Petition Tag - aboriginal

The Barefoot Rugby League Show has been produced by an Indigenous production company Maling Productions. For the last four years the Panel program profiles Rugby League from The NRL NSW Cup, Intrust Super Cup QLD & Grassroots rugby league. Including visits to remote Aboriginal Communities.

Hosted by Indigenous staff members, Brad Cooke & David Peachey with feature stories covered by Paula Maling.

This program has been the most popular program and highest rating program on The National Indigenous Television service for the past four years.

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One third of the NT population are indigenous and hold the linguistic future of Australia’s Indigenous Languages in their hearts and minds. But cannot alone control of the policies of assimilation to English only imposed on them promoting the death of our 50,000 year old Indigenous language heritage.

Linguistic diversity is part of the diversity of life and the loss of these languages threatens the cultural traditions and the fabric of local knowledge linguistic and biological diversity, making the world more fragile, more vulnerable, with less to hope for in the future.

Article 14.1 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, to which Australia is a signatory, says:

“Indigenous peoples have the right to establish and control their educational systems and institutions providing education in their own languages, in a manner appropriate to their cultural methods of teaching and learning.”

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PLEASE SUPPORT INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO EQUITABLE SUPPORT TO LIVE ON THEIR HOMELANDS AND PASS ON THEIR LANGUAGES.

THE NORTHER TERRITORY HOMELANDS:

The shining light of indigenous opportunity is the 500 homelands across the NT. These homelands are the key to the inter-generational transmission of the languages and culture of the first Australians and unique to this continent.

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Rex Bellotti Junior, at the age of 15, was the victim of a disgusting injustice, committed by Albany officers of the Western Australian Police. It is amazing that he survived being run over by a WA Police 4WD, although he is now crippled for life. Rex Jr. nearly bled to death at the scene, due to a severed femoral artery, tissue was visibly ripped from his leg, and during the thirteen hour trip to provide him with the life saving surgery he so desperately needed, he had to be resuscitated twelve times and he will probably lose his leg.

That in itself is horrific enough, but what makes the Bellotti case all the more alarming is that despite the fact that four WA Police vehicles were on the scene within 90 seconds and there were at least twenty people who witnessed the crash or saw the aftermath, not one witness was interviewed until over a month later (once the media became involved). Out of all those officers present, not one can say what direction they arrived from, there are contradictions between WAPOL records of what time the 'incident' occurred, Rex Jr's location on the road, and not one of those four 2009 model police vehicles were fitted with CCTV or GPS despite that being standard WAPOL issue. The full horrid complexities of this case are appalling.

There has never been a genuine investigation, no compensation has been awarded to Rex Jr., and no criminal charges have been brought against those WA police officers driving the vehicle which hit Rex Jr. or those who have lied in legally binding documents.

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The Map workshops are facilitated by Wisdom in Your Life Enterprises and provide a set of practical tools for improving self-care. The Map focuses on helping participants to be more aware and manage their mental and emotional state so that they can better take care of themselves and others around them.

The workshops are hands-on and suitable for Elders, health professionals and community members. Through art, music, stories, pictures, dance and acting participants learn how to become strong in themselves, their culture and their family.

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Navi Pillay, a former South Africa High Court Judge, is the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She will visit Australia in May.

This follows several years of criticism regarding Australia’s poor human rights record and last year’s visit to Geneva by Aboriginal elders who raised the Northern Territory Intervention with the Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

The Northern Territory Intervention imposed in June 2007, without consultation or the consent of Aboriginal people, continues to be a source of grave injustice. It has overridden the rights of the people, placed their culture and languages in jeopardy while removing their control over their land and communities.

The legislation passed by Parliament in June 2010, Social Security and Other Legislation Amendment (Welfare Reform and Reinstatement of the Racial Discrimination Act) Bill 2009, has entrenched discrimination in Australian law and ensured that the Racial Discrimination Act, reinstated on 31 December 2010, is unable to protect Aboriginal people from measures that discriminate against them.

The UN Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) has recommended to the Australian Government that legislative amendments be made to protect and restore the rights of Northern Territory Aboriginal people including provisions to ensure the Racial Discrimination Act overrides other legislation which may be discriminatory.

You can help by signing this letter requesting Navi Pillay to address these issues with the Government, urging them to turn around the blatant human rights violations embedded in the Northern Territory Intervention.

The closing date for signatures is the 7th May 2011.

