BrisbaneBlacks ISSUE 1 - August 22, 2013
awakening the Black CONSCIENCE | raising Black AWARENESS | articulating the Black RESISTANCE
Intervention, Constitutional inclusion, Native Title and the failure to respect our basic human rights – these are the policies both Labor and the LNP are taking to the September 7 election. Should we as First Nations people bother voting at all? | Page 2
ELECTION 2013 questioning the motive behind this multimillion dollar campaign started by John Howard in 2007 to ‘recognize’ First Nations peoples in the Australian Constitution | PAGE 3
CONstitutional inclusion PAGE 7 | WEST PAPUA recognises sovereignty of First Nations peoples - Jacob Rumbiak
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CONstitutional inclusion - a paternalistic ploy
Robbie Thorpe, Bob Weatherall & Lilla Watson [left to right] question the Federal government’s motives By Callum Clayton-Dixon Nganyaywana Starting in 2007 with former Liberal Prime Minister John Howard, the Australian Government has been pushing for ‘Constitutional recognition of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander peoples’. However, many First Nations people are questioning the motive behind this multimillion dollar campaign. 24-yr-old Gamilaraay man Boe Spearim from the Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy says it is hypocritical of both mainstream parties to back Constitutional recognition and reconciliation given their stances on other Black issues. “How can they support this [Constitutional recognition] and then on the other hand, support things like the Northern Territory intervention?” Veteran Gunnai activist Robbie Thorpe believes including First Nations people in the Constitution equates to “tacking us onto the back of the White Australia Policy 100 years later”. “If we do consent to that Constitution, we’re giving up our sovereignty in a sense, and legitimizing what’s happened to us over the last two hundred years in this country,” says Mr Thorpe, a producer at Melbourne’s 3CR. Kombumerri philosopher Mary Graham warns that the government’s campaign is “not to be trusted”.
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“It is recognition, but only on government terms of reference,” she says. “Constitutional recognition is a way of promising something, but with no real substance.” Aotearoa (New Zealand) is also in the process of reviewing its Constitution, which happens to include both a Bill of Rights and the nation’s founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi. An agreement with First Nations people and a Bill of Rights are both documents absent from Australia’s legal groundings. Two central focuses of New Zealand’s ‘Constitutional Conversation’, instigated by the Maori Party, are the role of the Treaty and Maori representation in Parliament. According to Chairman of the Centre of Indigenous Cultural Policy Bob Weatherall, Constitutional recognition is yet another paternalistic government policy. “Nothing has changed,” says Mr Weatherall (Gamilaraay). “It’s just a new Act and new provision that’s being imposed on us, keeping our people down. We’ll still have the dominant society over the top of us who make laws and policies that continue to deprive us of our basic human rights and fundamental freedoms.” In 2010, the Gillard government handpicked an ‘expert panel’ to make recommendations in regards to amending the Constitution. Palawa lawyer Michael Mansell claims the panel’s proposal to remove the race power (section 51xxvi) is redundant
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as they simply replace it in a new section (51a). This new section will preserve the parliament’s ability to pass laws “for the benefit” of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples [e.g. Northern Territory Intervention]. Mansell also condemns the proposed new section 127a which will confirm English as Australia’s official language and recognize Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages as part of our national heritage. He says the call “stinks of racism” and that First Nations people have “the right to maintain our languages against assimilation”. On the other hand, you have New Zealand’s recognition of Maori as one of the nation’s three official languages, alongside English and sign language. Longtime advocate for First Nations rights Lilla Watson (Kungulu & Birrigubba) accuses the Australian government of undermining the legal systems that existed in this country prior to colonization. “We had our own Constitutions written in our hearts and our minds long before they came along with their written Constitution and forced it on our land,” says Ms Watson, former University of Queensland academic. Les Malezer, Co-chair of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples criticized the push for Constitutional change and a referendum labeling it a “distraction” from the unresolved issues of sovereignty and Treaty. “No deal has ever been made with us.”
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Should our mob vote in the 2013 election?
