Assimilation & Oppression

Isobelle Anderson of the Kirjin Nation in Far North Queensland has made an official complaint to June Oscar AO, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait and Islander Social Justice Commissioner, regarding the way the Referendum Council is conducting their Regional Dialogue meetings and called the whole process a 'circus'    ...   'To make a complaint to the Ombudsman in Canberra, I have to lodge a complaint with the Commonwealth Agency first. I cannot do this because they will not allow me to ...'    [node:read-more:link]

'We do need to understand who is running the Referendum Council, which is now trying to distance itself from the failed Recognise and Reconciliation campaign for the constitutional inclusion of the words 'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders'. This engine room they call the 'Referendum Council' must be urgently scrutinised. Who are these people and what are their backgrounds?' - Ghillar, Michael Anderson provides an overview of the deceit by our own people who are being led by a government with a treacherous agenda. [node:read-more:link]

The regional meetings set up by the Referendum Council have been a farce. The 'Delegates' were hand-picked and without any representative election process. Their selection didn't meet western democratic standards or First Nations' protocols. The aim of these meetings has proven to be what many expected, a total whitewash. Anyone with alternative opinions or ideas were unable to speak or even record the events. However SU Volunteers monitored the proceedings at the Sydney meeting and provide their comprehensive report here. [node:read-more:link]

Sovereign Union's brief submission to the 'Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee', which was written in much haste, as the notice impending was extremely limited and many First Nations groups would have not only be unaware of the proposed changes, many others who were probably informed would not have had the resources to provide a written presentation, whilst others who use oral communication in their own language as their principal communication method completely obliterated from any form of action on something highly significant on matters relating to their country and culture. [node:read-more:link]

Along with the Papal Apologies we have been researching the Bible and its scriptures, because one thing that haunts the memory of our Old People, and this memory has been handed down to us in this generation to this day, is the realisation: They came with the Book in their hand when we were the sovereigns of the soil, but within 50 years we were killed with impunity and we were imprisoned not for any wrongs doings, but simply because of who we are. The question we must now ask ourselves is what is the relevance of the Papal Apology to Oceania [node:read-more:link]

A new report suggests Aboriginal people are facing enormous pressure to lose their traditional culture in order to be successful in Australia.
"Daily I'm juggling with who I am, how I talk, how I act and look and whatever," an anonymous respondent in the study said. "So you get it from the whitefella's, you know, that you can't talk good English, and then these blackfella's: 'Why are you acting white, talking white?'" [node:read-more:link]

Copy of Sovereign Union Letter (and document) delivered to the United Nations in New York to the Secretary General of the United Nations by Ghillar, Michael Anderson on 16 June 2016. The summary of the 40 page attached document named 'Dare to be wise: Decolonisation underpins the Sovereign Treaties processes in contrast to 'Recognise' which fosters assimilation' is included here along with a link to a pdf copy of the entire document. [node:read-more:link]

For millennia there existed, settled laws and customs and ancient social practices have stood the test of time on the continent named 'Australia' by the invaders ... This, under international law, confirms our ability as Aboriginal Nations and Peoples to argue the Act of State doctrine, which is now vehemently expressed when dealing with sovereign inherent rights to govern. Mabo confirms this assertion by us as First Nations Peoples, because as the majority judgement says that Aboriginal Peoples' rights to property have survived the British sovereignty assertion. [node:read-more:link]