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In 2006 the Human Rights Council began reviewing the human rights record of all 192 members of the UN as part of the new Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process. This involves a systematic peer review of all types of human rights in all countries belonging to the UN every four years. The initial review of all countries will be completed in 2011.

On 27 January 2011 Australia was reviewed by a Working Group of the Human Rights Council. Thirty of the 145 recommendations for Australia to improve human rights referred directly to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Many other recommendations will also impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Australia has yet to accept or reject any recommendations choosing instead, to formally respond at the June 2011 session of the Human Rights Council.

This is an opportunity for us as Australians to hold our Government accountable to the international human rights standards accepted by the rest of the world.

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I write on behalf of the Alyawarr people of Central Australia, as authorised by their kinsman and nominated spokesperson, Richard Downs.

The Alyawarr are leading a gathering of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Alice Springs during 6-9 July 2010 to protest against racism and the Intervention, and discuss ways of approaching these issues. They seek your support.

Three years after the Intervention was hurriedly implemented without consultation on the back of the Little Children Are Sacred report, and without incorporating the vast majority of the report’s recommendations, there is little evidence that the Intervention has achieved or will achieve its stated outcomes. The Alyawarr people are protesting against the Intervention as it has worsened their lives and community, and is clearly a racist policy.

The Alyawarr have walked off their prescribed community of Ampilatawatja and set up a protest camp on country. They are fighting for the Intervention to be rolled back, and for Aboriginal people to be allowed to direct their own lives with dignity and respect. They are resisting being pushed from pillar to post by government actions that, whatever their intention, result in further disadvantage, the indignity of compulsory income management and loss of control of their own community.

The Alyawarr elders are seeking your support for the Alyawarr people and the Intervention Walkoff. You can support them in two ways:

· attending or sending a representative/s to the Alice Springs gathering
· writing a letter of support, or agreeing to be a signatory to either of the ones enclosed

The Alyawarr people appreciate your consideration in this matter. Their action is a grass-roots movement, and your support will be significant. As anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, “A small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Find out more:

· Alice Springs gathering, 6-9 July 2010 www.defendingindigenousrights.wordpress.com

· Alyawarr Intervention Walkoff
www.interventionwalkoff.wordpress.com

· Contact Richard Downs on 0428 611 169

Take action:

· Attend the Alice Springs gathering 6-9 July 2010 www.defendingindigenousrights.wordpress.com

· Express your support:
- Write a letter of support. Please email to tammiedavidson17 [at] gmail.com by Monday 5 July 2010 if possible.

- OR be a signatory to the below letter of support - please click on the blue 'Sign the Petition' button below.

Again, thank you for your consideration of this request for support from the Alyawarr people. You can make a difference in the fight against Indigenous inequality. I hope that you or your representative/s will attend the gathering in Alice Springs. I look forward to seeing you there and working together toward achieving equality and justice for Indigenous peoples.

Yours sincerely,

Tammie Davidson
on behalf of

Richard Downs
Alyawarr spokesperson for the Intervention Walkoff
Phone: 0428 611 169

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We as aboriginal people want the imports of aboriginal products banned. The imports are "fake" and are being sold as authentic aboriginal products.

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Project Description

This project will provide a full bypass of Bulahdelah [note: not a bypass at all, let alone a ‘full’ bypass] including a new crossing over the Myall River [in the floodplain downstream of the confluence of the Myall and Crawford Rivers – where a fill area has been continuously sinking for well over 12 months].

The proposed Bulahdelah Bypass [not a bypass] project comprises a new 8.5km four-lane divided highway bypass [not a bypass] … [more propaganda] from about 1.5km south of Booral Road [note: the 1.5 stretch of new highway south of Booral Road – **and its cost** – could be equally utilised for Option A – i.e. 1.5 km of Option A has already been partially constructed].

Planning approval for the project [planning approval was actually of RTA propaganda] was obtained on 9 July 2007. The scope of the project includes:

• M-class (motorway) standard, 110 km/h speed limit [note: not motorway standard and not 110 km per hour speed limit. 100 km per hour speed limit at hill crest, an approximately 25 to 30 km per hour slowing of northbound laden trucks over a distance of 900 metres, an approximately 20 km per hour slowing of southbound laden trucks over a distance of 1 kilometre, no climbing lane for northbound laden trucks, no climbing lane for southbound laden trucks, insufficiently wide median strip fails to cater for future climbing lanes together with the two future lanes necessitated by increases in traffic volume] with grade-seperated [sic] interchanges;

The Alum Mountain at Bulahdelah, the 180 metres and above portion of which is Commonwealth listed, is famous as being the only known above ground deposit of alunite in mountain form in the Southern Hemisphere. That, together with its wealth and quantity of rare flora and fauna and unique Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal heritage, makes it the only mountain of this type in existence.