when it comes to the crunch, the outcome of this election will be Abbott & Mundine or Rudd & Macklin By Callum Clayton-Dixon Nganyaywana With the polling booths just around the corner, again returns the question of which party in the western colonial electoral system we as First Nations people should vote for. Despite being granted the right to vote in 1962, less than 50% of First Nations people are currently enrolled. We constitute around 3% (700,000) of the entire country’s population. What’s more, almost 50% of the 700,000 are too young to vote. Realistically, First Nations people as a whole have extremely minimal impact on the outcome of Federal elections. It’s a different situation in Aotearoa, where approximately 15% of the country’s population is Maori and nearly
one in every five MPs is Maori. The current Minister for Maori Affairs is also Maori. This is primarily due to the system of dedicated parliamentary seats, a separate Maori electoral roll and provisions set down by the Treaty of Waitangi. In Australia’s Federal parliament, there is only one ‘Aboriginal’ MP – Western Australia’s Ken Wyatt (Liberal Party). Australia has NEVER had a Black minister for First Nations affairs either. The so called democracy in this country leaves First Nations people with two choices, given that none of the smaller parties hold much sway at all: a) Tony Abbott + Warren Mundine [LNP] b) Kevin Rudd + Jenny Macklin [ALP] The track records of both major parties and their leaders are most
concerning when it comes to Black affairs. Genocide Jenny along with Mundine’s newly revealed ‘Indigenous advisory council’ are equally fearprovoking. Intervention, Constitutional inclusion, Native Title, token Black representation and the failure to respect our basic human rights – these are the policies both Labor and the LNP are taking to the September 7 election. Despite the Greens Party’s more desirable policies on issues like climate change, refugees and gay marriage, they have succumbed to backing the assimilationist push to ‘recognise’ First Nations peoples in the Constitution. Should we as First Nations people bother voting at all? Below are three First Nations perspectives on why we should not vote in this election;
GARY FOLEY - Gumbaynggir historian
LORNA MUNRO - Wiradjuri poet
BOE SPEARIM - Gamilaraay activist
“If anyone out there thinks voting in a different mob is going to change anything, then you’re fools. If anyone is scaremongering about Abbott coming in and how awful it’s going to be, how much more awful can it be than now? I would encourage anyone not to vote. I don’t waste my time. This election is not going to change anything.”
“If we keep being a part of this system, we’re just giving it credibility, and in the end that’s what this Western society and government really wants, so they can ultimately control us. As someone who has been voting since I was old enough, I think it’s come to an interesting political climate where Labor and Liberal are just as bad as each other.”
“I won’t vote for anyone in the Australian political system, because at the end of the day, I don’t want to vote for someone to make laws on another mob’s country. If we are going to vote for either Liberal or Labor, we’re still going to be under the same dictatorship that we have been under for the last 230 years.”
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Black media can play a role in our insistence to not only survive but to thrive in our own lands
By Callum Clayton-Dixon Nganyaywana What is ‘journalism’? The Oxford Dictionary defines journalism as “the activity or profession of writing for newspapers/magazines or of broadcasting news on radio/ television”. It is a Western word and a Western profession. Australia’s education system tells us what they think journalism entails and how we as First Nations people should structure/run our own media. The biggest problem with this is that the Western concept of journalism is based around a Western system of ideals and values, failing to take into account a number of critical factors. No Treaty or agreement has ever been signed between the Commonwealth of Australia and First Nations; this country therefore remains in a state of war. It’s been several decades since the last massacre, but paternalistic and oppressive government policy continues and the conditions First Nations people endure around the continent are those you would expect in a third world, war torn nation. We only have to look at the Northern Territory Intervention in 2007, which continues under the current Labor government, to see the obvious truth of the situation. The reality is that First Nations people linger in a state of fourth-worldness, a third-world people living in a 1st world country who have had the right to govern our own affairs taken from us. Consecutive Australian Governments have refused to honour international obligations when it comes
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to our right to self-determination. Would you expect Palestinian media to be forgiving and tolerant of Israel’s tyrannical regime, or Tibet’s media to hold the Chinese Government’s hand as they illegally occupy their country? The war of attrition has not ended in this country they call ‘Australia’ and First Nations media should act accordingly. Like we have done with terms such as ‘sovereignty’, why not reaffirm the BLACK meaning we put to a word like ‘journalism’? Black media can be a tool, a means, a method of our struggle, our resistance, our insistence to not only survive but to thrive in our own lands – an evolution of how we tell our stories from our perspectives, how we mobilize and reignite the fire in the minds and hearts of First Nations people, to articulate our position and raise our own awareness. It can also be our worst enemy, pumping out assimilationist, right-wing, conservative propaganda in the name of ‘fair and balanced views’. Then there’s the whole issue of how hostile Australia’s mainstream media is to progressive Black issues. According to First Nations philosopher Mary Graham (Kombumerri), “the Australian public are denied choice” in terms of reporting on Black affairs. “The only kind of media in this country is conservative,” she says. “It’s a habit of theirs to demonize us wherever possible and to praise Murris who are happy to be assimilated.” Mainstream publications in the UK like The Guardian and even the New Zealand Herald seem to take a far more
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open-minded approach to stories on the First Nations people of Australia. Handpicked ‘Aboriginal leaders’ like Marcia Langton, Noel Pearson and Bess Price are already given more than enough coverage by Murdoch and Fairfax without our own media giving them any page space or airtime. When leviathan publications like The Australian have got behind the campaign for Constitutional inclusion of First Nations people, it’s clear that Black media has an important job to do in trying to balance the equation. Earlier this year, SBS broadcasted a debate on the question of ‘Who should tell Indigenous stories?’ Editor of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council’s Tracker magazine, Amy McQuire, pointed out during the program that it is essential to have First Nations people reporting on First Nations issues. “A lot of White media aren’t accountable, whereas Aboriginal journalists are held accountable to their own communities. I also feel we have a lot more at stake and are a lot more passionate. It’s so important that Aboriginal people are equipped to tell our own stories, and it’s not just about putting them in mainstream newsrooms, because often you get assimilated to those news values. I think it’s actually about building strong independent Aboriginal media, so we have that diversity and can tell different stories, about Treaty, about sovereignty - issues that aren’t reported [by mainstream media] but are true Aboriginal aspirations.”
