Queer Indigenous Elder Uncle Jack Charles Has Died At Age 79
On Tuesday, September 13, Uncle Jack Charles died at Royal Melbourne Hospital. Charles was a Victorian Aboriginal elder and a proud Boon Wurrung, Dja Dja Wurrung, Woiwurrung and Yorta Yorta man. He was respected across the nation for his advocacy and his work creating representation for Indigenous people in the arts, reports ABC News.
VALE JACK CHARLES
In a statement released to the public, it is revealed that Uncle Jack Charles died following a stroke. The statement says, “Before he passed away, his family were able to send him off on Country during a smoking ceremony at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.”
“We are so proud of everything he has achieved in his remarkable life – elder, actor, musician, potter, activist, mentor, a household name and voice loved by all – as is demonstrated by his numerous awards including this year’s NAIDOC Male Elder Of The Year. He will live on in our hearts and memories and through his numerous screen and stage roles. May he be greeted by his Ancestors on his return home.”
Jack Charles was a survivor of the Stolen Generation and began his life as a victim of Australian colonialism. He channeled this pain and this generational trauma into art and performance, which has inspired and touched the lives of countless others, reports ABC News.
Uncle Jack was in the 1978 Australian film The Chant Of Jimmie Blacksmith, appeared in the 2008 documentary Bastardy, a 2010 Melbourne theatre production called Jack Charles Vs The Crown and the series Cleverman. Uncle Jack attributed acting to his salvation, reports ABC News.
“In a way it [acting] saved me. I think I owe my life to having found the theatre. The idea of putting that all down on a big screen for the world to see, doesn’t embarrass me. It’s no shame job, because my life, as I see it, is a variation on so many other lives, they don’t have the opportunity like I have … to be given the full scope of that which had been lost, denied and hidden from me,” he said.
Tributes have been pouring in from across the industry. People are honouring the force of joy and inspiration that Uncle Jack represented.
His family have given permission for his name and image to be used.