The Option E ‘footprint’ destroys:-

A complex of highly significant Aboriginal Sacred Sites including (but not limited to) those documented in the Aboriginal Place Nomination Assessment by Umwelt Environmental Consultants – a report prepared for the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service, June, 2003.

‘The Bulahdelah mine site complex is assessed as having high local and state significance. Some historical aspects of the mine have national significance.’ This wording is taken directly from page 2 of the RTA document: The Bulahdelah (Alum Mountain) Alunite Mine Site-Complex – A Cultural Heritage Assessment with Reference to the Proposed Bulahdelah Pacific Highway Upgrade Route Option E – June 2001 – Navin Officer heritage consultants Pty. Ltd..

The majority of the habitat of: Rhizanthella slateri (an extremely rare Australian native orchid which flowers beneath the surface of the soil and is of international significance); Cryptostylis hunteriana; and a rare Corybas (now misnamed dowlingii), all of which species have high protection listings.2 (Figure S7 – Page S.18 – Bulahdelah Upgrading the Pacific Highway Environmental Impact Statement – Summary – November 2004.)

Colonies and individuals of more common Australian native orchid species from an eco-tourism and heritage site which currently contains equivalent to approximately 1/10th of the Australia-wide native orchid species quantity. This includes more than 30 species which were used by Aboriginal people as food.

Dangerous (geotechnically):

The RTA was aware during the route selection stage that there is an existent landslide in the path of Option E. (On page no. 2 – 14 of the Bulahdelah Upgrading the Pacific Highway Environmental Impact Statement – Volume 6 technical paper 11 the RTA stated: ‘The Colluvial area [i.e. the site of an already occurred landslide] was more extensive than estimated during the route selection stage.’)

There is no mention of said landslide in either the focus group notes or the report on the Value Management Workshop, which was held on 29th & 30th August, 2000, and was the final phase of the route selection process.

The proposed highway upgrade route would be constructed up to 13 metres deep through the existing landslide and beneath overhanging cliffs so dangerous that, as has been documented by the recent Minister for Roads, they are affected by rainwater. (Copy of letter attached.3)

Two schools and a residential area are located beneath these cliffs and just below the existent landslide, which has been estimated by the RTA as being up to 25 metres deep.

In EIS Volume 6 Technical Paper 11 the following hazards have been listed:-

Please note: Three ‘cuts’ (numbered 2, 3, and 4 – all areas of major blasting) are located across the lower mid-slope of the Alum Mountain and are above schools and a residential area. ‘Colluvium’ is the word used by the RTA for the soils, boulders etc. of the landslide which is in the path of Option E. (Copy attached4 of Figure 4.1-Vol.6-Technical Paper 11.)

In areas of the identified colluvium where the depth to rock extended to 25 metres, the colluvium comprises a variety of materials including cobbles and boulders (up to 5 metres maximum size) in a silty clay-sand-gravel matrix considered to be the remnants of an ancient landslide.
Blasting is expected for 150,000 to 200,000 cubic metres of rock.
Hazard D: Large scale overall slope failure by sliding along the colluvial/bedrock or natural interface and daylighting near the toe of Cut 4.
Hazard E: Large scale overall slope failure encompassing the entire road.
‘Concept design drawings indicated … proposed cuts up to 25 metres in height and … colluvial slope over 400 metres length of the preferred route at the foot of Bulahdelah ([the] Alum) mountain’.

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Aboriginal people in the Northern and Southern Regions in Canada are living in poverty. Children are at risk in this environment as there is an extremely high suicide rate.

Food costs are very high making it difficult for families to appropriately feed themselves and their families.

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Legislation currently before the Commonwealth Government includes plans to reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act which was suspended when the Intervention was introduced into the Northern Territory in June, 2007.

However, this new Act will be a very restricted version to the one which was suspended in 2007. It will NOT have the powers to protect Aboriginal people from the consequences of so-called special measures.

For example, when the RDA was suspended, Aboriginal people had no means of appeal against compulsory acquisition of their land by government on 5-year leases. When this new Act is reinstated, NOTHING WILL CHANGE. There will be no legal avenue to address this issue, or any other issue related to the measures.

