Newsletter date: 15 November 2012
Last updated: 17 November 2012 (to include funeral notice)
Contents:
* The Wire: Influential tent embassy activist passes away [Isabel Coe]
* Funeral Notice for Aunty Isabell Edie Coe
* Video: 30th anniversary of the 1982 Stolenwealth Games protests
* Background to the Aboriginal sovereignty movement
* iPetitions: Darug Tribe to regain recognition as traditional owners of Blacktown
* Interview with Shirley Nirrpurranydji: Strong community bonds the key to Indigenous student health
* Interview with Tammy Solonec, National Congress Director working with the Justice Working Group
* Background to National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
* Patricia Karvelas: Racism link to poor mental health
* Jan Mayman: On Our Watch: The death of John Pat
* Michael Brull: Racism stains NT govt attempts to 'clean up the streets'
* Greens Rachel Siewert: United approach needed to tackle effects of alcohol abuse
* Background to 'Stronger Futures' new NT Intervention laws
* Background to the Northern Territory (NT) Intervention
* Other articles
* THE WIRE: INFLUENTIAL TENT EMBASSY ACTIVIST PASSES AWAY [ISOBEL COE]
- Audio Interview
The Wire: Influential tent embassy activist passes away
Produced by Tim Roxburgh
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=9844
12 Nov 12: "Many campaigners for indigenous sovereignty are today mourning the death of the influential activist Isabel Coe, who passed away on Saturday. Coe was heavily involved in supporting the Canberra tent embassy after it was established in 1972. Campaigners say that Isabel Coe was instrumental in ensuring that the tent embassy was reinvigorated in the later years of the Hawke government when it was rumoured that the site would be shut down. Michael Anderson was one of the co-founders of the original tent embassy in Canberra. He told Tim Roxburgh that Isobel Coe would be remembered as one of the strongest and most forthright campaigners for her people. ...
Featured in story: Michael Anderson - co-founder of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy"
- In Memorium
Sovereign Union: Isabel Coe - Lest we Forget
Aunty Isabel Coe - Rest in Peace
http://nationalunitygovernment.org/node/441
"My name is Isabell Coe. I'm a Wiradjuri Ngunnawal woman. I'm a mother and I'm a grandmother. Well, when I'm in Canberra, that's the only place I stay. It's always at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. Of course, it's a part of my traditional country. I've got a special obligation to keep the Aboriginal Tent Embassy going. And I'll be keeping it going until I die. Until our Aboriginal sovereignty is recognised in our country. This country is our birth right. Always was and always will be Aboriginal land.
... and let's get it right. We're protesting. We're not there to look pretty for the government. We're there protesting because this government won't do its job. It won't end this genocidal war against our people. We're dying. We're dying all over the country. We've been locked up in prisons. Men, women and children. It's the only place where we are a majority." Isabell Coe, 25 November 2005
- Related Audio
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
http://caama.com.au/radio#tabs-6
http://caama.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/am-13-11.mp3
13 Nov 12: "Tributes are flowing following the death of veteran Aboriginal rights campaigner Isabel Coe a Wiradjuri woman who spent a lifetime campaigning for her people."
- Related News
newsTracker: NSWALC pays tribute to a tireless activist
http://tracker.org.au/2012/11/nswalc-pays-tribute-to-a-tireless-activist/
13 Nov 12: "NEW SOUTH WALES: The NSW Aboriginal Land Council has expressed its deepest sympathies to the Coe family, following the passing of prominent Aboriginal activist Isabel Coe over the weekend. Aunty Isabel was born in Cowra. A stalwart of the Aboriginal rights struggle, and a leading figure in the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, she was also the lead litigant in Isabel Coe vs the Commonwealth, an unsuccessful but important legal challenge which sought to assert the sovereignty of the Wiradjuri nation."
Canberra Times: Tent embassy fighter known for passion
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/national/tent-embassy-fighter-known-for-...
