Aretha Brown, or Aretha Stewart-Brown (born 11 November 2000), is an

Indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

Australian youth activist, comedian, artist, and the former

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

of the National Indigenous Youth Parliament. Brown has appeared doing talks, speeches and acknowledgement of country ceremonies for various organisations, including the

ACTU The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...

, Landcare, Minus 18,

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

, Jesuit Social Services, One Tree Foundation,

Mission Australia Mission Australia is a national Christian charity that provides a range of community services throughout Australia. It has its roots in the Brisbane Town and Country Mission (1859) and Sydney City Mission (1862), but was only officially establish ...

, The Australian Shrine of Remembrance,

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

and for the Australian College of International Surgeons.

Early life

Brown was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

on 11 November 2000. She is the daughter of rock frontman Paul Stewart, of the

Painters and Dockers Painters and Dockers are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia in 1982. Paul Stewart, singer-songwriter and trumpet player, Dave Pace (vocals and trumpet) and Mick Morris (vocals and sax) are all original members in the band which was nam ...

, and the contemporary Indigenous artist Donna Brown. The family moved to the small community of

Nambucca Heads Nambucca Heads is a town on the Mid North Coast of New South Wales, Australia in the Nambucca Valley. It is located on a ridge, north of the estuary of the Nambucca River near the Pacific Highway. Its 2021 population was 6,675 (6,327 in 2016 ...

in northern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

to be closer to their

Gumbaynggirr The Gumbaynggirr people, also rendered Kumbainggar, Gumbangeri and other variant spellings, are an Aboriginal Australian people of the Mid North Coast of New South Wales. Gumbathagang was a probable clan or sub-group. The traditional lands of th ...

clan, during her early childhood. They later returned to Melbourne for Aretha's education at Williamstown High School. She commenced an Arts degree in 2019 at

Art and activism

Brown's art is inspired by her home in Melbourne's Western Suburbs and her journey as a queer teenager. Her first painting "Time is our our Side, You Mob" 2018 (shown) was selected for the 2019 Top Arts exhibition at the NGV. The exhibition showcases young artists’ exploration of contemporary issues. In 2014, Brown was selected to attend the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli landings in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, as the

Australian State The states and territories are federated administrative divisions in Australia, ruled by regional governments that constitute the second level of governance between the federal government and local governments. States are self-governing ...

representative, acknowledging the Indigenous servicemen who fought during

World War 1 World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 2017, Brown addressed an estimated 50,000 protesters in Melbourne on

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...

at an Invasion Day rally, calling for the date of the national holiday to be changed. She has spoken at the 2018 march and other NAIDOC events and marches since then. Brown also attended the National Youth Parliament in

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, where she was chosen by 60 of her peers as the first female Indigenous Youth Prime Minister of Australia. In this role, she met Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Opposition leader

Bill Shorten William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian politician currently serving as Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme since 2022. He previously served as leader of the opposition a ...

and the Governor General

Sir Peter Cosgrove General (Australia), General Sir Peter John Cosgrove, (born 28 July 1947) is a retired senior Australian Army officer who served as the 26th governor-general of Australia, in office from 2014 to 2019. A graduate of the Royal Military College, ...

. Tim Watts, Brown's local MP, publicly congratulated Brown in the House of Representatives for her achievements. She has appeared on

ABC Radio Melbourne ABC Radio Melbourne (official callsign: 3LO) is an ABC Local Radio station in Melbourne, Australia. It began transmission on 13 October 1924, and was Melbourne's second licensed radio station after 3AR. Most Local Radio stations in Victoria sim ...

, the national

ABC News Breakfast ''News Breakfast'' is an Australian news breakfast television program. It is broadcast on ABC TV and ABC News channel from 6:00 am to 9:00 am AEST/AEDT on weekdays and is hosted by Michael Rowland and Lisa Millar. The program is also streamed ...

program and on

NITV National Indigenous Television (NITV) is an Australian free-to-air television channel that broadcasts programming produced and presented largely by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It includes the half-hourly nightly ''NITV News'' ...

talking about her achievements in Canberra. In 2017, Brown appeared in the ABC TV documentary ''Advice to My Twelve Year Old Self'', about Australia's female leaders.

References

External links

*https://www.minus18.org.au/index.php/articles/item/36-interview-aretha-brown *https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/top-arts-2019/ *https://www.thearethabrownshow.com/ *http://mpavilion.org/collaborator/aretha-brown/ *https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2019/01/26/not-every-indigenous-person-wants-change-date-aretha-brown {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Aretha Australian indigenous rights activists Australian Aboriginal artists Women human rights activists Living people 2000 births