Foxy and others,

The notion of 'terra nullius' was absurd even earlier cases distinguished between owned and occupied. I agree.

While different clans would have had / do have different traditions:

Dreaming seems significant. Some anthropologists hold that the clanspersons doe not own the Land, rather the Land owns them, especially if there have territorial [usually patrimonial] ancestors involved and one is were born to the Land.

By that definition, I am an indigenous Australian person, as my grand father was born in Australia (1873), may late father (1911) and me (1952). I have ancestoral links to Bendigo, Shepparton and inner Sydney. I was born at Newtown.

To a truly traditional believer of the Dreaming, I have ancestors and I am owned by the Sydney region and also have ancestoral Dreaming links to Victoria; yet, my ethnicity is Celtic & Norman-French.

Curious?

Sadly, my academic doesn't help people in need. One can only hope the Government does more.

Hi Steel.

Dual government could be a good way to go. But till then, there's much soul searching to be done. Indigenous Australians have suffered and continue to suffer. So before any talk about leadership, there should be acceptance of responsibility.

Response to "TurnRightThenLeft".

The past is still with us today. Inhumanity towards others can not and should not be forgotten. In another way, we owe it to ourselves. Should not the truth be spoken, no matter how barbaric?

Glad to see some of us are coming to grips with the quintessential aspects of Aboriginal life! (tick for Oliver :)

" The patrilineal descent group did, it is true, have a right to hold ceremonies on the land and to visit its sacred places."

Indeed!
Gen 13:18 "So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD."

Gen 14:13 Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram.

This sums up 'Aboriginal ownership' in a nutshell... Holy/Sacred places, loose alliances with other tribal groups.

It was "occupation" not 'ownership'.

There WAS 'Ownership'...but it was not Abrahams... yet, he still had 'sacred places' etc. Then...this:

23:17 So Ephron's field in Machpelah near Mamre—both the field and the cave in it, and all the trees within the borders of the field—was deeded.(To Abraham)

In this we can see both 'occupation/sacred sites/ownership' all intermingled and..not in conflict.

Oliver touched on a MOST significant point

"the Land owned THEM"...

AAAAH... getting close now.. consider how this mindset may effect the indigenous person who observes that the land (which owns HIM) is now owned/controlled by others... whites?

I can't speculate too far without evidence, but I can surely say it would have a serious impact on their outlook.

Bottom line,
1/ Anthropological investigation will greatly assist in unravelling the issues at stake.

2/ Spiritual renewal (Christian or otherwise) will replace the mindset which under the present circumstances is socially and culturally debilitating.

"Self determination" can never be more than within the context of the present legal system. (see what happened to Carthage when Rome allowed them 'self determination' even within strict borders after a final (Rome thought) military defeat.

Hi Foxy,

You are right. Its an absolute disgrace. Our Human Rights track record puts us up there with some of the worst attrocities commited. Without a Treaty, the First peoples of this land can not begin to heal. Denying what has happened does not allow mourning to take place. Furthermore, it maintains our shame.

Dear Haralambos,

Thank You for your kind words. As the famous journalist John Pilger wrote, "I have been writing about and filming the struggle of the Aboriginal people for more than thirty years, and I am still moved and shocked by the unresolved apartheid behind the postcard.

A universal breaking of silence is exemplified in the Aboriginal struggle. The reawakening among many Aborigines, in politics, the law and the arts especially, is the achievement of some of the most tenacious and courageous activists anywhere. They are Rennaisance men and women, who face one of the most intransigent and meanest political establishments. Sometimes, emerging from yet another meeting with nodding politicians, they lose heart; and, like so many of their young people, die by their own hand. Rob Riley, a courageous Indigenous Leader, was one who died this way.

Charlie Perkins, Australia's Martin Luther King, lived past the age of sixty, an amazing achievement for one whose people more often than not die in their thirties and forties. It was Charlie who led the 'freedom rides' of the sixties into Australia's equivalent of the American Deep South, chaining himself to the turnstiles of swimming pools that refused to admit black children.

They all belong to what the great American reporter Martha Gellhorn called, "an old and unending worldwide company, the men and women of conscience and struggle." Some are famous like Mandela, but most are little known in the West.

"They know, the whites know... the things that most clearly and distincively portray Australia to the world are Aboriginal things. They will say, 'We're happy to have your world-renowed Bangara Dance Theatre, but we don't want anything to do with political organisations fighting for land rights. And, by the way, you're not going to make us feel guilty, because it's got nothing to do with this generation.'

John Howard said that all the time... Today, no living Australian can claim innocence, because Parliament has enacted the Native Title Amendment Act on behalf of the majority of this country...