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Director of Maori TV’s news and current affairs department Julian Wilcox was also part of the discussion. Wilcox emphasised the need for “Indigenous reporters in Indigenous communities”. “It’s important because Indigenous reporters get access that no other people can, and they can tell the story that hasn’t been told [by mainstream media].” Veteran First Nations broadcaster Tiga Bayles (Birrigubba) says Black media can “play a massive role in the decolonization process, resisting assimilation and integration”. “It’s enacting our sovereign right to be able to communicate and disseminate information. Self-determination is part of that, where we determine the policies, the news stories, the programming.” Unfortunately, aside from a few exceptions, the strong and independent Black media we seek in this country is lacking. For instance, a NITV reporter was reprimanded by management for attending a recent sovereignty summit on his own time and discouraged from reporting on issues relating to First Nations’ sovereignty. Unlike the Maori station, NITV isn’t independent; it is a subsidiary of SBS. Therefore, this kind of repressive fiasco can be expected. What’s more, particular Black media outlets continue to rehash mainstream media content along with simply republishing AAP content. Then there’s the scary fact that the National Indigenous Times is not Black-owned. But don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing inherently wrong with non-First Nations people reporting on our affairs. Award winning journalist John Pilger is a White Australian whose work is a prime example of quality and meaningful coverage of Black affairs. It’s a different game all together as well, when Black owned and controlled media is employing and directing non-First Nations people, on our terms. Returning to the point of putting a
Black meaning to the term ‘journalism’, it seems appropriate to find a way to articulate these kinds of concepts in our own languages. So I have attempted to use my tribe’s language to describe what journalism means to me as an Anaiwan man: ayka, naka, uytika look, listen, speak apala iluna no darkness
With regards to Black terms of reference, you might’ve noticed that I haven’t once used the phrase ‘Aboriginal &/or Torres Strait Islander’ or the word ‘indigenous’. Such terms have become part of tokenistic government rhetoric, and to me, are simply an evolution of ‘savage’ and ‘native’. For more than two centuries, the colonial society has tried to pack us into their Western way of thinking and tell us how to identify. In Canada, there has been a considerable push to replace the stock standard ‘Aboriginal’ with the term ‘First Nations’. This approach has been adopted by Brisbane’s 989fm Murri radio. Hence, the Brisbane Blacks editorial team will endeavour to only use our own terms of reference (i.e. First Nations or Black) when producing content. Brisbane Blacks is not a stab at competing with the likes of the Koori Mail, National Indigenous Times or First Nations Telegraph. We simply seek to provide an independent, non-profit and conscious alternative, not beholden to a board of directors, shareholders, land councils or any other form of corporate entity. It’s not about the news cycle or putting the most sensationalized spin on scandalous stories so as to attract the greatest number of readers and attain big sponsorship/advertising deals. If this was the case, Brisbane Blacks might as well join the mainstream media. News will undoubtedly be a core component of our content, but we also seek to establish a comprehensive library of timeless
resources relating to Black struggle and make this collection readily available to the First Nations community. Black Nation was a First Nations publication that emerged out of the Land Rights movement in Brisbane just prior to the 1982 Commonwealth Games. There were five editions circulated locally, nationally and across the globe between ’82 and ’85. The newspaper’s editor was Ross Watson (Kungulu/ Birrigubba). His editorial policy was the following: “We will always try to speak from within the cause and as part of the movement. For these reasons we don’t propose to be objective when discussing Black issues.” We hope the work of Brisbane Blacks lives in the spirit of Black Nation. Media has also played a crucial role in the struggles of other oppressed peoples around the world. THE BLACK PANTHER: Black Community News Service was first produced by the Black Panther Party during the late 1960s. By 1969, the paper had a circulation of more than 250, 000 across the United States. Our primary mode of distribution will be via social media (Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, YouTube & Issuu) along with a bi-monthly print edition funded by several unions. We’re aiming to circulate a diversity of content including news, features, opinion pieces, community notices/updates, culture, conscious art, poetry, music and history of the struggle (across a range of audio, visual & written material). Additionally, there will be a place for international perspectives from other First Nations and oppressed people (e.g. Native American/Canadian, Maori, Palestinian & West Papuan). In terms of accountability, Brisbane Blacks is accountable to the First Nations community, so if you have an issue with something we have published, don’t hesitate to contact us.