Regarding the 5-year leases, former High Court Justice, Michael Kirby, said, "if any other Australians, selected by reference to their race, suffered the imposition on their pre-existing property interests of non-consensual 5-year statutory leases.......it is difficult to believe that a challenge to such a law would fail...."

If this new legislation is implemented, the government will have again failed to keep its promise to Aboriginal people.

Calls to the Australian Government to reinstate an uncompromised Racial Discrimination Act have been ignored.

For Australia to be classified as a racist country is shameful for all Australians, Indigenous and non-Indigenous.

If you wish to assist by conducting your own hard-copy petition, please indicate this in the comments column Thank you.

'concerned Australians'

UPDATE 10 July 2010

Thank you to all who signed this petition. The same petition was also circulated in hard copy and the total number of signatures received was 5,404. The petitions were sent every three or four days over the last two months to the Committee for the Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination at the UN.

There were many signatures from the Northern Territory and this included signatures from almost forty communities: : Willowra, Kalkaringi, Daguragi, Yuendumu, Lajamanu, Utopia, Papunya, Kintore, Nyiripi, Areyonga, Docker River, Ulpanydi, Ti Tree, Santa Theresa, Hermannsburg, Ali Curong, Barron Creek, Mt. Allan, Ampilatwatja, Epenarra, Mungalwurra, Katliwumpa Homeland, Maningrida, Nakara, Mataranka, Galiwin’ku, Nhulunbuy, Tiwi, Yirrkala, Bama, Mairrngatja, Gangan, Raymangirr, Buymarr, Djarrkpi, Baly Baly, Dhalinybuy, Imangara, Suburbs of Alice Springs, Darwin, Katherine and Tennant Creek.

The seventy-seventh session of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination will be held at the United Nations Office in Geneva in August 2010. The Australian Government will report to the Committee on the 10th and 11th of the month and non-government organisations, including ‘concerned Australians’ will also provide reports. If you wish to send your own comments to the Committee expressing your own concerns, the email address to write to is ghabtom@ ohchr.org

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"On June 23, 2008 The Honorable Chuck Strahl and President of the FNI Brendan Sheppard signed the Agreement-in-Principle for status recognition for eligible Mi'kmaq under the Indian Act. As of November 30, 2009, close to 25,000 applications have been received and approximately 11,000 have been approved by the Enrolment Committee, chaired by Mr. Tom Rideout." Many of these applicants were led to believe that by submitting their applications before the first deadline, they would be considered for membership. This was not the case. Today there is roughly 14 000 people who have not had their applications processed and therefore will not be eligible for Band membership for several more years.

Note: You do not have to be an applicant of the Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nation Band to sign the following petition. We encourage any supporters to sign.

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An Aboriginal Keeping Place


…celebrating our survival…

….growing our culture…

…protecting our heritage…

…keeping our community strong…


- by Larissa Behrendt, Professor of Law, UTS

The Vision…

To create a National Aboriginal Keeping Place/Cultural Centre in Sydney that celebrates our survival providing a space for the contemporary expression of our contemporary culture, protects our heritage and keeps our community strong.

Our plan is to find a benefactor who will purchase the Black Fella's Dreaming Museum's collection and use it to found The Keeping Place for the absolute benefit of the Aboriginal communities. The benefactor will not sub-divide the collection. Artworks by Gordon Syron and photographs by Elaine Pelot-Syron will be loaned to and preserved by The Keeping Place.

Aboriginal communities will benefit in the following ways:

The Possibilities …

A Cultural Centre – There is a need for a national cultural centre in an urban area that provides a space for the celebration of and for interaction with our contemporary urban culture. This can include the hosting of workshops on painting, sculpture, performance, music, the creation of Aboriginal cultural artefacts and creative writing.

A Celebration of Survival – A space dedicated to the preservation of our culture & traditions and archives the history & stories of urban Aboriginal people.

An Educational Environment – A space dedicated to teaching our culture and history is a place where Aboriginal and non Aboriginal communities can learn about the diversity and vibrancy of our Aboriginal cultures.

An Opportunity for Economic Development – A cultural space that focuses on showcasing contemporary Aboriginal culture also provides an opportunity for economic development by creating a place where Aboriginal artists can sell their art to the public.

