History: The Aboriginal Tent Embassy And Policymakers In Australia (Essay Sample)

The Tent Embassy and Policymakers in Australia Institutional Affiliation: Date: Introduction The historical account of Aboriginals dates back to Australian colonization times and seeks to give a clear and concise survey of their history as traced since 1788. It presents reflections of black and white encounters in Australia since colonization. This history is captured from the standpoint of the original Australian people who participated in the original struggle for power with British colonialist and lost, by Richard Broome. He captures the struggle and resistance encounters between the Aboriginal Australians and the Europeans and shows how the inhabitants lost the struggle as the Europeans steadily supplanted them. This took place from the shining coasts of Australia to the interior that included the deserts. They used diverse tactics to establish valid occupancy and conquest that ranged from their significant numbers, use of technology where they possessed sophisticated weaponry and other powerful arms that did not initially exist among the Aboriginals. They also sparked violence where they applied force and cruel treatment to the non-collaborating Aboriginals who resisted their influence. There was an outbreak of diseases that further weakened the inhabitants and made them susceptible to the cruelty and aggression of the intruders. This did not work well with them as they were rendered weaker to face the common enemy. The story also captures how the now subdued Aboriginals were able to cope and survive after being conquered by the colonialists. It looks at their accommodation and the traces of continued struggle as they tried to emancipate themselves from the harsh rule. The Aboriginals struggled from the places where the colonialists originally confined them to a more central place that is modern. The story, as narrated by Prof. Richard Broom has won several accolades in the category of classical accounts of Australia. It exposes the insecurities and plight and such communities as they struggled to attain self-rule from the colonialists. The Aboriginal Tent Embassy Aboriginal Tent Embassy comprises of activists that represent the political rights of the original inhabitants of Australia. This category of Australian is referred to as Aboriginal-Australia and was coined by the British government in 1788 after declaring Australia, a British colony. The group was comprised of indigenous Australians who bear original biological descent and enjoy the traditional authority and rights. The term Aboriginal came from the British Government and was intended to classify the people who were originally staying and inhabiting Australia by the time of colonization. It encompasses the descendants of this category of people (Öhman, M. B., & Wyld, F, 2014). They were put together by their distinct and ostensible physical characteristics as observed from the ancestors and racial attributes. This was the main basis and criterion and belonging. Some of the names of men who are associated with Aboriginal activism includes Bertie Williams, Michael Anderson and Tony Coorey. According to Aboriginal Tent Embassy, this group of activists is made up of tents and signs as seen in the lawn that is in the immediately opposite direction of the Old Australian Parliament House in the current Australian capital, Canberra. This was following the arrival of the activists from Sydney where they planted a commemorative beach umbrella on the Old Parliament lawn. The main reason that contributed to the establishment of the Embassy was to respond to McMahon Coalition adamant action of refusing to recognize the land rights of the original Australian inhabitants. The coalition government advocated for lease rights as opposed to original land ownership which was to be done by their ability to make a reasonable economic use and occupancy of the property. This also exempted them from the ability to mine any minerals discovered or to utilize the forestry resources. The mass protests involved all Australian Aboriginals who replaced the beach umbrella in the lawn of Parliament with several tents. It had great success as it managed to unite the Aboriginal populace during the first six months of its existence in 1972. They were a semi-permanent assemblage that asserted their claim in representing the rights of Aboriginal Australians. Among their major demands was uniformity of land rights that will ensure that the Aboriginal needs were adequately met and addressed. Other names that were featured during the activism included Paul Coe, Chica Dixon, Garry Williams, Gary Foley, John Newfong, Pearl Gibbs, Roberta Sykes, Cheryl Buchanan, Alana Doolan Pat Eaton, Isabelle Coe, Kevin Gilbert, Shirley Smith and Denis Walker (Foley, G., Schaap, A., & Howell, E, 2013). The main demands presented by the 1972 Aboriginal Embassy included the ability to seize control of the Northern Territory State that fell in the Commonwealth of Australia. They demanded absolute control of the Northern Territory by the Aboriginals where they were allowed to possess mineral rights of the whole territory without the intervention of other parties. They demanded the preservation of all sites that were deemed sacred as well as ownership of legal title and mining rights. This was supposed to cover all the areas including the Australian capital. They were agitating for monetary compensation for their land that was not returnable in the form of a down-payment of six billion Australian Dollars. This was to also include an annual percentage of the total gross national income. The Activists' demands and Indigenous Policy Making body in Australia All the demands placed were ignored and rejected. This was following the action of the policy-making body that spearheaded a constitutional amendment on all the relevant ordinances. There was an intervention of law enforcers who moved in to quell the aggression and removed the tents erected outside the Old Parliament Buildings of Australia and arrested eight people. This prompted a change of tactic where the activists persisted their onslaught by staging a sit-in on steps style that was done outside the precincts of the Parliament. This led to the intervention of the then Labor Minister Gough Whitlam who agreed to listen to the grievances of the protesters. The Embassy would later be destroyed in 1974. This was not to last as it got re-established in the same year on October (Taffe, S, 2005). There was on and off controversy between the government that represented the policymakers and the activists that led to a series of upheavals and changes. On February 1975, an activist named Charles Perkins had managed to negotiate for the removal of the embassy albeit on the temporary basis. This was done pending the government intervention and action on land rights. The following year, there was a significant development that saw the enactment of Aboriginal Land Rights Act of 1976 that took place in the draft that was prepared by Whitlam Labor in the previous year. The group went ahead to establish a house in the Australian Capital of Canberra in Red Hill suburb which did not last for long. This was seen as an organized way of trying to make the group formidable and united to a common course of agitating for land rights. By the twentieth year of their existence, the group reestablished the lawns in the precincts of the Old Parliament building. This took place during the twentieth anniversary and was seen as the most significant source of controversy and prompted many calls for its abolishment. The monumental lawn continues to exist despite the numerous efforts waged against it. There are several reported cases attacks of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy by criminals with several cases involving bombing. Some groups still agitate for complete eviction and evacuation of the residents of the Embassy. However, this is not to be as there was another constitutional breakthrough since the Embassy was included in the Australian Register of National Estate. This took place in 1995 and saw the national recognition of the movement as a recognized site that represents the political struggle for all the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander group. The impact of the group was also realized during the 2000 Sydney Olympics where Isobel Coe was involved in setting up a peace camp. It led to an act of setting up sacred fire and combination of ashes from Canberra at Victoria Park within Camperdown as a way of forging reconciliation. The effects of responses to policymakers and consequences on subsequent relationships Th...