Sovereign Audio Collection

'Harold Thomas said he created the Aboriginal Flag for the unification of the people ... It's a journey of identity' but ... 

Paul Wiles from CAAMA Radio in Alice Springs asks Harold Thomas for his position in the wake of criticism.  CAAMA LINK: https://bit.ly/3llCtbT

Summer's fires have left their mark on Dark Emu author Bruce Pascoe.

As he explains in this long conversation with Jonathan Green, the experience of fighting fire is something shared in a nod or a glance.

And while the fires raged, Pascoe was caught in the continuing culture war over his Aboriginal identity.

"It was an incredibly painful time and it just went on and on ... it was the kind of tactics which are meant to sap your morale, and it worked."

Large parts of eastern Australia remain in drought, which continues to devastate many rural communities. It seems that more and more often, the country is facing water scarcity.

Climate change is likely to mean that we will face increased levels of dryness in future, which will impact on those who make a living on the land, as well as everyone else relying on it for food and fibre.

Australia's first peoples have lived on this land for thousands of years. But how successfully are we integrating their knowledge into mainstream approaches to farming?

Guests:
Bruce Pascoe, farmer with Bunurong, Yuin and Tasmanian heritage and author, Dark Emu
Bradley Moggridge, Kamilaroi water scientist and PhD candidate at the University of Canberra

ABC RN 'Life Matters'  30 October 2019

He's been described as an Aboriginal prophet - an extraordinary man who dreamt of self-determination more than a century ago.

Anthony Martin Fernando emerges at a time in our history when Aboriginal people were being confined on reserves and missions - yet he spent much of his life overseas, agitating for political rights for Aboriginal people from self-imposed exile in Europe.

With that proverbial fire in his belly and not much else, Fernando travelled across Europe earning a living however he could. 

But as you can imagine it was a precarious existence - a life lived in the shadow of poverty and homelessness spiked with racism.

It was on his wandering journey that Fernando left evidence – bits and pieces of an impassioned activist life - detailed by cultural historian Dr Fiona Paisley in her biographical study The Lone Protestor.

On the rocks of the Burrup Peninsula exist a vast collection of Aboriginal engravings, described as "the largest outdoor art gallery on the planet".

It's estimated there are a million of them and yet the sad fact is that most of us know more about the French engravings of horses at Lascaux than we do of what exists on our doorstep.

The Aboriginal people of the Pilbara region know the site as Murujuga

And while Lascaux is heavily protected, the rock art of the Burrup remains caught in a decades-long fight between culture, tourism and industry.

Within a stone's throw of this incredible art are petrochemical plants, a giant gas hub and one of Australia's busiest ports.

But now Aboriginal traditional custodians, archaeologists and government are working together to push for UNESCO World Heritage listing.

Joining Jo Trilling for this FOCUS conversation are Peter Jeffries, CEO Murujuga Aboriginal corporation, archaeologist Dr Ken Mulvaney, scientist Dr John Black and Yarra Pilbara spokesperson Luke Blackbourn.

Source: ABC Focus with Jessica Strutt
Duration: 43min 8sec Broadcast: Wed 17 Apr 2019, 12:00pm
http://tiny.cc/j099cz

A new wave of Pentecostal missionaries is dividing remote communities in Australia’s north.

Some are promoting the idea that traditional Aboriginal culture is a type of witchcraft or devil worship, and their followers are setting fire to sacred artefacts in an attempt to drive away the devil.

Aboriginal leaders have accused the preachers of exploiting vulnerable communities.

Erin Parke from ABC Kimberley investigates.
http://tiny.cc/72l1cz

Respected Arrente/Alyawarr Elder Rosalie Kunoth Monks has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the Council of the Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education.

Addressing the 2019 Bachelor graduates… Ms Kunoth Monks shared her passion about the journey of the first Nations under colonization and stressed the importance of cultural knowledge and its place in contemporary Australia. 

Listen to the full presentation and interview with CAAMA's Gilmore Johnson here :

Source:  CAAMA RADIO, Alice Springs http://tiny.cc/nlwwcz

Our perception of the world is significantly affected by the language we speak. Indigenous languages from around Australia pose a vastly different perspective of the world than that of English. We explore how these languages influence perceptions ...

ABC RN 'All in the mind' http://tiny.cc/s1i4bz

A First Nations Voice enshrined in the Australian Constitution will not make a difference, in fact, it will make matters worse and it will cede your Aboriginal sovereignty status.