Self Development Programs: We hope that the cultural centre will be committed to developing youth, leadership and prison rehabilitation programs. These programs will be aimed at developing self-esteem, confidence and vital life skills

Opportunities for Employment and Training – The Keeping Place will provide a large range of opportunities for the employment and training of Aboriginal people in order to staff the centre, curate the material, educate the public and run the operations with transparency, accountability and good governance principles.

The Collection

The heart and starting point for the Keeping Place & Cultural Centre is the Syrons’ Black Fella's Dreaming Museum. It is an important collection that contains many of Australia’s leading traditional and contemporary Aboriginal artists.

On May 14th 2009, a catalogue of 1400 artworks in the Syron's collection was finished by the not-for-profit organisation & volunteers, headed by Rona Wade,
Executive Director and CEO,
UNILINC Limited, online.
http://www.unilinc.edu.au/events/seminar_nov08_program.pdf

A catalogue of 547 artworks was valued in 2009 by
Adrian Newstead, ex-CEO of Deutscher-Menzies Auctioneers and Director/Owner of Coo-ee Aboriginal
Art Gallery.

The acquisition of the Syron Collection will provide a significant foundation for the important cultural archive that the Keeping Place / Cultural Centre will host.

Here's the link for The Keeping Place documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37QvjbwcUs4

Director: Martin Adams
Producer & Sound: Jason De Santolo
DOP & Editor: Fabio Cavadini
Narrator: Amanda King

For more information and art display please go to :

http://www.thekeepingplace.org

http://www.pentateuch.com.au/thekeepingplace
http://www.pentateuch.com.au/gordonsyron
http://www.pentateuch.com.au/elainepelotsyron/

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Joint Statement, Hiroshima Day, 6 August 2009 (EMBARGOED until 6 August 2009)
Britain must compensate Aboriginal people for radioactive fallout

Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation (ANTaR) and the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement of South Australia (ALRM) are seeking your support for the attached statement.

Aboriginal people affected by the British nuclear tests carried out in Australia in the 1950s should have the same rights as Australian veterans to compensation for radioactive injury from the British Government; and they need Australian government support to pursue their legal claims. Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation and the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement of South Australia want to see equitable access to legal processes for affected Aboriginal people following the decision of the British High Court to allow military veterans from Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the UK to sue the British Ministry of Defence for compensation for damages related to radiation exposure from tests carried out on their Anangu lands.

To be launched on Thursday, 6 August 2009, the annual commemoration of Hiroshima Day, this statement will be circulated for six weeks seeking support before being formally presented to the governments concerned on 21 September 2009, which is the United Nations' International Day of Peace.

Media contacts:
South Australia ALRM Neil Gillespie 0417 086 025
National ANTaR Janet Hunt 0408 170 448

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Professor James Anaya, United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur, will be visiting Australia during the second half of August.

After his visit, he will be providing the UN Human Rights Council with a report on his assessment of human rights in Australia. The Australian government will be expected to respond.

This is a unique opportunity for us to highlight our concerns about the government's treatment of Aboriginal Australians.

Our government is now planning to reinstate the Racial Discrimination Act in the Northern Territory which we welcome, but we are concerned that their proposed changes will still not comply adequately human rights principles.

Our government is conducting inadequate consultations with a view to ensuring Aboriginal people accept the imposition of 'special measures' on those living in the 73 prescribed areas of the Northern Territory.

Under human rights principles people have the right to free, prior and informed consent in relation to any such measures. The extent to which our government's consultation process constitutes such consent is highly dubious.

Help us ensure that Professor Anaya addresses our concerns by adding your name to this open letter.

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In November 2007, Amnesty International published an article highlighting the lack of support and services for Indigenous women and children who are victims of sexual abuse.

Nine males pleaded guilty to raping a ten-year-old Aboriginal girl in the community of Aurukun in Cape York, Queensland in 2006. None of the offenders, who were tried in Queensland District Court, will serve a custodial sentence. Six boys were sentenced to 12-month probation orders, with no convictions recorded, while three others aged 17, 18 and 26 were given suspended sentences.

The Queensland Crown Prosecutor Steve Carted described perpetrators as "naughty" and the act as a "childish experiment" to which the victim willingly consented. In her sentencing statement, Judge Sarah Bradley stated that the girl was "not forced" and "probably agreed to have sex" with the offenders (Pandora, 2007).

In reaction to the verdict in this case, the Queensland Government stood down the QLD Crown Prosecutor, pending an investigation into the handling of the case. The QLD Attorney General, Kerry Sine, has intervened and petitioned for an appeal and a review of 75 similar cases in the last two years.

