Sovereignty

An Indigenous protest against remote community closures in WA has been dismissed by Aboriginal Affairs Minister Peter Collier as premature. Aboriginal activists have set up camp on Perth's Heirisson Island, creating what they describe as a "refugee camp" for Aboriginal people displaced by the Government's planned closure of up to 150 communities across WA. The group has written a letter to the WA Governor, in response to the State Government's pronouncement last year that they would close up to 150 Aboriginal communities.

A group of Indigenous campers on Heirisson Island say the self-declared refugee camp is “for all homeless and displaced person” and not a protest. The camp has been running since Sunday, with a sign declaring the area “Private property of the Djurin Republic”. The group are reportedly also protesting the proposed closure of remote communities in the State’s north. “This is a refugee camp, and it’s dry and peaceful,” one camper Willow said. “It’s for all homeless and displaced persons, we are not protesting or declaring war.

A group of First Nations women have established a 'Sovereign Tent Embassy' at Matargarup (Heirisson Island) WA which also hosts a "Refugee Camp" for their homeless sisters and brothers and for the displaced First Nations people from their Homelands. Elder Maureen Culbong said, "We will stand in even stronger numbers together than even the two years ago where we stood for so long. There are so many issues our peoples face that we need the Embassy as a place of sanctity for all those hurting ... "

The Freedom Movement held a Sit-In at Parliament House on 27 January, 2015. - There is no greater rights struggle than the Aboriginal rights struggle. It is a human rights struggle where not only the First Peoples of this continent were violently and murderously dispossessed of their lands but since the advent of British colonialism onto their shores they were subjected to segregation, apartheid and the systematic destruction of their cultures and languages – more than 350 First Peoples' nations and languages have been impacted.

A federal government Ministers meeting passed a resolution supporting the four broad themes for change outlined in the federal government's initial response, which are reducing the overcrowding in the curriculum, promoting a parent-friendly version of the curriculum, improving accessibility for students with disabilities, and rebalancing the curriculum with the removal of the 'overarching themes' of Australian First Nations, Asia and sustainability issues embedded in curriculum subjects.

In his new book, The Story of Australia's People, Geoffrey Blainey writes that one of the reasons aboriginal tribes didn’t effectively resist European settlement was that they were militarily weak. Indigenous tribes often fought with each other rather than launch coordinated attacks against settlers. An alternative view comes from expert in indigenous history, Dr Ray Kerkhove, who has done new research on indigenous warfare in Queensland in the 19th century.

The Sovereign Yidindji Government under the authority of Jangalan Yidindji make known to the whole world that the Mayarra Nyalalji (Yidindji Police Force) as the primary law enforcement agency of Yidindji, have now been given the force of law to uphold the laws so as to maintain peace and order within Yidindji Territory.
The Yidindji Tribal People now make known to the world that the Mayarra Nyalalji Emblem is used to identify the authority of the Mayarra Nyalalji ...

The Sovereign Yidindji Government under the authority of the Yidindji Tribal Council of Elders make known to the whole world that the Mayarra Nyalalji (Yidindji Police Force) as the primary law enforcement agency of Yidindji, have now been given the force of law to uphold the laws so as to maintain peace and order within Yidindji Territory. The Sovereign Yidindji Government Emblem is used to identify Sovereign Yidindji Government Property and the role of the Mayarra Nyalalji is to preserve peace and good order in all areas of Yidindji.

If you don't know the word autochthonous you're in good company. It means “indigenous rather than descended from migrants or colonists”. It is in the text, prepared by legal advisors to similar movements around Australia, of Whitegate's “declaration of sovereignty and self-determination” of the State of Undoolya. A spokesperson stated the group will have nothing to do with the so-called National Summit for Freedom to be held in Alice Springs next week, run by interstate activists Tauto Sansbury, Geoff Clark and Michael Mansell.