13 Nov 12: "Australia is mourning the death of one of the nation's leading indigenous rights campaigners. Aboriginal elder Isabel Coe died in Cowra on Saturday aged 61, following a long battle with ill-health. Ms Coe was a prominent figure at the Aboriginal tent embassy near Old Parliament House and was instrumental in ensuring the controversial embassy remained there. ... Ms Coe, a Wiradjuri woman, defended those who in January burnt the Australian flag on the steps of Parliament House. ... " ... And then she set up a tent embassy in Cowra in recent years, too.''" By Chris Johnson
Koori Mail: Tributes for a warrior
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
12 Nov 12: "WIRADJERI activist and original member of the 1972 Aboriginal Tent Embassy Isabell Coe has died. Tributes are flowing for the 61-year-old, who had been unwell for some time before she passed away at home near Cowra on Saturday. She is being remembered as a warrior and staunch fighter for her people."
Activists pay tribute to Aunty Isabel Coe
newsTracker: http://tracker.org.au/2012/11/activists-pay-tribute-to-aunty-isabel-coe/
9 News: http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/2012/11/12/15/02/coe-lauded-for-role...
13 Nov 12: "Aboriginal activist Isabel Coe was a standout among her contemporaries, Aboriginal Tent Embassy co-founder Michael Anderson says. Ms Coe, a Wiradjuri Ngunnawal woman, died on Saturday. ... Mr Anderson said Ms Coe was there when the idea was born to take a protest to Canberra, which later spawned the tent embassy. ... Mr Anderson said her death, aged 61, was anticipated. But he was saddened it coincided with the 40th year of tent embassy activism. ... Ms Coe was also instrumental in establishing the Redfern Aboriginal Children's Service."
* FUNERAL NOTICE FOR AUNTY ISABELL EDIE COE
- Funeral Notice
Event: Mon 19 November 2012: West Cowra, NSW
Funeral Notice for Isabell Edie Coe
"We the Wiradjuri people of the upper Bila Gallari (Erambie)
declare Sorry Business for our well respected Wiradjuri
Warrior, Isabell Edie Coe, Who now travels with our
Ancestors, her husband William Billy Craigie, daughter
Eileen, father Les, sister Mary and the many loved ones who
have also passed before.
Our family will now send her the Wiradjuri way.
We acknowledge all of the lives that Isabell has touched
through her life and the legacy that she has given to many.
We now follow in her footsteps and she will be greatly
missed until we meet again."
"Funeral arrangements are;
10:30am Monday 19th November 2012
Erambie Mission, West Cowra NSW
The service will be held in the park at the entrance of the Erambie Mission.
For people who wish to attend, the ceremony will be
conducted under Wiradjuri Lore and practice."
Event details: http://nationalunitygovernment.org/sites/default/files/sites/default/fil...
* VIDEO: 30TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1982 STOLENWEALTH GAMES PROTESTS
- Video
YouTube: The Brisbane Blacks are Back! 30th anniversary of the 1982 Stolenwealth Games protests
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6ZjyH9Q8WYA
14 Oct 12
* BACKGROUND TO THE ABORIGINAL SOVEREIGNTY MOVEMENT:
Last updated: 13 November 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-aboriginal-sovereig...
* iPETITIONS: DARUG TRIBE TO REGAIN RECOGNITION AS TRADITIONAL OWNERS OF BLACKTOWN
- Petition
Darug Tribe to regain recognition as traditional owners of Blacktown
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/darug-tribe/?utm_medium=email&utm_sou...
"The Petition:
The Blacktown City Council no longer acknowledges the Darug people as the traditional owners of the land upon which it sits. A recent policy decision has suspended the recognition of the Darug people as the continuing traditional custodians of the land, this has been done without consultation with the Darug community. This political indecency has outraged many members of the Darug community who are calling for the reversal of this controversial decision by Council. Please sign, comment and share to raise awareness of this wrong-doing and make Council accountable for their actions by having them be made to reinstate policy which pays due respect to the Darug people as the continuing traditional custodians of the land they sit upon."
- Related News
Blacktown Advocate: Blacktown Council suspends recognition of Darug Aborigines as Blacktown's traditional owners
http://blacktown-advocate.whereilive.com.au/news/story/blacktown-council...
9 Oct 12: "BLACKTOWN Council has stopped recognising the Darug tribe as the traditional owners of Blacktown. The move comes amid accusations those recognised as Darug elders were committing "ethnic fraud" and had no legitimate claim to being descendants of Blacktown's Aborigines. Darug Tribal Corporation (DTC) secretary Aunty Sandra Lee said she was given no warning of the decision at last week's extraordinary meeting to suspend the council's indigenous policy and had been left "stunned"."
