38 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
38 lines
2.0 KiB
Markdown
The **Aboriginal Tent Embassy** is a [protest
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camp](Protest_Camp "wikilink") located in Canberra,
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[Australia](Australia "wikilink") outside parliament house. Established
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in 1972, it has survived for nearly 50 years and continues to advocate
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for [Aboriginal Australians](Aboriginal_Australians "wikilink").
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## History
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In response to the refusal to recognise aboriginal land rights, four
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Aboriginal men ([Michael Anderson](Michael_Anderson "wikilink"), [Billy
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Craigie](Billy_Craigie "wikilink"), Tony Coorey and Bertie Williams)
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arrived in Canberra from Sydney on the 26th of January, 1972 and planted
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a beach umbrella on the lawn in front of Parliament House. Soon several
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tents emerged and Aboriginal people and non-indigenous supporters came
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from all parts of Australia to join the protest. In Feburary the embassy
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presented a list of demands to the Australian government:
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- Control of the Northern Territory as a State within the Commonwealth
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of Australia; the parliament in the Northern Territory to be
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predominantly Aboriginal with title and mining rights to all land
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within the Territory.
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- Legal title and mining rights to all other presently existing
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reserve lands and settlements throughout Australia.
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- The preservation of all sacred sites throughout Australia.
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- Legal title and mining rights to areas in and around all Australian
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capital cities.
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- Compensation money for lands not returnable to take the form of a
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down-payment of six billion dollars and an annual percentage of the
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gross national income.
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The police deemed the embassy a [squat](Squatting "wikilink") and
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evicted it, but three days later, it was retaken and the
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[police](police "wikilink") could not retake it. It was destroyed in a
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storm in 1974 but quickly rebuilt, and was moved to a house in the
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nearby suburb of Red Hill, but abandoned in 1977. It was only in 1992
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that it was re-established, it has since been subject to many arson
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attacks from unknown figures (likely white supremacists or undercover
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police). |