I say Yes by ink.eyta

Tomorrow, the Australian referendum takes place on whether we enshrine a First Nation’s Voice to our Constitution.

This poem felt drawn out of me, even as I was scared to write or speak it. 
I rarely talk of my history, being born in Aurukun, having been given a name in the Wik Mungkan language. Part of my fear was the power of that role. 
Knowing I walked with white privilege as well as a history & understanding (both my own fragmented memories & what I know from my parents) of what life is in some of the most remote of places, where the war for First Nation lives is the most apparent. 

The topic is sticky and tricky for those of us who are born white colonisers, 200 years on from any control over that or the atrocities that took place during settler times. 
The least we can do, I believe, is offer First Nations people who have survived a Voice that no conservative government can take away later. 
A place in our constitution- our rule book for how living in Australia can be. A place & voice for those who have lived here for tens of thousands of years before us.

I hope you listen to or read this poem, even if you sit on a different side of the Vote to me, before you cast yours tomorrow. I hope you read the Uluru Statement from the Heart, outside of the media spin, and sit with your feelings. Or, as Senator Briggs said, I hope you google it, and that your algorithm hasn’t been warped by hatred & fear. 
We have a chance here to try something new, something that has the chance to bridge the gap, and offer First Nations people a more hopeful future.

I hope you say Yes to that hope.
I hope we get to live in the better future we have been invited to walk 
with First Nations people towards.
I hope we Listen when they tell us what that means for them.

with love, hope & sincerity,
Nikita/Kooth Patch/ink.eyta

https://ulurustatement.org/

ink.eyta / " I Say Yes " / poem for the 2023 First Nation's Voice to parliament referendum

ink.eyta is the moniker of meanjin/brisbane based poet Nikita Kostaschuk.

Performing at doofs, backdoor cafes and beautiful venues around South East Queensland, in so-called Australia, ink.eyta draws on their literary training and background to perform emotionally crafted experiences from start to finish.

ink.eyta is also the sole organiser and facilitator of SpeakEasy Poetry Open Mic, a semi-regular untimed open mic aimed at promoting accessibility to the spoken word art form.

Find recordings and albums of their spoken word performances here, and find information about their upcoming performances, open mics through the year via their socials and the links below.

ink.eyta

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