Yokai: Healing Our Spirit is calling for extensive, school- and community-based education programs about Australia's history, alongside increased investment in healing programs for First Nations peoples, following Thursday's announcement that WA Police are treating the attempted bombing in Boorloo on Invasion Day as an act of terrorism.
Yokai Chair, Dr Jim Morrison, said the incident highlighted the urgent need for truth-telling and education across the broader community.
"Our experience over many years of community engagement is that the vast majority of the non-Aboriginal population do not understand the significant and traumatic impact of colonisation in this country on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community," Mr Morrison said.
"Yokai advocates on behalf of Stolen Generations Survivors and their families, and we have been involved in over a hundred community screenings of our multi-award-winning documentary, Genocide in the Wildflower State, over the past 18 months.'
"The consistent comment from non-Aboriginal people attending these screenings and panel discussions is: 'Why weren't we told?' The actions of this alleged terrorist are rooted in hatred and racism - but above all, in ignorance. It is time for action to avoid the potential for a repeat of this incident."
Stolen Generations Survivor and Community Engagement Manager at Yokai, Tony Hansen, called for a renewed commitment from all levels of government to Aboriginal-led healing initiatives.
"A wide range of research has confirmed the significant level of trauma and intergenerational trauma in the Aboriginal community," Mr Hansen said.
"It is time for Commonwealth, State and Territory Governments to support Aboriginal community-led healing programs that deal with this trauma in a culturally appropriate way."
Yokai CEO, Brett Ingram, said the incident underscored the need for a coordinated, long term approach to education and truth-telling at every level of society.
"We need sustained, properly funded education in schools, workplaces and communities that tells the truth about our shared history, the Stolen Generations and the ongoing impacts of colonisation," he said.
"When people are given the opportunity to learn in a respectful, honest way, we see attitudes change, empathy grow and racism challenged. Education is one of the most powerful tools we have to prevent this kind of hatred from taking root."