- Related Audio
Living Black: Council Stops Darug Nation Acknowledgement
By Michelle Lovegrove
http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/aboriginal/highlight/page/id/241171/t...
9 Nov 12: "Blacktown Council in Western Sydney has officially amended its Acknowledgement to Country, leaving out the Darug Nation as tradiational owners. For many generations, the Darug Nation has been recognised as the traditional owners of a large part of the area now known as Western Sydney. They were originally large groups of clans united by the common language, Darug. ... One senior Darug elder, Secretary of the Darug Tribal Aboriginal Corporation - Aunty Sandra Lee - is publicly bearing the brunt of this decision, but she is by no means the only person affected. Aunty Sandra says that the Corporation had no idea about what Blacktown Council had done, until a Journalist told them."
* INTERVIEW WITH SHIRLEY NIRRPURRANYDJI: STRONG COMMUNITY BONDS THE KEY TO INDIGENOUS STUDENT HEALTH
- Audio Interview
The Wire: Strong community bonds the key to Indigenous student health
Produced by Lisa Burns
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=9853
14 Nov 12: "Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health was again in the spotlight today, on day two of Congress Lowitja 2012. The Congress aims to share ideas and information on improving Indigenous health, by bringing together keynote speakers and health experts from Australia and around the world. Shirley Nirrpurranydji comes from a remote community in Arnhem Land. She spoke for the first time at the Congress and has been looking into how building strong relationships between schools and the local community can have a positive effect on Aboriginal students. ...
Featured in story: Shirley Nirrpurranydji, Researcher from Arnhem Land"
* INTERVIEW WITH TAMMY SOLONEC, NATIONAL CONGRESS DIRECTOR WORKING WITH THE JUSTICE WORKING GROUP:
- Audio Interview
Indigenous radio station 98.9FM Brisbane:
Tammy Solonec
http://www.989fm.com.au/category/podcasts/lets-talk/
13 Nov 12: "National Congress Director working with the Justice Working Group which has just released the National Justice Policy for Public Comment."
Listen to this interview on-line:
http://www.989fm.com.au/podcasts/lets-talk/tammy-solonec/
See:
National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples:
National Justice Policy for Public Comment:
http://nationalcongress.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/CongressJustic...
* BACKGROUND TO NATIONAL CONGRESS OF AUSTRALIA'S FIRST PEOPLES:
Last updated: 5 May 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/05/background-to-the-national-congress-o...
* PATRICIA KARVELAS: RACISM LINK TO POOR MENTAL HEALTH
- News
Australian: Racism link to poor mental health
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/racism-link-...
14 Nov 12: "A NEW study has found evidence of a link between experiences of racism and poorer mental health. The report, on the mental health impacts of racial discrimination in Victorian Aboriginal communities, will be launched today by Dr Helen Szoke, the Australian Race Discrimination Commissioner. The study looked at coping strategies and found that almost 80 per cent of those surveyed avoided situations where people predicted that racism might occur and that a large portion of the sample did not feel safe to participate in activities that many other Australians take for granted." By Patricia Karvelas
- Related News
Age: Study reveals racial abuse of Aboriginal Victorians
http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/study-reveals-racial-abuse-of-aborigin...
15 Nov 12: "MOST Aboriginal Victorians are subject to racist attacks, with 97 per cent reporting they were the target of verbal or physical abuse or discrimination in the past year. A survey of 755 Aboriginal adults in four Victorian communities, released by VicHealth on Wednesday, found more than 70 per cent of respondents were the target of eight or more racist incidents. It found a person's risk of psychological distress increased with the number of racist incidents, and half of respondents reported high or very high levels of psychological distress." By Kate Hagan
Koori Mail: Racism hurts
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php?page=Current+Edition
14 Nov 12: "ABORIGINAL Victorians suffer appalling levels of racism which can lead to severe psychological distress, a new report shows. The ‘Mental health impacts of racial discrimination in Victorian Aboriginal communities’ report is based on the recent Aboriginal Experiences of Racism survey, which canvassed 755 Aboriginal Victorians.The report, to be launched today at Congress Lowitja in Melbourne, says almost every person who took part in the survey reported experiencing racism in the preceding 12-month period. Lowitja Institute chairperson Pat Anderson said she was not surprised by the findings."