This incident has now brought attention to the neglect of indigenous females, both adults and children, in the Australian judicial system. Ella-Duncan (2006) states that Aboriginal females are almost two and half times more likely to be victims of child sexual assault than non-Aboriginal females and that data collected only reflects incidents of child sexual assault in Aboriginal communities that are reported and where the Aboriginality of the victim is recorded and that child sexual assault is under reported in Aboriginal communities.

Many Aboriginal girls and women are often neglected by the judicial system as high-lighted in the QLD rape case and demonstrate the urgent need to reform the judicial system to better protect girls' right to live free from violence (Pandora, 2007).

In present day Australia, Human Rights are currently being violated and neglected, as in the instance of the QLD gang rape ruling. This case highlights a need to ensure all legal personnel, including prosecutors and judges, are properly trained to treat violence against women and girls as grave human rights violations.
Like many Aboriginal females before her, this 10 year old girl has endured the degrading and cruel act of rape. Even more horrifying, she was abused by the hands of nine men and boys from within her own community. The decision by the judge to sentence the three men to six months' imprisonment, with the sentence suspended for 12 months, and to place the six teenage juveniles on a 12-month probation order, without a conviction recorded, minimised completely the gravity of the offence and the long-term effects of the offence on the victim and her family.

By bringing this story of social injustice and issues surrounding it such as child sexual assault, Indigenous Rights and the violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, lack of assault and rehabilitation services for indigenous child abuse victims, their families, communities and the perpetrators to the public’s attention will hopefully lead to social and political change within Australia.

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With the culture and history of the traditional custodians of Australia somewhat neglected since colinisation, it is now time to address this imbalance.

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The Rudd Government seems determined to apologize on behalf of the Australian people for acts which said people took no part in, primarily the Aboriginal Stolen Generation controversy.

Many Australians are descended from those who immigrated to Australia in the years following 1960, and so can be seen to bear no blame whatsoever. An additional concern is that an apology would also count as an admission of guilt, opening the door to litigation.

As a result, we feel an apology from Rudd, our representative, would be inappropriate. If nothing else this petition represents those wishing to remove themselves from any apology given by Rudd, without consideration for his constituents.

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In Australia, there exists a general ignorance about the Aboriginal resistance against colonial invasion. This ignorance is a huge contributing factor in the cultural disrespect which results in the shameful inequality of today's Australian population.

Pemulwuy’s (c.1750–1802) story is an inspirational narrative which permeates the malaise of Australia’s national identity/s. This heroic saga has been aptly depicted by such works as Eric Willmot’s 1987 novel Pemulwuy: The Rainbow Warrior.

Relevant commentary include:

•http://www.gadigal.org.au/GadigalInfo/Pelmuwuy%20The%20Rainbow%20Warrior.aspx?Id=31
• http://blogs.sunherald.com.au/whoweare/archives/2008/03/who_we_are_the_11.html
• www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/AS10389b.htm
• http://www.gopetition.com/online/17774.html
• http://www.nswrecon.com/keydocs/NSWRC_E_Newsletter_Mar_08.pdf
• www.rumbalara-e.schools.nsw.edu.au/publications/mypeople2.pdf
• www.convictcreations.com/history/pelmulwy.htm
• www.abc.net.au/rn/talks/perspective/stories/s706273.htm
• www.amazon.com/Pemulwuy-Rainbow-Warrior-Eric-Willmot/dp/0947116427
• http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=24631805

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Kokatha -> The Traditional Owners oppose the Roxby Downs / Olympic Dam Open Cut Uranium Mine because Kokatha do NOT want to be a part of the destruction of Kokatha Lands and waterways in South Australia.

Without the proper consultation of Kokatha Traditional Owners, the approval of the BHP Billiton Open Cut Mine is being steamrolled through.

Questionable tactics are being used by Mining Giant BHP Billiton to undermine the authority of the Kokatha Traditional Owners through the Native TitleTribunal, their paid Anthropologists and Lawyers.

Kokatha do not want BHP Billliton (or any other mining company) to negotiate with splintering groups, offering them deals to get irreversable access to land and expansion.

Kokatha say "We're not against progress, but once this place is opened up theres going to be a great big mess... a lot of damage is going to be done".

This situation is more urgent day by day as the approval process is to be rushed through by the 30th of July, 2007.

Show Kokatha your support.