#CirculateToEducate
Could you ever imagine a Palestinian advisory body to the Israeli Government? By Callum Clayton-Dixon, Nganyaywana Established three years ago following the abolition of ATSIC in 2005, the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples now has around 6,000 members eligible to vote in its biannual elections. This represents less than 1% of the entire First Nations population (700,000). Only 809 members (13% of members) actually voted in the most recent election, held in June and July this year. Therefore, just over 0.1% of First Nations people decided the leadership of Congress. The co-chairs for the next two years are Les Malezer (received 313 1st preference votes) and Kirstie Parker (received 260 1st preference votes). Can Congress really call itself “a national voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples”? Michael Mansell (Palawa man & Aboriginal Provisional Government National Secretary)
Congress has been an exercise in window-dressing by the Commonwealth, as it is really an extension of government. It is not an independent Aboriginal and politically motivated voice to speak out openly and campaign against one of the most racist governments we’ve ever come across. I’m not surprised that so few Aboriginal people bothered to even participate in the election. Congress use its funds, resources and time to try to promote themselves as being very representative of Aboriginal people. They’ve exposed themselves to Aboriginal people as fake political representation. While we keep having these advisory bodies and people willing to allow White politicians to make decisions over Aboriginal people, we will never have an Aboriginal government. The Palestinians have learnt that the only people who should be able to make decisions about the current situation and the future of Palestinians are themselves. They would never think for a moment to go on an advisory body set up by the Israeli government. This is a strong indication of how we are so afraid to stand up and call for freedom. We need to be free from the control that White people exercise over us. But we’ll never have that while we have these advisory bodies set up by the Federal government, which are really there to protect the government rather than advance the cause of Aboriginal people.
wayne wharton (Kooma man & former ATSIC regional councillor)
I knew ATSIC would not work because it operated on a pseudo-democratic basis that was deliberately open for corruption. Congress has the same flaw. Members don’t come with authority from their own nations. Whether it be the Kooma, Waka Waka, Gamilaraay or any of the other First Nations, we believe that we each belong to a society, a tribe, a nation, and we operate as such. Before White people came here and before the colonial democratic process came here, we had our own form of governance that allowed more than 500 different nations to coexist on the one bit of ground. Membership based on representing each of the tribes would give Congress more accountability, but the current democratic system is just a bastardized numbers game. It would be more strengthening in terms of gaining proper dialogue in dealing with the broader society. So, what do we need instead of Congress to sufficiently address the issue of genuine First Nations political representation? Would we benefit from dedicated seats in Australia’s Federal and State parliaments like the Maori have in Aotearoa or an independent First Nations government based on tribal affiliations like the Sami have in Norway?
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Flotilla to West Papua for self-determination
the vehicle convoy from Lake Eyre in South Australia reached Brisbane’s Musgrave Park (above) on July 30 By Callum Clayton-Dixon & Boe Spearim West Papua’s Indigenous population has been under foreign military occupation since Indonesia annexed the region in 1962 with the help of the United Nations. To date, up to 500,000 Papuans have been killed as a result of the occupation. In the face of prolonged genocide (torture/rape/massacre/slavery/ dispossession), the international community has failed to act accordingly, and the issue rarely receives coverage from Western mainstream media.
Nations activists including Robbie Thorpe (Gunnai) and Kevin Buzzacott (Arabunna), Rumbiak has played a key role in the uptake of ORIGINAL NATIONS passports and the Freedom Flotilla to West Papua. The flotilla set off in June with a vehicle convoy from Lake Eyre, switched to a number of yachts in Cairns and is making its way up the coast, through the Torres Strait and then on to New Guinea. Indonesian authorities have issued pre-emptive threats against the flotilla, claiming unsanctioned boat arrivals will be intercepted by the navy and detained.
Foreign Minister of West Papua Jacob Rumbiak spent 10 years as a political prisoner in Indonesia, escaping to Australia 1999. Rumbiak is currently based in Melbourne where he continues to fight whilst in exile for his peoples’ right to self-determination. Having developed rapport with First
Rumbiak: It is part of raising international awareness and telling the Australian and Indonesian governments, ‘Before you foreign colonials arrived in our home, we had our dignity and our sovereignty, so let us run our own future’.
BB: What is the flotilla’s purpose?
BB: What role are the ORIGINAL NATIONS passports playing ? Rumbiak: By using these passports and stamping them with the Visa of the Federated Republic of West Papua, we recognize the sovereignty of First Nations people. BB: What are the implications of the Australian Commonwealth Government refusing to comment on the genocide of Indigenous Papuans?
jacob rumbiak Foreign Minister of West papua
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Rumbiak: The Australian government is involved in crimes against humanity of people of West Papua. Visiting Jakarta, Kevin Rudd mentioned
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that his government recognizes the integration of West Papua into Indonesia. The money given in aid to Indonesia by the Australian government is used to kill Papuan people. BB: What are your thoughts on the struggle for self-determination of First Nations people in Australia? Rumbiak: To build the future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, the Australian government must not only hear what they want, they must implement these demands. The Australian government should not be afraid of what the Indigenous people want. If the Indigenous people can keep their lands, it will mean they can operate themselves. Mining allowed by the Australian government is destroying the Indigenous peoples’ holy land and destroying the environment. BB: At what stage is the West Papuan fight for self-determination? Rumbiak: Our transitional government was declared in October 2011 because the people of West Papua demand independence. It is part of how we fulfil the requirements of international law. We’re telling the world that West Papuans are ready to run our own future. It is a combination between traditional and modern democratic government. In West Papua, we have 312 different tribes, but we have the motto of ‘one people, one soul’. We use a federal system, so that each state can have the right to autonomy and can develop their own country. We also have a president and prime minister, a cabinet of government and parliament.
