Sick of reading interviews with the same Instagram influencers over and over? Same. Here’s something fresher to inspire you—Real Girls Doing Cool Shit. It’s exactly what you think: an interview with a young Aussie woman just like you, telling us about the very cool, impactful stuff she’s creating and the issues she is most passionate about. Read, get inspired, do the things.
I first came across the Instagram account, Tiddas 4 Tiddas, after falling into a hashtag spiral in the lead up to January 26. It is a breath of fresh air on social media.
Its mission: To show and tell the stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls. Positive, intelligent and genuinely empowering, trust me when I say this is a must follow account for everyone.
Kamilaroi sisters Marlee and Keely Silva are the brains behind Tiddas 4 Tiddas. I emailed Marlee a few months after first discovering the account for help with navigating my own understanding of the January 26 debate. She was generous and patient with her help, and seriously damn smart.
Marlee’s passion, and her insistence that we can all be better, makes her the perfect choice as our first ever profile for Real Girls Doing Cool Shit.
Marlee Silva, Co-Founder Tiddas 4 Tiddas
Zee Feed: You’re a Kamilaroi girl. Can you tell us a bit about your tribe’s background?
Marlee Silva: Our grandmother was born and raised in Moree, which is Kamilaroi country—one of the larger countries that sits in the inner-northern regions of NSW and stretches into parts of South-East Queensland. Our grandfather grew up on the Burnt Bridge Mission in Kempsey, NSW, which is on Dunghutti country, so we identify with Dunghutti people too. But as is tradition, and because our mother is non-Indigenous, we take the maternal line of our grandmother’s tribe when identifying. That’s why we call ourselves proud Kamilaroi women.
ZF: How do you currently spend your time—work, study, and play?
MS: Last year I finished my Honours Research in Creative Writing and took on a role as an Indigenous specialist consultant at an Aboriginal agency called Cox Inall Ridgeway. It’s really fulfilling and diverse work that means I get to focus on ensuring the betterment of my people. I also do some freelance writing, a touch of poetry, and direct the Col Dillon Cup; an annual touch football tournament between Aboriginal high school kids and Sydney police officers, which aims to break down barriers and build positive relationships between the two groups!
[Sister and co-founder] Keely is in her second last year of her Bachelor of Physiotherapy at Western Sydney University. When she graduates she’ll become one of only 55 Indigenous physios working in Australia.
ZF: What is Tiddas 4 Tiddas all about?
MS: Tiddas 4 Tiddas is a social media-based movement that’s dedicated to empowering Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls by sharing stories, opportunities and encouraging discussion around the issues facing our people today. It’s a space for our black women to be shamelessly brilliant—to feel pride in themselves and celebrate their sisters who are killing it across all industries and all regions of the country. It’s a space to feel safe to be yourself, to tell your story and connect with females like you.
ZF: The account was inspired by the 2018 NAIDOC theme, ‘Because of her we can!’—how did you go from thinking, “This would be a good idea” to actually doing it?
MS: I had been sitting with my fear of losing the momentum of ‘Because of her we can!’ after submitting my Honours research, which was similarly inspired by the theme. Then I spent a week with a team of 18-year-old Aboriginal girls as Keely and I coached them at the Oztag World Cup; listening to them and being reminded of how I felt as a teenage girl and how I wish I’d known half of what I do now, I knew I had to act and act now. So, I literally woke up the day after arriving home from that tournament, told Keely she had no choice and was being a part of it, and built our plan for the page launch.
ZF: What did you hope to achieve with the Tiddas 4 Tiddas?
MS: All I’d hoped for is to develop a page that showcased our women. That put women like me at the front and built the female role models I needed, but didn’t have outside of my family, growing up. I wanted to build something that made us (Indigenous women) the cool, attractive faces on your Insta feed that were real and raw, unlike your typical #fitspo white social ‘influencer’… But I never thought it would grow to this! I thought we’d get a couple of girls on board, probably those who were part of my extended personal network, and it would be fun and positive and that would be that. I was perfectly ok with that prospect. Everything else has been an enormous, humbling and inspiring bonus.
ZF: In your opinion, what’s the most harmful misunderstanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians right now?
MS: The complacency of non-Indigenous people who don’t think Indigenous issues are their issues too. It’s easy to point out One Nation and their DNA testing rubbish, or Fraser Anning and his general filth as harmful perpetuations of stereotypes and racism—but they are, thankfully, the minority. The biggest issue we see is the fence sitting, ‘That-doesn’t-affect-me-so-I-don’t-need-to-worry-about-it’ type of Aussie. They are the most detrimental to our cause and to our journey towards a positive future for all. We only make up 3% of the population, so we need the other 97% to walk with us.
