.”

JESINTA FRANKLIN, MODEL

“I realised racism was still a very real issue in Australia when I posted a photo of [my husband] Buddy on Instagram and had to remove it because of the racist comments. I felt so bad for his family and the young Indigenous people who follow Buddy. Because of my white privilege, I didn’t realise how prominent racism still is. I know I’m going to have these discussions with my child and explain the dark parts of history, but we also want to celebrate the beautiful Indigenous culture and stories. We want our child to feel included, recognised, heard and worthy, which is why constitutional recognition is so important to us.”

TURN TO PAGE 36 TO READ MORE ABOUT THE ULURU STATEMENT FROM THE HEART.

“We want our child to feel included, recognised, heard and worthy”
– Jesinta Franklin

DIXIE CRAWFORD, MANAGING DIRECTOR AT SOURCE NATION

“I am a Barkindji woman and have been truly privileged to be born and