Pop pays homage to Patty Mills' culture, family
By Mike Monroe, June 6, 2014
http://www.goo.gl/N4cFPJ
上周二，也就是馬刺於G6擊敗雷霆的兩天後，Pop召集了球隊以籌劃對熱火的作戰計畫。
然而在開始之前，Pop要求了全隊一起慶祝一個對Mills來說很重要的紀念日。
Pop接著解釋，6/3是對澳洲原住民具有重要意義的一天：Eddie Mabo Day，
這天是澳州最高法院承認其原住民（托雷斯海峽島民）土地所有權的22周年。
On Tuesday, two days removed from their Game 6 win over the
Oklahoma City Thunder that put them in the 2014 NBA Finals, Gregg Popovich
brought the Spurs together to begin planning for the Miami Heat.
Before diagramming any Xs or Os, the coach asked his players to help one of
their teammates, point guard Patty Mills, celebrate a special day.
Popovich explained to his players the significance of June 3 to Indigenous
Australians, who celebrate it as Eddie Mabo Day, the anniversary of a high
court decision recognizing the land rights of Indigenous Australians and,
specifically, Torres Strait Islanders.
托雷斯海峽群島是澳洲的一部分，位處在澳洲北方，新幾內亞以南的托雷斯海峽上。
Mills的父親即是島上的原住民，而他的母親則是澳洲南方的原住民，
當他聽到Pop對他的隊友提及這個日子時，Mills情緒激動得說不出話來。
「我不敢置信，我完全不知道Pop會這麼做，我壓根沒想到他會知道這個日子，
在冠軍戰的作戰會議上，由總教頭來提醒大家這個紀念日，真的十分特別。」
這個NBA五年級生，馬刺隊的替補控衛這麼說。
The Torres Strait Islands are within the boundaries of Australia but in the
straits between the far Northern tip of Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Welling with emotion as Popovich spoke, Mills, the son of an Indigenous
Torres Strait Islander father and an Indigenous South Australian mother,
found himself at a loss for words.
“It was unbelievable,” said Mills, who earned a role as Tony Parker's
backup this season, his fifth in the NBA. “I had no idea Pop was going to do
it. I had no idea he even knew about (Mabo Day), but for him to bring that up
in a meeting before the NBA Finals, just to give everyone a heads-up, was
very special.”
Mills的雙親，Benny 與 Yvonne Mills，在上周一的時候從澳洲飛抵聖城，
參與總冠軍戰。Mills告訴他們這一件事，Mill媽說：
「他到家之後，告訴我們他嚇了一跳。對於他與許多澳洲人來說，
Mabo Day有如此特別的意義，他會永記這天。」
Mills解釋了Eddie Mabo Day對他意義：
「這天是以一位托雷斯海峽島民Eddie Mabo命名的，1982年他向澳大利亞政府提出挑戰，
爭取土地權。經過了十年的艱辛努力，澳州最高法院終於推翻了原本的法條，
並證明了早在白人的建設之前，原住民就住在那裡了，那些土地權是屬於他們的。」
「這件非常重要的事情發生在1992年6月3日，上周二正是其紀念日。」
更多Mabo的資訊可以看這篇： http://titv.ipcf.org.tw/news-6242
Mills' parents, Benny and Yvonne Mills, arrived in San Antonio from Australia
on Monday to attend the games at AT&T Center.
Mills shared with them Popovich's recognition of their culture and heritage.
“He came home and told us he was taken aback,” Yvonne Mills said. “It's
such a special day for him and a lot of Australians. Wherever he is, he
always remembers Mabo Day.”
Patty Mills explained why the day means so much to him.
“It is named after a person, Eddie Mabo, who was a Torres Strait Islander
who challenged the Australian government and the Australian system and took a
land rights case to the high court of Australia in 1982.
“It took 10 years before it finally passed down in their favor, which saw
the legal doctrine of the Australian government overturned and proving that,
yes, this is their land and they were, indeed, the first Australians before
the white settlements.
“It was a very big deal, June 3 of 1992, and Tuesday was the anniversary.”
