Aboriginal Tent Embassy

The Tent Embassy ( Aboriginal Tent Embassy ) is a politically controversial, semi - temporary tent structure, which was built in 1972 and is intended to give weight to the claim of the Aborigines on their rights. Derived from this Zeltbau the term also stands for a part of the political movement of the Aborigines in the Tent Embassy activists with signs and tents on the lawn of the Old Parliament House in Canberra, the Australian capital, manifested. From the Australian Government, this has not been recognized as an official message; However, they initiated the change in attitude of the official Australian of the land rights of Aborigines.

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The Tent Embassy stands for the independence of the Aborigines. The assets include land rights and mining rights on Aboriginal land, legal and political control of certain sacred sites; Compensation for land that had been stolen from them. These claims were rejected by all the former and current governments have so far.

The tent was also used as a place to protest against other issues, such as against uranium mining at Jabiluka in the Northern Territory during the 1990s. Currently a Group Mature sits down, like a Neville Williams of the Tent Embassy, for the traditional country of the Wiradjuri Lake Cowal on the west of New South Wales to prevent the mining of gold.

This group describes itself as a message that represents the displaced peoples, which is not accepted, the Australian government.

History

On Australia Day 1972, the Tent Embassy was established to raise awareness about the rejection of the Native Title of the government under McMahon attention and to protest against the proposal of a new leasing rule. This saw before, to make leases on Aboriginal depends on whether these " have the intention and ability to make reasonable economic and social use of the land ," the; also all rights should be excluded, they had to land with minerals and forests until then.

The Tent Embassy is intermittently since then, continuously since 1992. Some of the personalities who were involved in the construction are: Gary Foley, Chicka Dixon, Pearl Gibbs and Paul Coe.

In February 1972, the Tent Embassy presented a list of demands:

• Control of the Northern Territory as an independent state within the Commonwealth of Australia; Parliament of the Northern Territory mainly occupied by Aborigines and a secure legal claim to the land
• Title and mining rights to all reserves and Aboriginal settlements in Australia
• Preservation of all sacred places of the Aborigines in Australia
• Title and mining rights to Aboriginal areas in and around the main cities
• Compensation payments for land that can not be returned: payment of 6 billion Australian dollars and an annual percentage of gross national product.

The claims were rejected and in July 1972 moved to the police removed the tents and arrested eight people.

In October 1973, led 70 protesters Aborigines by a sit-in on the steps of Old Parliament House and built the Tent Embassy again. The sit-in ended when the Prime Minister Gough Whitlam consented to meet with the protesters. In February 1975, the activist Charles Perkins negotiated with the government on a temporary removal of the message in the case of a concession from the Australian government over land rights. In March 1976, the Embassy of the Aborigines was established in a house in the suburb of Red Hill, but closed in 1977 again. For a short time the message as " National Aboriginal Government" on Capital Hill, the site of the future new Parliament Houses built. On the 20th anniversary of its founding, the Tent Embassy on the lawns of Old Parliament House was built. Although she remained a continuing source of controversy, since it is on this site.

Apart from the political pressure the Tent Embassy was exposed to several violent attacks; so she was pelted several times with Molotov cocktails. There have been a number of arson attacks, of which the most destructive in June 2003 led to the loss of a container for a row in which the archives of the Tent Embassy of the past 31 years was.

Despite the disputes, the Tent Embassy was established in 1995 listed as the only place in the Natural Heritage Trust, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander represented in their political struggle.

As the 2000 Summer Olympics were held in Sydney, built a second Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the floor of the Games. At times, there was in the past years, a tent embassy in Victoria Park in Sydney.

A symbol of the Tent Embassy is the so-called sacred fire, which represents peace, justice and sovereignty. The sacred fire burns since 1998.

Tent Embassy in art

14 years after the establishment of the Tent Embassy, in 1986, painted the picture Robert Campbell Junior Aboriginal Embassy with transparent nude figures with a recognizable esophagus, which symbolizes the vision of the Aborigines by the whites with their interests. He was saying, that the Aborigines were dispossessed and that they be deprived of the rights to their own land. This and other of his works took place in 1987, more attention because he alluded very clearly critical of the ruling racial segregation, and the views of Aboriginal people over the whites.

Future of the Tent Embassy

In August 2005, the Federal Government announced that it would review the tent embassy. They consulted with the Aboriginal communities throughout Australia to find out what form should have the message in the future. The chairman of the group " Mutual Mediations " was Minister Jim Lloyd, other members were older Aboriginal from all over Australia. Professional mediators such as Callum Campbell and Tom Stodulka were included in order to obtain views on the subject in the process of promoting and advising indigenous and non - indigenous Australians. In December 2005, Jim Lloyd issued a press release; therefore no one will live in the embassy and the tent will be replaced by a permanent structure. A No Camping sign was erected, and the Minister Lloyd said that no residents would be removed against their will.

The message persists. From there, the annual Corroboree for Sovereignty, which in a traditional meeting of the Aborigines has its origin in the North West of Australia, planned. It will be held on Australia Day held on 26 January, a day that is called by the Aborigines as " Invasion Day" or " Survival Day".