Mick Dodson
Dodson was the first indigenous man to graduate
with a law degree in 1974 from Monash University
and was awarded Australian of the year in 2009. A
noteworthy leader, both he and his brother Patrick
are a part of the Yawuru peoples in the Broome area.
He was the first Australia’s first Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner with the
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity. He served as
Commissioner from April 1993 to January 1998. He is
a prominent advocate of land rights and other issues
affecting Indigenous people and extensively involved
with the United Nations Forum on Indigenous Issues.
Tania Major
Originally from Cairns, Queensland, Tania became
the youngest person elected to the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) in 2004 at
the age of 25. She came an advocate for domestic
violence in Aboriginal communities and has spoken
publically to the government about various issues.
In 2007, she was named Queensland Young
Australian of the Year and Young Australian of the
Year. She currently liaises with Generation One, a
movement working towards ending the disparity
between Indigenous and non-Indigenous
Australians.
I have been very fortunate, and had many wonderful
opportunities. The tragedy is though, that so many
other young indigenous people have never had and
probably never will have similar opportunities unless
things change pretty quickly in our country.