Australian Aboriginal sovereignty

Australian Aboriginal sovereignty is both a concept and a political movement in the 20th and 21st centuries, seeking varying levels of recognition of ownership and/or control of parts of Australia by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Aboriginal sovereignty is not recognised in the Australian Constitution or Australian law, and calls have been made for constitutional amendments both recognise First Nations sovereignty of the land and to provide an Indigenous voice to parliament. The recognition of prior occupation and ownership of Australia means accepting sovereignty by the First Peoples, and also paves the way for a treaty between the First Peoples and the Government of Australia.

Sovereignty sign at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy

Background
See also: History of Indigenous Australians

It is now well documented that Aboriginal peoples occupied mainland Australia since at least 65,000 years ago,[1] whereas colonisation of Australia by the British only began in 1788 with the arrival of Governor Phillip and the First Fleet. No treaty was signed with the Aboriginal peoples of Port Jackson at the time,[2] and sovereignty of the land has never been ceded by any First Nations people since. Notably, the Letters Patent establishing the Province of South Australia of 1836 (unlike the South Australia Act 1834, which it amended), included recognition of the rights of the Aboriginal peoples of South Australia.[3][4]

A treaty between the Australian government and the country's First Peoples could provide at least symbolic recognition of prior occupation of the land, and thus Indigenous sovereignty.[5] Various treaty processes have begun in the states and territories of Australia. After the colonisation of Australia, the British afforded very little recognition of Aboriginal customs and laws in the various Australian colonies. In 1840, all Governors in Australia and New Zealand were directed that all Aboriginal customary law was to be superseded by British law.[6]

20th century activism

In 1972, the Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established on the steps of Old Parliament House in Canberra, the Australian capital, to demand sovereignty for the Aboriginal Australian peoples.[7] Demands of the Tent Embassy have included land rights and mineral rights to Aboriginal lands, legal and political control of the Northern Territory, and compensation for land stolen.[8]

In 1988, the Australian Bicentenary, the "Aboriginal Sovereign Treaty '88 Campaign" called for recognition of Aboriginal sovereignty and for a treaty to be enacted between the Commonwealth of Australia and Aboriginal nations.[9]

21st century debate

The Aboriginal Tent Embassy, still in place as of 2020, remains a symbol of Aboriginal protest relating to various Indigenous issues. Protests have been held there against Aboriginal deaths in custody, the Howard government’s 2007 Northern Territory Intervention, and cuts to services. In 2020, its most prominent issues are Aboriginal sovereignty and an acknowledgement of Indigenous right to self-determination.[8] In 2012, there were seven tent embassies dotted around the nation.[10]

In February 2012, barrister and 2009 Australian of the Year, Mick Dodson AM FASSA, addressed Parliament on the subject of "Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians". He raised three issues: an acknowledgement in the Constitution that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were in Australia first and also in possession of the country, when the British Crown asserted its sovereignty over the whole continent, and it follows that the land was taken without consent; the second was about issues of Aboriginal identity being respected and protected within the Constitution and Australian law; and the third element related to equal citizenship under law.[11]

Treaties and constitutional recognition
Main articles: Indigenous treaties in Australia and Constitution of Australia § Amendments

A treaty is a legal document defining the relationship between two sovereign entities. As of 2020 there are no treaties between the Australian Government and Indigenous peoples of Australia;[12] Australia is the only Commonwealth country to lack a treaty between its government and its First Peoples.[13] There are ongoing negotiations in some states and territories of Australia on the possible crafting of treaties between Indigenous peoples and governments.

There have also been moves towards Constitutional changes both to recognise prior occupation and ownership (and thus sovereignty), and an Indigenous voice to parliament enshrined in the Constitution.

Symbolic recognition of land ownership

Many public events in Australia, including ceremonies, speeches, conferences and festivals, begin with a Welcome to Country or Acknowledgement of Country, intended to highlight the cultural significance of the surrounding area to a particular Aboriginal clan or language group. They are often made by elders of the nation on whose traditional lands each event is taking place. Since 2008, a Welcome to Country has been incorporated into the ceremonial opening of the Parliament of Australia, an event which occurs after each federal election.[14]

See also

References
  1. Clarkson, Chris; Jacobs, Zenobia; Marwick, Ben; et al. (2017). "Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago" (PDF). Nature. 547 (7663): 306–310. Bibcode:2017Natur.547..306C. doi:10.1038/nature22968. hdl:2440/107043. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 28726833. S2CID 205257212. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  2. Frost, Alan (2012). The First Fleet: The real story. Collingwood: Black Inc. ISBN 9781863955614.
  3. "Order-in-Council Establishing Government 23 February 1836 (UK)". Museum of Australian Democracy. Documenting a democracy. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  4. Draft of the Order-in-Council Establishing Government 23 February 1836 (UK), National Archives of Australia
  5. "The lack of treaty: Getting to the heart of the issue". Australians Together. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  6. Dodson, Michael; Robin Mcnamee (2008). "Recognition of the Indigenous People of Australia and their rights". In Hinton, Martin; Rigney, Daryle; Johnston, Elliott (eds.). Indigenous Australians and the Law. Routledge. p. 234. ISBN 978-1135314392. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
  7. Lisa Martin (24 January 2012). "Aboriginal tent embassy clocks up 40 years". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  8. "Aboriginal Tent Embassy". National Museum of Australia. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  9. "Treaty '88". Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. 19 November 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  10. "'Intercontinental Cry' Article on Australian Sovereignty movement". Sovereign Union:First Nations Asserting Sovereignty. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  11. Dodson, Mick (February 2012). "Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians". Parliament of Australia. Papers on Parliament No. 57. Retrieved 19 July 2020. This paper was presented as a lecture in the Senate Occasional Lecture Series at Parliament House, Canberra, on 5 August 2011.
  12. "Australia moves towards Aboriginal treaties". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  13. "Why doesn't Australia have an indigenous treaty?". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  14. "A historic first: traditional Indigenous welcome begins Parliament". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 12 February 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2018.

Further reading
  • "About 'Sovereign Union'". Sovereign Union: First Nations Asserting Sovereignty. Official website of the Sovereign Union of First Nations and Peoples in Australia, formed at Mt Kaputar in NSW in June 1999, formalised in May 2012 at the Kuradji Tent Embassy, near Wollongong.
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