The movement to change the date of Australia Day has gained huge momentum in recent years. There’s hope that January 26th 2018 will be one of the last times our national holiday will be celebrated on a day that’s so painful for so many Indigenous people, which would be wonderful, but we still have to make it through this year first.

Here’s a list of ways non-Indigenous people can stand in solidarity with local Indigenous communities this Friday. Lots of these things can be done any day of the year, too — have a read, pick something to commit to, and let’s make 2018 a year of genuine action towards respect, solidarity and justice.

Go To A Rally If You Can

Indigenous-led rallies and marches are being held across the country to protest Australia Day, and they need your support. Tens of thousands of people hit the streets last year, and making that number even bigger in 2018 is a good way to stand in solidarity with your local Indigenous community.

If you’ve never been to a rally, don’t stress — all you need to do is show up, listen to the speakers, and walk, although you can go ahead and make a sign to show your support if you’d like. Some rallies are also asking for people to bring specific symbols along, such as flowers to lay on the steps of Parliament at the Melbourne event.

Welcome to Country has a list of rallies taking place around the country here, and FIRE (Fighting In Resistance Equally), who are organising several of the events, have a list here. Check them out and find the details of your nearest one, then show up on the day.

Support Indigenous Art, Culture And Business

You can (and should!) support local Indigenous art and business whenever you can throughout the year, but making sure you’re doing it on January 26 is another way you can show your support.

If you’re in Sydney, consider heading down to Yabun Festival in Victoria Park. It’s the largest one-day festival of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in Australia, and it’s a free, family-friendly event. There are stalls, panels and discussions, live music performances and children’s activities, which you can read all about on the program here. You can find links to similar events in other cities here.

If you can’t make it to an event in person, take some time to find ways to support Indigenous organisations near you. The Twitter account @BuyIndigenous collates links to Indigenous-owned businesses, and the Twitter account @IndigenousX, which is run by a different Indigenous person each week, is constantly sharing organisations and initiatives to get behind.

Nothing better than thongs in summer! Check out these deadly ones from @InjalakArts#BuyIndigenous#Injalak pic.twitter.com/ZCbhZFMcUg

— #BuyIndigenous (@buyindigenous) January 3, 2018

Also, many of those organisations, including IndigenousX itself, rely on donations to keep doing important work. If you’ve got some spare cash this January 26th, find an Indigenous organisation near you and chip in. Think of it as paying rent.

Take Some Time To Educate Yourself On Indigenous History, Culture And Activism

It’s quite possible that you know very little about the colonial history of this country and its First Nations people, unless you’ve deliberately sought out knowledge at some point. Luckily, there are plenty of resources out there to help you, and a nice long weekend for you to get stuck into them.

A great starting point, as mentioned above, is IndigenousX. In addition to the Twitter account, they have a wonderful site full of interviews, articles and resources produced by Indigenous people. Welcome to Country also has some starting links to resources you could look into, and SBS has a great list of Indigenous women whose names and roles in history you really should know. Check these links out, use them as a springboard to find more things to read, and don’t go and pester random Indigenous people on Twitter to teach you stuff or recommend things.

And once you’ve learnt more, take some time to pass that knowledge on to some of the other non-Indigenous people you know. First Nations activist Ken Canning told Junkee that while “it would be amazing if thousands turn out at each event” on January 26, he thinks “the best thing people can do is to start a sensible conversation about Aust Day.”

“We need to clarify, historically this is a date that has caused much grief and despair in Aboriginal Communities,” he said. “To make matters worse, the abuses we as a peoples have been subjected to are ongoing.”

“I would ask non-Aboriginal People who cannot attend our rallies to either start the dialogue about these injustices or to contact a local Aboriginal Community to find the truth of the history of this country.”

Do Something Nice For The Indigenous People You Know

This last one’s simple as: reach out to the Indigenous people you know or follow online, and do something nice for them. As Wiradjuri writer Hannah Donnelly wrote on Twitter earlier this week, “an actual thing you could do this week for your Aboriginal friends is buy them some chocolate and tell them sorry this week is so hard”.

An actual thing you could do this week for your Aboriginal friends is buy them some chocolate and tell them sorry this week is so hard.

— Hannah Donnelly (@hannah_donnelly) January 22, 2018