Aboriginal Tent Embassy
The Aboriginal Tent Embassy is a significant symbol of protest and activism for Aboriginal rights in Australia, first established in 1972. It emerged in response to the Australian government's refusal to return ancestral lands to Aboriginal peoples, opting instead to offer limited lease agreements that many viewed as inadequate and offensive. Initially set up as a makeshift embassy in front of Parliament House in Canberra, the protest aimed to highlight the lack of representation and rights for Aboriginal peoples, asserting their identity as the original inhabitants of the land. The founders' actions drew substantial media attention, and although the initial demands, including land ownership and compensation, were not met, the embassy became a persistent form of protest throughout Australia.
In the years following its inception, the tent embassy has been erected at various locations during significant protests advocating for Aboriginal rights, self-determination, and political representation. In 1992, a permanent tent embassy was established at the original site to honor the legacy of those who fought for Aboriginal rights. The Aboriginal Tent Embassy continues to serve as a powerful reminder of the ongoing struggles and resilience of Aboriginal communities in their quest for equality and recognition.
Aboriginal Tent Embassy
The Aboriginal tent embassy was a type of protest first employed in 1972. At the time, Australian Aboriginal peoples had continuously been struggling for rights equal to those of white Australians. This included equal wages, citizenship, government representation, self-determination and the ownership of ancestral lands that were sold without the consent of the Aboriginal peoples who lived on them.
In 1972, the Australian government announced that it would not be returning land to Aboriginal peoples, but would instead offer fifty-year leases to Aboriginal groups that could meet a certain set of qualifications. This offended Aboriginal people across Australia. One group organized a protest in front of Parliament that involved a sit-in protest labelling itself as an embassy. This showed that Aboriginal people were not truly represented in Australian society, instead living as if they were a foreign people residing within another country. Though the protest did not achieve many of its demands, it did bring a significant amount of media and international attention to the Aboriginal peoples’ plight. In the following decades, the tent embassy became a common form of protest against the Australian government’s treatment of Aboriginal peoples.
Background
Britain first made contact with Australia in the eighteenth century. At the time, Australia was populated by Aboriginal peoples. Britain realized that their military would have the advantage of both numbers and technology, then set out to colonize the region. At the time, Britain was struggling with overcrowded prisons. In order to reduce the number of prisoners held in the country, they set up prison colonies throughout Australia.
The colonists immediately took large portions of land for themselves, disrupting the native inhabitants’ lifestyle. The Aboriginal peoples found it difficult to practice their traditional way of life after the disruptions to the ecosystem caused by European farming practices. Many fought for their land, while others compromised and became labourers to remain on their ancestral homes. Throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century, Aboriginal peoples continued to petition the government, seeking the rights to their land.
Some groups, such as the Gurindji, struggled against the government for basic wages. At the time, business owners were allowed to pay Aboriginal workers far less than other workers. The Gurindji people’s cheap labour was a central part of Australia’s cattle industry. They went on a large strike, commonly known as the Wave Hill Walk-Off, in an attempt to secure more favourable treatment. Though they did eventually earn similar pay to their white counterparts, the process was long and difficult.
In 1967, Australia issued a referendum stating that Aboriginal peoples were officially citizens of Australia. This gave Aboriginal peoples a higher status in their struggles over land rights. Many of the Aboriginal peoples’ historic homelands had been sold without their consent.
Overview
In 1972, the Australian government announced that it had rejected returning legal ownership of the lands that previously belonged to indigenous peoples. Instead, the government opted to offer Aboriginal peoples fifty-year leases if they could demonstrate that they had both social and economic uses for it. Additionally, these leases excluded any rights to forestry or mineral deposits that may be found in the region.
After many years of struggling to reclaim their land, many members of the Aboriginal community found this offer infuriating. Many politically active Aboriginal groups began to plan large protests. One group from Redfern, Sydney, sent four people: Michael Anderson, Bertie Williams, Tony Coorey, and Billy Craigie, to Canberra to protest in front of the Parliament House.
The protestors set up a beach umbrella across the street from Parliament, labelled with a sign that said ‘Aboriginal Embassy’. They then commenced a sit-in protest. Aboriginal activists stated that the sign implied that Aboriginals were an allied people in their own land, not truly Australian citizens, and thus required their own embassy to the Australian government.
On February 6, 1972, the unofficial embassy offered a list of demands to the Australian Government. This list included the transfer of the entirety of the Northern Territory to Aboriginal peoples for the formation of an Aboriginal State with an Aboriginal State Parliament. It also included the preservation of all sacred sites across Australia, the ownership and mining rights for all Aboriginal reservations, and compensation for any lands that might not be returned to Aboriginal peoples. This included six billion dollars and a percentage of Australia’s gross national annual income. Gough Whitlam, then Opposition Leader in Parliament, came to the embassy to discuss these demands.
By April of that year, more than eight tents were present alongside the embassy. Both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups sent representatives to assist in the negotiations. Additionally, many local students came to protest in support of the embassy, helping the movement secure media attention. Though the embassy enjoyed wide support from both the Aboriginal community and many foreigners, some white Australians viewed the protest as illegal trespassing on government property.
In May 1972, the government began passing laws that made camping on government land illegal. This led to a police crackdown on the protest, leading to violent clashes and the eventual removal of the tents. Throughout the rest of the year, the tent embassy was repeatedly broken down and rebuilt as an additional form of protest.
Following 1972, the tent embassy became an established form of protest and was erected at several locations across Australia. It was found at major protests for Aboriginal rights, self-determination, and the political representation of Aboriginal peoples. In 1992, in celebration of its twentieth anniversary, a tent embassy was permanently established at the site of the original protest. This tent embassy served as a memorial to the hard work of the Aboriginal protestors of the past.
Bibliography
“Aboriginal Tent Embassy.” Australia, 2020, www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/aboriginal-tent-embassy. Accessed 15 Dec. 2020.
“British Settlement Begins in Australia.” History.com, 2020, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/australia-day. Accessed 15 Dec. 2020.
“Colonial period, 1788 – 1901.” Australian War Memorial, 2020, www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/colonial#:~:text=British%20settlement%20of%20Australia%20began,colonies%20with%20little%20local%20assistance. Accessed 15 Dec. 2020.
“Colonisation.” Australians Together, 2020, australianstogether.org.au/discover/australian-history/colonisation/. Accessed 15 Dec. 2020.
“First Australian Penal Colony Established.” History.com, 2020, www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-australian-penal-colony-established. Accessed 15 Dec. 2020.
Leslie, Tim. “The History of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy.” ABC, 26 Jan. 2012, www.abc.net.au/news/2012-01-27/the-history-of-the-aboriginal-tent-embassy/3796630. Accessed 15 Dec. 2020.
Midena, Kate. “Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra Still ‘the Ground Zero for First Nations People’ Nearly 50 Years On.” ABC, 28 Jun. 2020, www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-29/aboriginal-tent-embassy-a-protest-which-is-always-open/12397696. Accessed 15 Dec. 2020.
“Tent Embassy Formed.” Deadly Story, www.deadlystory.com/page/culture/history/Tent‗Embassy‗formed. Accessed 15 Dec. 2020.