作為第一位打NBA決賽的澳洲原住民，Mill在第一場比賽中投五中三，
拿下七分三籃板。Mills知道他澳洲的鄉親們正注意著他在NBA的成就，
因此他很欣慰能在這一季的季後賽中作出貢獻，
在這樣的舞台上代表著澳洲原住民的身分，對他而言是莫大的驕傲。
「首先，光是身為一位澳洲原住民就讓我感到無比驕傲。我的文化帶給我的驕傲，
遠遠超過我從自己的成就、與所克服的困難中得到的。」
「因為在世界文化中，澳洲原住民文化非常具有獨特性，
而作為其中唯一一打進NBA冠軍賽的球員，這當然令我驕傲。」
The first Indigenous Australian to play in the NBA Finals, Mills scored seven
points in Game 1, making three of five shots and grabbing three rebounds in
111/2 minutes in the sweltering AT&T Center.
Aware his exploits are being followed closely in Australia, he is gratified
to be making a significant contribution to the Spurs playoff run this season,
calling it a point of pride to represent Indigenous Australians on such a
stage.
“First, it's a matter of pride just being an Indigenous Australian,” he
said. “As far as I'm concerned, nothing that I do or nothing that gets in my
way will even come close to my culture and my heritage.”
“There's not a lot of cultures and heritages around the world that's like
the Indigenous native Australian and to be the only one to make it this far
in the NBA Finals, no question it's a point of pride.”
Mills的籃球生涯也受過打擊：他在2011-2012球季被釋出，直到三月馬刺簽下他為止。
Mills說他媽媽的人生經驗總能激勵他、提醒他要保持堅強。
從19世紀末到1970年代，由於澳洲政府的政策，以及將原住民基督教化的目的，
許多澳洲原住民家庭被硬生生拆散。而Mills媽媽蒙受其害，
這群稱為「被竊盜的一代」的小孩，被迫從原生家庭分離，送到育兒機構，
或由白人家庭領養。
Though he has had a few tough times in his career — he was out of the NBA
most of the 2011-12 season before the Spurs signed him to a free agent
contract on March 27, 2012 — Mills said the experiences of his mother always
have inspired him and reminded him to remain strong.
Yvonne Mills was among the Indigenous Australians whose families were
separated forcibly by past Australian federal, state and territorial
government agencies and church missions, from the late 19th century to the
1970s.
Children removed from their families were sent to institutions or adopted by
nonindigenous families. Those thus affected came to be known as the stolen
generations.
On Feb. 13, 2008, Australia's then-Prime Minister Kevin Rudd officially
issued an apology to Indigenous Australians, with specific reference to the
stolen generations.
2008年澳洲總理正式向澳洲原住民道歉，尤其是「被盜竊的一代」。
「我很難形容這件事情，這讓我心情激動，我的母親是一個有著如此經驗的偉大人物，
作為他的兒子，我沒辦法幫他形容他的感受。」Mills這麼說。
聽到Mills說著自己的個性如何受到媽媽的重大影響，Mills媽不禁笑了
「我很高興聽到他這麼說，因為在親子教養的過程中，很多事情親子彼此都不會意識到，
直到小孩長大了並說著像『你是我的精神激勵來源』或是『我對哪些事情感到開心』
這樣的話語，才會了解彼此的想法與感受。」
「他已經這麼對我說過了這些話了，而他現在也在生命中實踐著他成長過程中學到的
，一些非常好、非常積極的態度。」
週四晚上，Patty Mills的正面能量也幫助馬刺拿到了重要的一勝。
「他現在的成就對我們而言意義非凡，因為這正是他從小以來一直追求的」Mills媽說著，
「這是他想要的，而我們都很開心他在目前的位置上。」
「我相信所有澳洲人都會力挺他。」
“It's hard to describe,” Patty Mills said of his mother's life experience.
“It's a touchy subject and being the son of a great person who has been
through it all I can't even describe it for her.”
Patty Mills' acknowledgment of her role in building his character brought a
smile to Yvonne Mills' face.
“It's good to know that he said that, because as children grow up you don't
realize a lot of things,” Yvonne Mills said. “They don't realize a lot of
things and you don't realize a lot of things until they have grown up and
they say, 'You were my inspiration,' or 'I was really glad about certain
things.'
“He has done that and there's a lot of things he learned growing up and he's
put into his own life now, some really good positive things.”
On Thursday night at AT&T Center, Patty Mills' positive energy helped the
Spurs get an important victory.
“It means a lot to us because it's what he's always strived for, right from
a very young age,” Yvonne Mills said. “This is what he wanted and we're all
so glad to have him in this position now.
“I'm sure all of Australia is behind him.”