* JAN MAYMAN: ON OUR WATCH: THE DEATH OF JOHN PAT
- Analysis / Opinion
agendaTracker: On Our Watch: The death of John Pat
http://tracker.org.au/2012/11/on-our-watch-the-death-of-john-pat/
13 Nov 12: "NATIONAL: The death in custody of Aboriginal teenager John Pat shocked a nation, and journalist JAN MAYMAN*, who won a Gold Walkley for her reporting on the case. But what has changed since 1983, she asks. ... John Pat was 16 years old when he died in West Australian police custody in 1983. His death led to national outrage, and a long, costly Royal Commission into deaths in custody that bitterly disappointed many Australians. From October 1987, it spent over three and a half years and $40 million investigating 99 deaths in custody, 32 of them in WA." By Jan Mayman, a white journalist whose life has been immeasurably enriched by friendships with the original Australians
* MICHAEL BRULL: RACISM STAINS NT GOVT ATTEMPTS TO 'CLEAN UP THE STREETS'
- Analysis / Opinion
agendaTracker: Guest Tracker: Racism stains NT govt attempts to 'clean up the streets'
http://tracker.org.au/2012/11/guest-tracker-racism-stains-nt-govt-attemp...
13 Nov 12: "NATIONAL: MICHAEL BRULL* evaluates the NT government’s new position on grog following the findings of the Kwementyaye Briscoe inquest. In some countries, the institutionalisation of racism would be controversial. In a civilised country, where racism was regarded as a bad thing, one would expect a public outcry. Australia, however, is a different type of country. We saw this with the passing of the Intervention for five years, and then Stronger Futures for a further ten years. And we are now witnessing it with the latest moves of the Northern Territory government." By Michael Brull, studying a Juris Doctor at UNSW, published in Tracker, the Indigenous Law Bulletin, National Times, ABC Drum, Overland
* GREENS RACHEL SIEWERT: UNITED APPROACH NEEDED TO TACKLE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ABUSE
- Media Release
Greens Rachel Siewert: United approach needed to tackle effects of alcohol abuse
http://rachel-siewert.greensmps.org.au/content/media-releases/united-app...
12 Nov 12: "Australian Greens Senator Rachel Siewert, spokesperson on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander issues, says investment in holistic, community driven programs is needed to address the alarming impacts of foteal alcohol spectrum disorder throughout Aboriginal communities. ...
"There is no one answer to reducing the impact of alcohol, and importantly the issues being raised cannot be effectively addressed through the top-down action seen in the Northern Territory.
"Unlike the approaches being taken under the NT Intervention, we need to start working with communities to implement a range of measures to reduce the harm being caused. These must be community owned and driven initiatives, such as we have seen in Fitzroy Crossing. [Senator Siewert said] ... "
- Related Event
Event: 16 November 2012: Rapid Creek, Darwin, NT
Grog in the Territory:
Summit on alcohol policy and its impact on
Aboriginal people and communities
Sponsored by:
Aboriginal Peak Organisations Northern Territory (APO NT)
APO NT is an alliance comprising:
* the Central Land Council (CLC),
* Northern Land Council (NLC),
* North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA),
* Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service (CAALAS) &
* Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance of the NT (AMSANT)
Event details: http://apont.org.au/
APO NT MR: http://apont.org.au/attachments/article/46/121029-Media%20release-CC-Gro...
* BACKGROUND TO 'STRONGER FUTURES' NEW NT INTERVENTION LAWS:
Last updated: 11 November 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-stronger-futures-new-nt...
* BACKGROUND TO THE NORTHERN TERRITORY (NT) INTERVENTION:
Last updated: 13 November 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/22/background-to-the-northern-territory-...
* OTHER ARTICLES:
- Analysis / Opinion
agendaTracker: Backtracker: The soul of Redfern
http://tracker.org.au/2012/11/backtracker-the-soul-of-redfern/
15 Nov 12: "NATIONAL: The widely publicised dispute about who wrote Paul Keating’s famous 1992 Redfern speech left out the Aboriginal contribution, writes BRIAN JOHNSTONE*. Sol Bellear is a name known to most Aboriginal people in New South Wales and throughout Australia. Luckily, Sol occupies a work space only a couple of metres from this columnist in NSWALC*’s Sydney office. He’s a reassuring presence; a constant reminder of a man who has spent his entire adult life seeking to advance the rights and aspirations of his people." By Brian Johnstone, a Walkley and Human Rights award-winning journalist
- Video
SBS World News: Alternative location sought on Muckaty Station for nuclear waste dump
Source: Craig Quartermaine, NITV News
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1709387/Alternative-location-sought-o...
