Studio 10 Host Narelda Jacobs Asked To Change The Date, But There’s More To Her January 26 Story
Studio 10 host Narelda Jacobs hopes her family is “proud” of her Indigenous activism after she spoke about changing the date of Australia Day during a TV segment last week.
The 43-year-old’s father Cedric Jacobs was a Whadjuk Nyoongar man and member of the Stolen Generations, while her mother migrated to Australia from Northern Ireland with her family.
Related...
Six Things Indigenous People Want You To Know This Survival Day
What To Do This January 26 If You’re Uncomfortable With The $60m Captain Cook 'Reenactment'
Indigenous Australians’ Grief From Bushfire Crisis Has Deepened Their Trauma
Why ‘There’s Never Been A More Important Time’ To Adopt Traditional Burning
For a long time Narelda celebrated January 26 and decided “to turn my back” on Invasion Day or Survival Day events that acknowledged Indigenous people’s trauma from colonisation. Years later she realised her “misguided belief that I had to embrace January 26”, and wished she had acted sooner.
“One of my biggest regrets was not going to a Survival Day concert with my dad,” she told HuffPost Australia.
Narelda’s father, who never saw his parents after being forced into a mission at age nine, sadly passed away 18 months ago following a devastating cancer battle.
“My nieces and nephews are strongly connected to their culture, that they had really beautiful moments with their pop at these Survival Day concerts,” said Narelda.
The television host explained her younger relatives had spoken of “how they had the most beautiful time with their pop and he was so proud of them by being able to stand next to them and celebrate who we are as Aboriginal people at a Survival Day concert.
“I missed out on the opportunity because I turned my back so far the other way and that’s my biggest...
