Uncle Jim Everett - puralia meenamatta Elder and philosopher has been defending native forests in Tasmania from logging. In the face of colonial law, Uncle Jim writes, First Nations people need to honour our commitment to Country, and fight for the future of our lands, before colony-imposed climate change becomes a death sentence for our world.
Currently most First Nations people in Australia speak colonial-English. Yet we don’t fully consider the hidden meanings in ‘legal’ English terminology and how it’s applied in colonialism over our people, and its challenges of dismissal of our Law in Country. The English language has a covert ‘inner-sanctum’ that affirms British authority over colonised people, and other colonised First Nations around the world. For example, I, like many other First Nations people speak of sovereignty as if it has the same meaning to us as it does the coloniser. But sovereignty is a Western concept determined by the presence of a monarchy or parliament, that justifies illegal claims over First Nations’ lands to maintain colonial supremacy. This was proven true when the Mabo case successfully overturned the ‘terra nullius’ myth claimed upon invasion of this land.
These ‘sovereign crowns’ continue to assert their laws from countries in the northern hemisphere over First Nations that have been invaded, and for us it’s the Britishsovereign crown. In my view we need to change from using the term sovereign(ty) to assert our rights of self-determination and governance. Instead, we should acknowledge our Law in Country.
Sovereignty is alien to us because we govern by Lived-Lore
Lived-Lore is the practice of how Palawa (and many First Nations) abide by Law in Country, and have done since before colonisation. This is how we continue to manage our part in the relational ecosystems in our lands. All First Nations know some form of Law in Country, and continue to protect and care for their Country in their respective practices. Each First Nation has their own cultural practices, but we all honour and care for Country as a kind of national First Nations philosophy.
First Nations law is in Country, and we the First Peoples are obligated to defend our Countries because that is our Lore. There can be no authorised sovereigns in our natural knowledge systems, because we do not work under monarchies or governments, but we must abide by laws that belong to this country, and our respective Countries only. Our Law in Country provides the relational knowledge for our Lived-Lore.
Another problem is how First Nations govern our communities, we have been coerced or conditioned to elect our representatives when really our Law and customs are to select Elder Knowledge Keepers of our communities who are better knowing to speak and determine our journey of self-determination. This is a big challenge in many of our communities across so-called Australia. But we must reaffirm our cultural governing authority to our Elder Knowledge Keepers as the people who represent us. We must bring our Lived-Lore and cultural customs back to the pre-eminence of our authority.
Law in Country can help heal and preserve All-life of Country
Colonial-Australia assumes First Nations people as citizens of so-called Australia, and justify it by constructing what they call a post-colonial history, which is a lie. The term post-colonial by definition, asserts colonisation is over, but we are still colonised, and still dominated by alien laws to exploit the All-life of Country. All-life is our Lands, Sea-country, Water-country, Sky-country, and our Knowledge-Connection with the solar system, and every life-form, and the very earth itself all make up the All-life of Country. We never, as a national peoples, made any agreements with any colonial or federal government, nor any Australian-British government to agree to be ‘Australians’.
My aim is to plant the seed to build a pathway for all of Australia’s people to learn respect for our Law in Country, it will lead us all to better outcomes in our journey on sharing and living together on Country-Australia. Climate change: the obvious causes of it and the necessary changes we all need to make to come together can be led by our First Nations Law in Country. Australians need to understand this way of Caring for Country, our people can guide the way to reaffirm Law in Country for a sustainable future. This is what I am about, I am not about ownership, or land titles, these things can be sorted out when our Law in Country is properly acknowledged and embraced as the unchangeable law of this country.
A major belief I hold is that any treaty should require that we all respect Country no matter who has title to any part of it, and that a treaty must be based on everyone being responsible to protect and care for our Country All-life by acknowledging Law in Country. First Nations will have their respective Country-All-life to care for as will others using our Country. I am currently working with the Pakana All-life Community initiative (PACi), who are 20 community Palawa, to explore how we can assert our Lutrawita Law in Country. This is to determine a firm foundation by which our First Nations status will be necessary if a national treaty is properly agreed. A rocky foundation based on assumptions will not provide a strong enough structure and vision for so-called Australia.
By each First Nation re-establishing our rights and responsibilities under Law in Country, and governed by our Lived-Lore with Country we can return to our cultural customs held in First Nations’ Knowledge. There is no other way, this is what we have, and if we don’t stop the profit driven destruction to our Law in Country, our Lived-Lore, our Knowledge and Culture, there will be nothing left for future generations to continue life in so-called Australia.
Logging our native forests has to stop, our First Nations must assert our Law on Country to determine how we use natural resources of Country. To ignore this opportunity will bring an increase in the destruction to our All-life, and our future generations will be left with a broken legacy and no positive futures ahead. All forms of natural resource usage will need to be monitored under the Law in Countryif we are to survive. Enough is enough, and how we use natural resources has to change, and transition to environmentally safe practices.
As a first action our First Nations must come together and make a national treaty with themselves and Law in Country. If our First Nations are not together in this, our collective future will continue under colonial destruction of our environment. I don’t think I need to detail what kind of future we will end up with if Law in Country is not how we all proceed to live here. So be it if we ignore the warnings coming in from climate change, my action to open a pathway to a meaningful treaty with colonial-Australia is but a small part in the current political dialogue.
This is the real challenge to us all, I know where I stand with Law in Country, and plant a seed of hope that can lead everyone in this country to make a sustainable future a reality.
I am a plangermairreenner from meenamatta country in the north-east Midlands of lutrawita/Tasmania, and I do not recognise any colonial authority over me because I am not an Australian citizen, I am aFirst Nation citizenand the Australian-British colonial laws that I challenge have no jurisdiction to arrest me for defending my Law in Country from ongoing destruction of our natural world. Law in Country is what governs me, and I do what I do to make this a reality.
Jim Everett - puralia meenamatta was born at Flinders Island, lutrawita/Tasmania in 1942. He is from the clan plangermairreenner, a clan of the Cape Portland nation in North-east Tasmania. Jim left primary school at 14 years to start work. His working life includes 15 years at sea as a fisherman and merchant seaman, Australian Regular Army for 3 years, and over 50 years formal involvement in the Aboriginal Struggle. He has a long history in the public service in Aboriginal Affairs, and has travelled Australia, and overseas visiting many remote Aboriginal communities. Jim began writing poetry at an early age. He wrote his first play, We Are Survivors, in 1984, produced, directed, and acted in it. His written works now include plays, political and academic papers and short stories. Jim has produced and been associate producer in many documentary films. He is published in many major anthologies. Jim lives on truwana/Cape Barren Island writing and maintaining involvement in cultural arts nationally. His latest achievement was to graduate at 81 years of age for his masters degree on Aboriginal philosophy.
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