Aboriginal Tent Embassy

The Aboriginal Tent Embassy, 1972 Land is the right to ownership of a country. What does land mean to Aboriginals? Aboriginals have a strong spiritual connection with land, Aboriginal law and spirituality is intertwined with their land, the creation, The people and overall this forms their culture and sovereignty. For them, the land is their mother, and steeper is their cultural responsibility to take care of it. But the aboriginal people constantly struggled for their land because they were not granted the same rights that the Australians, as a result they fought for what they knew was their land. Land rights had been argued, challenged and protested for years. But for the first time in 1971, the aboriginals had taken the issue of land rights
As the new year started, on January 25th, Prime minister William McMahon announced that instead of granting Aboriginals title to their land, his government would ask the aboriginals to apply for new fifty-year general purpose leases and prove that they would make reasonable and economic use of it. The Aboriginals had no title to mineral and forestry rights. After hearing this statement, Aboriginal activists met in Sydney and decided a response. Ideas went around regarding a symbolic protest and a suggestion had been made that an “Embassy” was the one way to achieve, what they wanted. So a core group from- “Redfern black power movement” decided to send four Aboriginals to Canberra to fight against McMahon’s decision. This was the reason for the erection of The Aboriginal Tent Embassy. The four activists Michael Anderson, Billy Craige, Tony Coorey and Bertie Williams were driven to Canberra by Tribune photographer- Noel Hazzard on January 25TH, 1972. At Canberra, the four activists were provided with a beach umbrella and materials for placards by a local academic. The Beach umbrella was erected on the laws of old Parliament house, Canberra in the early hours of January 25th. The encampment was brilliantly named as “Embassy” By Tony Coorey, and a sign
As a result, people travelled from aboriginal communities and organisations to help keep the fight going, Activists such as Roberta Sykes, Paul Coe, John Newfong and many others joined and supporters from across Victoria and Queensland joined to keep the fight going. The Beach umbrella was replaced with tents. On February 5th, 1972, The Aboriginals filed a petition demanding; Full Aboriginal control and ownership of the Northern Territory; ownership of all reserves and some city areas across Australia; Preservation of all sacred lands and ownership of mineral rights; Payment of $6 billion and a percentage of the yearly gross national income. The government was taken aback by surprise. The numbers of people kept on increasing, On February 22nd, 1972, when parliament was in session, a rally took place for land rights, 60 protestors attended the rally. It stated that “ the aboriginals were making a symbolic stand against all injustices, it was an occasion for stressing ‘Blackness’. The tents grew from a few to eight and by April, about 2000 supporters were on the lawns. Billy Craige quoted ‘In 1972 the tent embassy really highlighted to me what sort of strength Aboriginal people have got when we all come together in unity.’ While all this was going on, the Government was hastily drafting a law