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First Nations culture demystified
inspiring meaningful coexistence through education ga dhama-li ga winanga-y dhama-li dhi ga nginaayngu gii to touch, to feel learning, from in your heart
By Paul Spearim, GAMILARAAY The traditional process of imparting First Nations cultural knowledge is unique. It involves a number of elements, each of which is as important as the other. These ancient techniques were bestowed upon me by my parents and their ancestors. My father was initiated in the early 1900s. His first language was Gamilaraay. He was one of the last fully initiated members and teachers of the Gamilaraay Nation. My father and mother’s great grandparents were alive prior to 1788, and these traditional tools were part of their everyday life. Binangal Gayaa Wanangi translated means ‘Throw the words from the Almighty Creator Buwadjarr’. This phrase encapsulates our entire existence as Gamilaraay people – in that how we understand our physical existence is by fully understanding our spirituality through learning these traditional techniques. The techniques are storytelling; language; song, music and dance; art; and traditional games. STORYTELLING Storytelling is always the first step. Our culture is one of oral tradition. We use storytelling to impart important cultural teachings, the main one being that everything within the Universe is connected to us. An example of a traditional story is how the kookaburra first began to laugh. LANGUAGE In today’s society, because we speak English, using traditional language gives us more context to understand our traditional stories (e.g. Googoogagaa Maal Gaaga-li, translated this means ‘why kookaburra first began to laugh’).
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SONG, MUSIC, & DANCE Song, music, and dance is another way that we learn things traditionally, and begins to incorporate a multi-sensory approach to teaching and learning. (e.g. in teaching Googoogagaa Maal Gaaga-li, we mimic the actions, sounds, and movement of Googoogagaa and Thinawan (emu). ART Art includes traditional forms of painting and drawing, and is about teaching our oral history through art. You would be familiar with ancient rock art. Other forms of traditional art include tree carvings, sand drawings, carved earth mounds, and painting our bodies. We create colours for painting and drawing through the use of ochre (clays of many different colours), fire ash, mixing ochre with sand, and charcoal. Ochre was even traded between nations to obtain colours not seen in particular areas. Gamilaraay people are well known as wood carvers (e.g. Gamilaraay clap sticks and tree carvings). In the story of Googoogagaa we would paint what has been told to us in the story, and taught to us through the song, dance, and movement, to recreate the story in an art form. TRADITIONAL GAMES Games are another way in which to reinforce the story, in a culture that traditionally did not have written language. Games introduce another sensory experience to our learning and teaching. Through traditional games we interpret the stories, the song, the dance and so on. Using the story of Googoogagaa, children form two circles, an inner circle and an outer circle. Each child in one circle is Googoogagaa, and each child in the other circle is Thinawan. Using a ball made out of possum skin, the children in one circle begin to throw the ball to each other. When a child misses the catch, they all drop to the
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ground, and the child who missed stands up and mimics their animal, while the other children in the circle make the noise of that animal. Then it is the other circle’s turn to start throwing the ball, and similarly when someone misses a catch they in turn mimic their animal, until they’ve all had a turn at throwing and catching. This also encompasses teaching about the family, the clan, and your connection to each other. OLD GAMIL The traditional methods of teaching our culture to Gamilaraay people spans from birth to physical death, and then OLD GAMIL (you might know this as dreamtime, creation, or afterlife). As people age and mature, we teach the story in more depth to give a greater level of understanding that is appropriate to a person’s age, maturity, and spiritual evolution in our culture. OLD GAMIL to us means that when we sleep, we move in time, and we are a part of everything. When we wake up we come back to the physical plane and incorporate what we have learned (e.g. if we wake up and hear Googoogagaa laughing, that is telling us to make a new friend today). Life in OLD GAMIL is not something that ever starts or finishes, it is eternal. OLD GAMIL and our cultural teachings are not a tool of control, but about inclusion and understanding that we are all a part of everything and that everything is a part of us. In order to respectfully teach First Nations culture in your own communities, it is critical to acknowledge that each element is integral to the process. You must include each element in your teaching. As Gamilaraay is but one of hundreds of nations within Australia, the most practical way to ensure you are being culturally respectful is to approach elders of the local First Nations community, with any questions you may have.
