Heritage

REPORT & VIDEOS: Delegates came from as far away as Oombulgurri in the Kimberley, WA and Atherton in Far North Queensland. First Nations delegates were joined by participants from the Mapuche in southern Chile, Canada, Fiji and Bangladesh. The Gathering was also well attended by youth from across the continent. The Sovereign Union has recorded the testimonies of ongoing crimes against humanity, genocide, ethnocide, ecocide and persecution, as well as ways forward. [node:read-more:link]

The new Biodiversity law is tantamount to a declaration of War against First Nations Peoples. These changes will seriously impact on our Laws, culture, religion and spirituality in the State of New South Wales. The new law is deregulation in its worst form, farmers can now basically do on "their" land what they want, clearing, destroying ecosystem and shoot whatever moves. Our sites, be it archaeological campsites, burial grounds or even sacred places have lost the little bit of protection they had, no we will not even be notified, if there is no Native Title claim over the area. [node:read-more:link]

The Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations (NBAN) who represents the 22 First Nations in the Northern Basin, fully support Minister Hunters call for the extra promised 450 GL of Water to be delivered to the Murray Darling Basin. "By the Prime Minister moving the water portfolio from Environment to Mr Joyce's Agriculture, is equivalent to putting Dracula and his Vampires in charge of the blood bank" one of the delegates at the meeting said. He also said that "nobody will get any blood" we need to understand that this exact scenario is playing out in the Murray Darling at the moment. [node:read-more:link]

In a townhouse in London's Mayfair, near Berkeley Square, two Aboriginal men sing in their own language 'in praise of their lovers'. Their voices rise above the repetitive beat of the two hardwood sticks they clap together to maintain the rhythm. They wear fashionable Regency breeches, buckled shoes, ruffled shirts and waistcoats. The year is 1793 and the singers are Bennelong and Yemmerrawanne, far from their Wangal homeland on the south bank of the Parramatta River in Sydney. This was certainly the first time an Aboriginal song was performed in Europe ... [node:read-more:link]

ne of the basic fundamental facets to achieve true decolonisation, that is, we must learn to decolonise our minds. This essentially means that we must stop thinking like our oppressor and thereby stop trying to fit a round peg in a square hole.

I say this because every time we talk about progressing forward in our ambition to achieve self-determination and independence, too often our people revert to saying: We have to ask the government, or we need to ask them for money. [node:read-more:link]