Australian Indigenous sovereignty

Sovereignty sign at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy

Australian Indigenous sovereignty, also recently termed Blak sovereignty, encompasses the various rights claimed by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within Australia. Such rights are said to derive from Indigenous peoples' occupation and ownership of Australia prior to colonisation and through their continuing spiritual connection to land. Indigenous sovereignty is not recognised in the Australian Constitution or under Australian law.

Political movements emerged in the 20th and 21st centuries around the cause of Indigenous sovereignty, seeking various political, economic and cultural rights both within and outside the Australian state. These have included land rights,[1] the right for Indigenous peoples to be treated as a distinct polity with their own laws and institutions,[2] and various cultural and intellectual property rights.[3][4] These rights are not fixed, with the right to Indigenous data sovereignty emerging in the context of greater data collection by governments.[5] According to some supporters, the recognition of the prior occupation and ownership of Australia means accepting the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples and paves the way for treaties between them and both Commonwealth and state and territory governments.

Discussion of the concept was prominent in various campaigns around the failed referendum of 14 October 2023, which would have amended the Constitution to prescribe an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. Leaders of the Blak sovereignty movement such as Michael Mansell in Tasmania and Senator Lidia Thorpe in Victoria did not support the Voice, on the basis that it would affect sovereignty and that treaties are required first to engage in sovereign to sovereign discussions instead.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Langton, Marcia (2020). "Understanding sovereignty". Agreements, Treaties and Negotiated Settlements. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  3. ^ Janke, Terri (1998). Our Culture: Our Future: Report on Australian Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights (Report). Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. ISBN 0-646-38084-2 – via Austlii.
  4. ^ "Self-determination for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples". Australian Indigenous Governance Institute. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  5. ^ Kukutai, Tahu; Taylor, John (25 November 2016). Indigenous Data Sovereignty: Toward an Agenda. ANU Press. ISBN 9781760460303.
  6. ^ Om, Jason (4 October 2023). "Blak Sovereign Movement No campaigners push for treaty instead of Voice". ABC News.