culture first
What does First Nations ‘sovereignty‘ mean? By Callum Clayton-Dixon Nganyaywana The First Nations sovereignty movement is often dismissed as antiWhite and a push for segregation. For the past two centuries, First Nations people have been subject to large scale dispossession, genocide and systematic discrimination. The push for sovereignty is an ongoing attempt to reverse this devastating process and establish a revived dignity for First Nations people and their communities. Talk of and calls for First Nations sovereignty is not something new and ‘radical’. The movement in this country emerged from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne in the late 1960s alongside the Gurindji Strike in the Northern Territory, leading up to the emergence of the Aboriginal Embassy in 1972, the 1982 Commonwealth Games protests demanding Land Rights for Aboriginal people and the call for a Treaty towards the start of the new millennium. Other Indigenous peoples around the world have varying degrees of tribal sovereignty, recognised by colonial
society and governments. The Treaty of Waitangi in Aotearoa (New Zealand), signed in 1840 between more than 500 Maori chiefs and the British Crown, established the principle of partnership between Maori and non-Maori. As well as the Treaty in New Zealand, similar agreements exist in both Canada and the United States of America. Veteran Kooma activist Wayne ‘Coco’ Wharton says another point of confusion is the comparison made with African Americans and their struggle for equality and civil rights. He says the question about sovereignty in this country is not about equal rights. “You can’t look at Aboriginal Australia the same way as the rest of the world looks at a Black man in Mississippi. We didn’t come from anywhere else. Our question here in Australia is not about equality, it’s about our rightful place.” The predicament Native Americans currently find themselves in is far more comparable, as they are the ORIGINAL people of what is now known to the world as the United States of America. We could also look at the dissolution of the Soviet Union to see how we as
First Nations peoples can regain our independence. The USSR split into 15 independent/autonomous states between 1990 and 1991. Many people seem to shun the idea of First Nations sovereignty, deeming it to be a form of Black Supremacy and segregation, fear mongering about being kicked out of the country or evicted from their homes by the local tribe. The question of First Nations sovereignty is far more akin to the concept of coexistence. Below are some of the lyrics from Yothu Yindi’s 1991 hit TREATY: now two rivers run their course separated for so long I’m dreaming of a brighter day when the waters will be one! The Oxford Dictionary defines sovereignty as “supreme power or authority, a self-governing state”. However, words like ‘sovereignty’ are foreign/Western terms of reference. Below are perspectives from three First Nations women on the Black meaning they put to the word sovereignty:
MERINDAH DONNELLY Wiradjuri creative producer
TEILA WATSON Kungulu/Birrigubba poet
MARY GRAHAM Kombumerri philosopher
“Sovereignty means the ability to not only access certain things, but also to live a certain way. LAND, KINSHIP, LAW, CEREMONY and LANGUAGE – if I have access to all of those things, and I can live by them, that is what it means to be a sovereign First Nations woman. That is a unique cultural, spiritual and societal paradigm. So, I’m not actually aligning myself with the values, ideology and law of mainstream Australia. It’s my human right to practice my unique cultural, spiritual and societal beliefs. I have the right to my unique way of life, as well as participation in the Western world that has been imposed on this country.”
“Sovereignty means having more say over what is done on our land (i.e. self-sustainability and taking care of country). I don’t think mining would go ahead if our sovereign status was recognized. But instead of thinking of people as being ‘sovereign’, we should think of our laws and cultures as being sovereign. If we could get our law to be recognized, this would be the foundation of our old society that we had before colonization. If we can build those foundations up again, we could have the similar kind of outcome of peace, sustainability and clean air. Those are the most important things for us and our future generations.”
“First Nations sovereignty has nothing to do with the hierarchical idea of a sovereign; it is much more akin t o a lateral system. The glue that keeps the notion of our sovereignty together is solidarity (within each tribal group and interdependently), equality and non-domination. Furthermore, the underpinning/core aspects of First Nations sovereignty are autonomy (of each tribal group), ethics, place and land. Sovereignty is the voice of a people in a particular area. It covers our religious/spiritual ideas about our land, our metaphysics and foundational stories. Every one of us has obligations towards our own particular country.”
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Brisbane’s NAIDOC march to Musgrave On Friday the 5th of July, First Nations people and their supporters rallied at Queensland Parliament and marched on South Brisbane's Musgrave Park. NAIDOC originated from the 1938 Day of Mourning Protest [pictured to the right], where around 100 gathered in Sydney to protest the treatment of First Nations peoples across the continent. For many decades, NAIDOC remained not only a platform for celebration of culture, but also political discussion and organizing. Unfortunately, the Australian government has hijacked and largely commercialized NAIDOC. Marches are still held in a number of locations, with the notable exception of Sydney.
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events/history
LEADER
Six in the evening, I turn on the news Here was some Murri lad sharing his views Talking about everything that was done wrong And what we must do to all get along I listened intently and nodded my head I agreed with some of the things that he said But then there were times I wholeheartedly knew That I just didn’t share this brotherboy’s view He spoke with a passion, sounded well refined But the passion he spoke with did not reflect mine And then I was shocked with the media’s claim At the title they put next to brotherboy’s name Leader they said, that’s what he was called Aboriginal leader and I was appalled For there was no election, I had cast no vote It was not on my behalf that this man spoke They deemed him a leader, well who did he lead? The nation, the State, the community? What were the prerequisites, what must one do? For it seemed that this brother just spoke to the news Believe me, I’m grateful for those with a voice But if I have a leader then I want a choice Not someone the media can just pick and choose Because they need statements for the six o’clock news I still don’t know why the media can’t understand That one voice cannot speak for all of this land Rich and complex our diversity It’s like asking France to speak for Germany They’ve had 200yrs to understand this But I guess that’s what happens when research is shit And they don’t really care in this information age As long as sensation screams from the page Leader they said, that’s what he was called Aboriginal leader and I was appalled For there was no election, I had cast no vote It was not on my behalf that this man spoke.