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PETITION

Over the last 13 years the Indigenous Unit of the Northern Regional Library, now known as Dhiiyaan Indigenous Centre has served the people of Moree and districts through its research facilities, projects, programs and exhibitions.



Dhiiyaan current building does not have the space for a modern professional keeping place/archival unit for collection management, storage, artifact preservation, training/workshops, activities and public exhibitions. Dhiiyaan needs to bring its facility into the 21st century, but cannot achieve this in its existing building which is too small to accommodate large groups visiting the centre and with no space to add to the growing collection. There are thousands of invaluable Aboriginal genealogies and photographs, plus hundreds of family history resources, thousands of books, audio visual materials, traditional Kamilaroi artefacts etc that need to be stored appropriately.

The Dhiiyaan Indigenous Centre extends its service beyond books to other states of Australia, with cultural awareness workshops conducted annually for doctors, police, nurses, teachers, mature students and visits to local schools – cultural and educational programs. The service focuses mainly on Aboriginal history, both local and family. Three books have already been published on the history of the Gamilaroi people.

Dhiiyaan would like support from Moree Plains Shire Council and funding organisations to relocate to a bigger building to establish a culturally appropriate keeping place to continue to meet objectives. This would provide the first step towards a Cultural / Reconciliation Centre for the town of Moree.

If you would like any further information on the services and activities of Dhiiyaan please email donna_briggs@norl.org

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On August 4th 2006, there was a gathering of nations at Mato Paha (Bear Butte).

At this summit Lakota, Cheyenne, Arapahoe, and many other indigenous nations from north and south america were present.

At this summit it was decided that the papal bull of 1493 and the 1496 royal charter of the church of England must be recinded.

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The ACCC has accepted the term "Aboriginal Style" to describe non-authentic aboriginal product. It is estimated that about 90% of product sold in retail as Aboriginal product or "Aboriginal Style" is non-authentic product. Quite often this product is imported into Australia.

This confusion in the marketplace undermines the integrity of authentic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander products, threatens the viability of genuine retailers and greatly impinges on the incomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The ban of imports of Aboriginal product and the abolition of the term "Aboriginal Style" will decrease the amount of non-authentic Aboriginal product and greatly increase the opportunities for authentic Aboriginal product to enter the marketplace. In turn, economic returns from Aboriginal products should flow to Aboriginal and Torres Strait people. It will increase consumer confidence and restore integrity in authentic Aboriginal product

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The ACCC has accepted the term "Aboriginal Style" to describe non-authentic aboriginal product. It is estimated that about 90% of product sold in retail as Aboriginal product or "Aboriginal Style" is non-authentic product. Quite often this product is imported into Australia.

This confusion in the marketplace undermines the integrity of authentic Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander products, threatens the viability of genuine retailers and greatly impinges on the incomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

The ban of imports of Aboriginal product and the abolition of the term "Aboriginal Style" will decrease the amount of non-authentic Aboriginal product and greatly increase the opportunities for authentic Aboriginal product to enter the marketplace. In turn, economic returns from Aboriginal products should flow to Aboriginal and Torres Strait people. It will increase consumer confidence and restore integrity in authentic Aboriginal product.

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Piyarli Yardi Aboriginal Corporation has been involved with the Heritage and Cultural Centre building project for the past 13 years. We are made up of 11 Board Members selected to represent the 5 language groups of the Gascoyne, together with other Indigenous community people. We truly represent all Indigenous people of the Gascoyne.

We are the Committee that has done the hard work:
1. Community Consultation
2. Planning for site development
3. Consultation with architects
4. Business Planning
5. Revised Planning as needed
6. Identified and developed Training Plans

We have ensured that the following has taken place:
 Blessing of the site
 Plaque laid on site in recognition of contribution of Indigenous people in Pastoral Industry
 Developed Site Clearance contracts
 Pre-Works Contracts to include Indigenous workers
 Developed an employment & training policy during major construction

Now we have been BOOTED from the project.

And to save any confusion as where we stand in regard to the project today, the name of the building has been altered. No longer does the Piyarli Yardi Aboriginal Corporation represent the Heritage & Cultural Centre building, which is now known as the Carnarvon Aboriginal Heritage & Cultural Centre. An Interim Management Board, appointed by Minister Ford, comprising more non-Indigenous representatives than Indigenous has been put in place.

How can all the Indigenous people of the Gascoyne be represented in this way?

We wish to draw attention to our need to be re-instated with the project.

