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'A Call for Treaties of Unity' Declaration, Alice Springs September 2015


The meeting in Alice Springs from 11th - 13th September 2015
A Call for Treaties of Unity

A gathering at the Old Bungalow, Mparntwe (Alice Springs) over three days, September 11th to 13th 2015, drafted this simple template to assist all First Nations communities to
discuss the language and substance of Treaties.

On the path to unity it is the right of each family, clan and First Nation to light the fires and renew the serious conversation about how we see our place in the life of our Country.
 
We the people seek to unite the First Nations of Australia, bound to our Altjira, our Law/Lore, ancient bloodlines and timeless ancestry assert our inalienable rights on our land.
 
We seek unity among First Nations as the foundation of a new relationship with the rest of Australia, set down in treaties that honour these clear principles.
 
This land is defined by lines as clear to us as the Southern Cross and the dreaming trails, the songlines and ceremonies handed to us from the beginning of time.

Our Altjira, our Law/Lore, is the essence of what it is to be here in this land.

Our women, too, are sacred, the givers of life, and along with our men make the law.

The sanctity of our families must be honoured and our children will not be taken away.

We have the right to practice our own religion, to obey our Turnintjamia (commandments), the right to speak and educate our children in our languages and the right to live our culture.

The land is our mother. We have the right to our lands, skies, waters, plants and seas with the resources that nurture us all.

In unity we will stand with our brothers and sisters to assert and defend their rights like our own.