8 Nov 12: "News is starting to surface from yesterday's closed meeting on a possible alternative nuclear waste dump site on Muckaty Station in the Northern Territory. The Northern Land Council called traditional owners together to propose an different location to the original site which is embroiled in a legal fight. The nomination of the first proposed site on Muckaty Station is being challenged in the Federal Court. Traditional owner Dianne Stokes says she was shut out of the meeting, and she's concerned about plans for a second site."
See:
WGAR News: ABC: NLC in talks on additional nuclear waste dump site (10 Nov 12)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2012/11/10/wgar-news-pm-gillard-on-the-call-for-...
- News
National Indigenous Radio Service: Women's needs ignored in battle for self-determination: Academic
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7622-womens-needs-ignored-in-bat...
14 Nov 12: "A prominent Indigenous law academic says efforts towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander self-determination must be more inclusive of women's needs and rights. Professor Megan Davis gave the annual Narrm Oration at the University of Melbourne last week. Professor Davis told the audience the experience of Aboriginal men and women are often very different and Aboriginal women are the most marginalised group in Australia."
ABC: 'Third World' remote community housing condemned
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-14/scullion-on-bad-community-housing-...
14 Nov 12: "A Country Liberals senator says the standard of housing in remote Northern Territory communities would not be accepted anywhere else in Australia. Senator Nigel Scullion this week toured several Territory communities in central Australia, including Papunya, Utopia and Ampilatwatja. He says a federally funded Indigenous housing program (SIHIP) has not delivered what it promised and people are still sharing houses with ten or 12 others. "If it (SIHIP) intended to reduce the number of people per house, certainly it hasn't been enough even to notice," he said."
See:
WGAR News: Senator Nigel Scullion [Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs]: Labor bureaucracy fails Indigenous Australians (13 Nov 12)
[scroll down page] http://indymedia.org.au/2012/11/12/wgar-news-council-stops-darug-nation-...
- News
Australian: Liberals fall in line on 'act of recognition'
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/indigenous/liberals-fal...
14 Nov 12: "THE Coalition has dropped its hardline opposition to the Gillard government's "act of recognition" bill acknowledging indigenous Australians and will vote with Labor to avoid a dispute. Tony Abbott wrote to Julia Gillard in September suggesting they both provide statements to parliament declaring their support for a referendum on indigenous recognition in the Constitution sometime in the next term."
Koori Mail: Process under attack
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php?page=Current+Edition
14 Nov 12: "OPPONENTS of the ongoing intervention in Northern Territory Aboriginal communities say the democratic process has failed Aboriginal people. A new book by the group ‘concerned Australians’ claims the Federal Government’s consultation process was a sham and that the laws could fail if tested in the High Court. The book, A Decision to Discriminate, Aboriginal Disempowerment in the Northern Territory, was launched in Melbourne last Wednesday."
National Indigenous Radio Service: 'Failure to listen' highlighted in new book
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7617-failure-to-listen-highlight...
13 Nov 12: "The head of the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry says a new book documenting the Federal Government's development of the Stronger Futures in the Northern Territory legislation shows the policies are flawed. Legislation was passed earlier this year to extend Howard Government Intervention policies in the Territory, including welfare quarantining and alcohol management. Graeme Mundine from the Aboriginal Catholic Ministry told the CBAA the book, 'A Decision to Discriminate', offers evidence of strong resistance to the policy among Aboriginal communities."
See:
WGAR News: Launch of 'A Decision to Discriminate: Aboriginal Disempowerment in the Northern Territory' (9 Nov 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/11/09/wgar-news-launch-of-a-decision-to-dis...
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http://indymedia.org.au/2012/04/30/about-wgar-news-working-group-for-abo...
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'WGAR News' monitors the media, including alternative media, focusing on:
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WGAR: Working Group for Aboriginal Rights (Australia)
WGAR Website: http://wgar.wordpress.com/