ZF: So how can non-Indigenous Australians be better supporters and allies? What practical actions can we take?
MS: I think mobilising and engaging with your sense of empathy to act, to protest, to put public pressure on government and, most importantly, change your own attitudes and actions in everyday life, is a good start. Better education needs to be available for non-Indigenous people from infancy, to embed true Australian history and Aboriginal knowledge into all curriculums. There’s so many things I think need to be done to resolve the issues, but dismantling normalized attitudes of complacency and discrimination will be a big leap forward.
While we’re waiting for certain institutions to catch up and do their part in helping our people to close the gap, it’s your responsibility as non-Indigenous people to educate yourself and come with us. Walk with us into the future. Our suffering and continued oppression is at the detriment of the rest of Australia. Engage in these conversations. Don’t celebrate on January 26th, listen to our music, embrace our art, read our words and be proud of the longest continuous surviving culture in history. We’re something for you to be proud of too.
ZF: What have been some of the biggest surprises you’ve had on Tiddas 4 Tiddas so far?
MS: The rapid growth has been our biggest surprise—our reach and ability to engage and work with other initiatives and small businesses. We had 1000 followers within a week; our first article about the initiative and a podcast was out shortly after that. Now, we’ve run a fundraising campaign, had scrunchies names after us and had face-to-face interactions with community groups. It’s just not anything we could’ve imagined happening!
I’m most proud of receiving messages of thanks from Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike. Thanks for informing them about things they didn’t know, helping them feel more confident about their identity or their growth as allies, helping them feel proud and growing their desire to be a part of a true pathway to reconciliation. That’s the best bit: real people feeling really changed by what we’re doing.
ZF: Now for the recommendations! What are some of your favourite social accounts to follow or links to read?
MS: This is more of a starting point rather than the ‘be all and end all’, but…
ON INSTAGRAM:
- @ausindigenousfashion
Beautiful art and fashion from Indigenous brands and designers - @commongroundaustralia
Really informative, sharing culture, history and lived experiences - @indigenousx
Showcasing the words of the most influential and informed Aboriginal people in the country—full articles on their website too - @blackfitfitness
This initiative started in a similar way to Tiddas 4 Tiddas, just a young blackfulla with a passion for health and fitness. It showcases inspiring Indigenous perspectives around health and wellbeing (and provides great gym motivation) - @coffinbirth
Charlotte is a powerful artist and activist. Her artwork has been popping up everywhere recently and when you see it, you’ll understand why - @joewilliams_tew
Joe is a mental health advocate who speaks powerfully about his own battles with mental-ill health and is also an avid Aboriginal activist (see his novel, The Enemy Within)
BOOKS AND WEB:
- Growing Up Aboriginal in Australia, edited by Anita Heiss
This is admittedly a very biased suggestion… It’s an anthology of short stories featuring one by me! I wrote Cronulla to Papunya, which takes a look at the landscape of diverse Aboriginal experiences - Dark Emu, Bruce Pascoe
Arguably the most important historical and scientific novel published about Indigenous knowledge and practices prior to invasion. - Terra Nullius, Claire G Coleman
- Well, I Heard it on the Radio and I Saw it on the Television, Marcia Langton
Marcia is a powerhouse activist and academic. This collection of essays exposes the importance of representation and the ways our media has shaped understanding of Aboriginal people - Talking to my country, Stan Grant
Stan Grant brings me close to tears (of pride) nearly every time I hear him speak, and his writing is just as important and powerful. Highly recommend also watching his IQ2 Racism Debate - Swallow the Air, Tara June Winch
This novel inspired me to be a writer and speaks to growing up black near Sydney so poignantly - Redfern Now, ABC
This TV series was a landmark for Aboriginal representation and particularly representation of Aboriginal culture in metro regions. From the first episode, as I watched Leah Purcell drive around ‘The Block’, I saw my own Aunties, my own family and my own stories on TV for the first time ever. Please watch all seasons and episodes, but particularly Episodes 1.1 and 1.4 - Rabbit Proof Fence,
Most people may have seen this, but it’s important to remember that it’s based on a true story and the repercussions of it are still being felt today. I watched this shortly after it was released, at around age 7, and for months I was convinced the government was coming to take me - We Don’t Need a Map, Warwick Thornton
Warwick is unafraid and confronting. He’s a powerful filmmaker. Samson and Delilah is another incredible work of his, but this documentary is really interesting, thought provoking and a bit funny - Black Comedy, ABC
Aboriginal people have a unique sense of humour—obviously I think it’s the best kind, but I’m confident you’ll be feeling the same after watching this sketch show. Written, directed and performed by black comedians and activists, it’s another great example of the importance of representation—and particularly positive representation!