photo by IAN LAWSON
STEVEN OLIVER
Kuku Yalanji/Waanyi/Gangalidda/Woppaburra/Bundjalung
lorna munro
Wiradjuri/Gamilaraay
ADVANCED AUSTRALIA FAIR The undoing of invasion How can we undo long what has been done? How can a mother reconnect to their stolen son? A line broken Advanced Australia Fair Advancing Australia Fair Dilution White psychosis Influencing lack of care? Public outcry the refugee can plainly see Here this decision was never ever really fair. Advancing Australia for who? Advancing Australia to where? To what state? What exactly is our ‘National Anthem’? Urging to create Jacks Union Busting at the seams Loose stitches Loose morals Black man’s nightmare White man’s dream Subliminal messages Polite quarrel Entitlement Jolly Rogered fiends Gazing up Raising up the queens rag No law and order to be seen Validation Embroidered pictures Emblems depicting Foreign mythical creatures Empirical dominion Propaganda Equality Broken shackles Or reigns tightened? Are we really free? Or way to frightened? To ever be Advancing Australia Fair
CONSCIOUS BLACK POETRY
The Brisbane Aboriginal Sovereign Embassy (BASE) is a core platform for organizing Black political/protest action and engaging with Brisbane’s First Nations community. BASE holds meetings around the sacred fire in Musgrave Park every Wednesday @ 6pm and runs a program which provides food parcels to families in Inala, Acacia Ridge and Stafford. For more information on BASE or to assist/ donate to the Community Food Program, call 0424 610 492 or 0408 064 900
Tune in at 9AM every weekday for Let’s Talk with Tiga Bayles on Brisbane’s 989fm. Let’s Talk is a one hour First Nations current affairs show and offers listeners in both the Black and broader community a conscious alternative to the sensationalism of mainstream media. The program is repeated each day from 6-7pm and live streamed. Tiga Bayles (Birrigubba) is a pioneer of Black radio, having co-founded Radio Redfern in the 80s, and a veteran campaigner for the rights of First Nations peoples. The BlackCard Course is the path to acquiring a licence that demonstrates the expertise of the holder in working with Aboriginal people. The underlying themes of the BlackCard Course are based on Aboriginal Terms of Reference that provide direction to the age-old Aboriginal civilizational culture, values and worldview. The BlackCard Course is based on the tertiary level subjects, Aboriginal Perspectives and Aboriginal Approaches to Knowledge, developed by Lilla Watson and Mary Graham. To find out more, call (07) 3398 9921 or email blackcardcourse@bigpond.com
Brisbane’s BLACK HISTORY always be home by dark
DR robert anderson, a Nugi man from Moorgumpin (Moreton Island), is a veteran unionist & campaigner for the rights of First Nations peoples
My mother was born at a fishermen’s camp on Stradbroke Island and grew up with her Aboriginal mother on the Moongalba Aboriginal Mission. I was born in Brisbane, and my mum always said to me ‘be home by dark, always be home by dark’. I didn’t know till years later that the curfew laws existed in Brisbane Central, where Blacks had to be out beyond the boundaries by dark, hence the Boundary Streets in Fortitude Valley, West End and Camp Hill. Blacks were a ‘problem’ for White people, so we had to be outside beyond the boundaries where we wouldn’t ‘bother’ anybody. It may seem unconceivable that those laws existed, but they were realities for Aboriginal people. Combined with the residue of the Aboriginal Protection Act that governed the lives of Aboriginal people in Queensland for a century, these laws set the tone of how we lived and where we lived. They were troublesome and fearful times, when the ‘Protector’ could have you removed to places like Palm Island, Yarrabah – places that were in fact detention areas for Aboriginal people who dared to question the administration.
Sovereignty Panel BRISBANE – October 4th, 2013 A panel discussion articulating the political/philosophical/legal intricacies of First Nations sovereignty will take place on October 4th in Brisbane. The panel, featuring four veterans of the Black political struggle including Palawa lawyer Michael Mansell [other three panel members TBA], will be broadcasted via Live Stream and other mediums [TBA]. CALL 0428 152 777 for more information.
31st Anniversary of 1982 Commonwealth Games protests – October 2013 In late 1982, First Nations people came from all around the country to Brisbane for mass demonstrations against the STOLENWEALTH Games. Protesting against the oppressive Aboriginal Protection Act and demanding recognition of Land Rights, the demonstrations put our issues onto the world stage. This historic occasion in the Black political struggle will be commemorated over three days in October (4th-6th) and is taking place in Musgrave Park. CALL 0408 064 900 for more information
G20 Summit BRISBANE - November 2014 Leaders of the world’s most powerful nations, ranging from Barack Obama to Vladimir Putin, will converge on Brisbane next year for the annual G20 Summit. Like in 1972 with the Aboriginal Embassy and the 1982 Commonwealth Games protests, this presents an opportunity for First Nations people to once again raise our issues on the global stage. The G20 summit will take place in South Bank just a few hundred metres from Musgrave Park at the Convention and Exhibition Centre. ORGANIZING political/protest action for this international spectacle has begun.