The HARD work is done. Indigenous Volunteers have worked too long and hard to be so disgracefully dumped. We have got the building to where it is today………but today our contribution is being overlooked.

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I am a advocate for human rights. I'm posting this petition to help a freedom fighter who is about to be imprisoned for exercising his freedom to speak. This is his story

An Appeal from A Soon-To-Be Prisoner of Conscience in British Columbia, Canada
by Rev. Kevin Annett.

Secretary, The Truth Commission into Genocide in Canada website: http://canadiangenocide.nativeweb.org

I am writing this personal appeal to the world because by August, I may be incarcerated in prison for having exercised my God-given and constitutionally protected freedom of speech in Canada.

In my work as an advocate and fighter for the rights of aboriginal people, I have discovered that an American conglomerate known as NAWAPA - The North
American Water and Power Alliance - is coveting the lands of native people in central British Columbia, with the assistance of corrupt and violent native
politicians and the government of Canada.

NAWAPA plans to dam and divert three major river systems in our province into the United States through a massive water reservoir known as the Rocky Mountain Trench.
(see website: http://www.sd83.bc.ca/vanj-home.html)

As a result, the lands of thousands of indigenous people in north-central British Columbia will be flooded and their way of life destroyed forever.

Some of the most powerful native politicians in this region are dispossessing their own people from their lands to pave the way for the NAWAPA project. According to eyewitnesses Frank Martin and Helen
Michel of the Dene-Carrier nation, chiefs of the Carrier - Sekani Tribal Council in Prince George, BC
have employed violence, extortion, and even murder to secure trap lines and other lands from their own people.

According to Frank and Helen, and other Tribal Council activists, these chiefs are also implicated in criminal actions like drug trafficking, prostitution,
and the exploitation of children in organized pedophile rings in the Prince George-Moricetown area. These allegations have been substantiated by
journalists, lawyers, and sources within the Carrier-Sekani Tribal Council.

Two weeks ago, one of these accused chiefs, Ed John, commenced a lawsuit against Frank and Helen, myself,
and other critics, to permanently silence and incarcerate us if we persist in our investigation of
crimes against aboriginal people in his territory.

The law firm handling Ed John's case - Blake, Cassells and Graydon of Vancouver - is closely tied to
the government of Canada through its head, Marvin Storrow, who is a close friend and confident of Prime
Minister Jean Chretien.

Chretien has not only recently been cited at the International Criminal Court in The Hague for complicity in Genocide of native people in Canada, but
his government, like Chief Ed John, is committed to the NAWAPA project through its obligations under the NAFTA agreement with the USA.

There can be no clearer case than this one of a modern state employing puppet indigenous leaders to dispossess entire peoples in the interests of foreign
multinational corporations. Nor can there be a more obvious example of a government attacking and silencing dissidents than what myself and native
activists like Frank and Helen are presently up against.

Besides this lawsuit, we are experiencing regular death threats, physical assaults, and other
harrassment designed to isolate and break us.

We need all persons of conscience to rally now to our defense, and to the aboriginal people of central
British Columbia.

We ask that you do the following:

1. Alert Amnesty International and other human rights groups about our case and the ongoing Genocide of
native peoples in Canada, and ask them to adopt us as prisoners of conscience.

2. Contact the government of Canada, and Prime Minister Jean Chretien, and demand that their covert harrassment of opponents of NAWAPA and Ed John cease.

3. Contact Marvin Storrow, Q.C., at Blake, Cassells and Graydon in Vancouver, BC, and demand that this
firm halt their lawsuit (#S012186) and campaign of harrassment of myself and other critics of Chief Ed
John. (They can be contacted at this e-mail: joanne.lysyk@blakes.com).

4. Acquaint yourself with the past and present legal Genocide of native peoples in our country by accessing
and sharing the documented proof of these crimes at the website of our Truth Commission:

http://canadiangenocide.nativeweb.org

5. Contribute to a Legal Defense Fund which is being established for us through the Truth Commission into
Genocide in Canada and other agencies.

6. Contact me directly at the e-mail below for further ideas and assistance.

I wish to thank you for your consideration, and ask for your prayers; not only for myself and my family, but for all of the aboriginal people of our land who face overwhelming odds in defense of their land, culture and very lives.

May the Creator and Great Mystery allow us Justice in our time,

Rev. Kevin D. Annett
4 July, 2002
Vancouver, BC, Canada

email: kevinannett@yahoo.ca ph: 604-466-1804

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