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proBLACKtivity Full self-determination, Black control of Black affairs, Treaty, Land Rights, the end of environmental destruction, recognition of sovereignty and meaningful coexistence – we must always keep in mind what we are truly entitled to. But these aspirations will not materialise overnight and the colonial society sure isn’t going to hand all of this to us on a plate. We as First Nations peoples also need to build up our communities in proactive and every day ways. Below are just a few ideas of how we can work towards these goals from the ground up: LIVE SUSTAINABLY Regardless of if we live in the city and work, the less waste and pollution we produce during our everyday lives, the less damage we do to our country in
both the short and long term. Living a more environmentally sustainable life can be as simple as growing our own food (fruit/vegetables) in our backyards, walking/cycling instead of taking the car and reusing/recycling everyday items (e.g. plastic bags). We can also opt to buy goods/services from or trade with other First Nations people so as to give less money to government/industry. By investing our money back into the Black community, this represents a step towards economic independence. LANGUAGE REVIVAL A number of our tribal languages are no longer spoken due to the ongoing assimilation process and are gathering dust in university/library archives. This is also a result of longstanding failure on the part of government to assist with revival programs/initiatives. With the internet, social media and mobile
technology at our fingertips, we have the opportunity to rekindle the fire via a plethora of mediums – further integrating language into everyday conversation, digitalizing language dictionaries and creating innovative ways for the younger generations to learn this crucial component of our tribal identities. BLACK TERMS OF REFERENCE Australia’s education institutions try to tell us how we should think about the world. By insisting on using Black terms of reference, we can fight this assimilation process. Put Black meanings to English words (e.g. sovereignty or journalism), develop your own interpretations and understandings of what we are entitled to in context of your mob’s historical experiences and measure/critique Western society in the context of Black values and beliefs.
Brisbane Blacks is an independent non-profit First Nations publication with the sole purpose of awakening the Black CONSCIENCE, raising Black AWARENESS and articulating the Black RESISTANCE. The editorial team consists of Boe Spearim (Gamilaraay) and Callum Clayton-Dixon (Nganyaywana). We thank all interviewees, contributors, distributors and the National Tertiary Education Union [printing] for helping to make Brisbane Blacks a reality. If you have any questions about Brisbane Blacks or would like to contribute content, call 0428 152 777 or 0424 610 492 and send an email to brisbaneblacksmedia@ gmail.com
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THE WAR ON TERRA
Despite their best efforts, from oil spills to nuclear meltdowns, the Western colonial empire was not successful in bringing about the apocalypse in 2012. But don’t lose faith, as they may yet be able to make it happen. Here we’re aiming to establish where the best progress is being made in shattering what’s left of humanity’s relationship with this planet. What better place to start with than Australia? We can assess the results of ‘civilization’ after two hundred years of colonization. We’ve got the worst polluting power station in the world. Victoria’s Hazelwood, established in the 60s, is a brown-coal fuelled power station which will continue operating until 2031. Mining operations are expanding across the country, from coal and gold to uranium and iron. Industry is carving channels through the Great Barrier
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Reef with mass dredging, ravaging the Kimberly, thieving tonnes of sand from North Stradbroke Island and planning big to exploit South Australia’s recently discovered oil stockpile – all in the name of profit and economic development. To top it all off, they’ve unlocked the gates of hell with coal seam gas mining. Alongside the USA and Canada, Australia is also the world’s biggest polluter per capita. “It’s true we’ve invaded and taken the land away, but the natives weren’t even using it. Sounds like fair game. They barely scratched the terrain, and now we’ve got all this to our name!”
Since the advent of colonization, Australia’s government and industries have provided ground-breaking progress towards wholesale environmental catastrophe. So what’s their secret? How have they accomplished this?
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“Be civilized, like you’re above, not part of everything. Whatever you do, don’t learn from history. Wage war on mother Earth – the WAR ON TERRA!”
Politicians, along with handpicked ‘Aboriginal leaders’, continue to discharge rhetoric about how important mining and industry is for economic development in First Nations communities. Economic ‘development’ implies exploitation and the need for so-called progress. On the other hand, economic independence involves selfdetermination on OUR TERMS. Editor of Black Nation Ross Watson (Kungulu/Birrigubba) talked about Land Rights being “a spiritual and economic base” but “not in a profit and loss way”. He deemed it to be “the opportunity to once again become a self-determining people” and believed it is “our right to refuse mining on any part of our land”.
the WAR ON TERRA
BrisbaneBlacks ISSUE 1 - August 22, 2013
awakening the Black CONSCIENCE | raising Black AWARENESS | articulating the Black RESISTANCE