The First Nations people in Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Finland explain what has happened over there, and they were not even colonised countries. (AUDIO 28 minutes)

Listen later: 3mp Download: https://goo.gl/Kziwmn

Excerpt from ABC RN Rear Vision

When there is something you think is not offensive removed or report something you think is offensive on Facebook, it might surprise you to know that the moderator who makes the decision is a low-paid person in the Philippines, a country that has a huge Christian population and where no-one is allowed to criticize the country's leader.

An interview on ABC RN 'Download This Show' with Hans Block, director of 'The Cleaners', a new film about this subject. When the trailer was put on Facebook, it was deleted - lets see how this post goes.

From ABC RN 'Download This Show' 28 September 2018

The United Nations' expert adviser on the rights of indigenous peoples has urged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to reconsider his rejection of the call for an Indigenous voice to Parliament, a key part of the Uluru Statement issued just over a year ago after a national Indigenous consultation process.

Special rapporteur Victoria Tauli-Corpuz is currently in Australia and says the Government must listen more carefully to Indigenous people.

Duration: 6min 28sec

Source: ABC Radio 'PM'  Broadcast: Mon 2 Jul 2018

http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/pm/indigenous-activism-criminalised-worldwide-un-adviser/9932484

The brutal, senseless massacre of 28 people on Myall Creek pastoral station in the New South Wales northern tablelands in 1838 echoes still.

In the litany of massacres, Myall Creek stands out - because it was the only mass murder for which some of the men responsible were charged, tried and executed for their crimes.

The ringleader, John Henry Fleming, escaped justice and died an unrepentant old man north-west of Sydney in 1894.

A symposium was held to mark the 180th anniversary of the massacre and the writer Bruce Pascoe delivered the keynote address.

The peak body for Aboriginal health, the Aboriginal Medical Services Alliance Northern Territory (AMSANT) , has been outspoken on the recent media reporting around the sensitive issues of reported child sex abuses and has been critical of the NT Government's response so far.

Donna Archee, the AMSANT Chairperson said:

"Sexual abuses are abhorrent and must be addressed with the full force of the law.

Now, when we look at the situation that occured in Ali Curung it is our understanding that the four year old boy has actually suffered no physical injuries and 'The Australian' newspaper said he was tranferred to Alice Springs hospital because of severe injuries is UNTRUE. He was tranferred to enable a proper forensic assessment even though there were no signs of injuries on examination. 

So this doesn't mean there is no harm in some way but we're actually concerned with the way the reporting is occurring in these particular incidences."

The Northern Territory's Police Commissioner has revealed plans to send a unit of camouflaged, specialised police with military-grade weapons to patrol Darwin and Alice Springs at night.

The Territory Response Group is known as the TRG, and is part of the Australian Government's National Counter Terrorism Task Force.

The announcement comes a week to the day since a Royal Commission delivered its report on youth detention and child protection systems in the Northern Territory.

From ABC RN 'The Castaways' - Hindsight July 2014

Court delays and a police crackdown on certain offences are thought to be behind a huge spike in Indigenous incarceration in New South Wales. Between 2013 and 2016, the Indigenous imprisonment rate in New South Wales grew by 25 per cent. Our reporter Angela Lavoipierre spoke to the director of the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Don Weatherburn, about the trend. Featured: Dr Don Weatherburn, Director, Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research Source: ABC Radio PM

From July 30th 2018, the Minister for Indigenous Affairs says he'll refuse to do business with any organisation that's not Aboriginal. Nigel Scullion said he's having tough conversations with organisations like church groups, who currently have contracts to provide some services in Aboriginal communities. Source: ABC News

Former Liberal Prime Minister John Howard announced Recognition during the same period of government where he significantly reduced the cultural and self-determination Rights in 'Native Title', strongly opposed the 'Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples', Strongly opposed a 'Treaty' and refused to apologise to the 'Stolen Generation'. Howard's government also introduced the 'Northern Territory Intervention' and shut down 'ATSIC'. Surely, any First Nations or non-Indigenous person cannot believe for one minute, that introducing 'Constitution Recognition' was done in the interests of First Nations and Peoples culture, aspirations, self-determination and well-being. It was specificaaly a 'trick' to dissolve Aboriginal Sovereignty and enforce assimilation, and is largely promoted and funded by the mining industry.

In Western Australia, an Aboriginal man has walked free from prison after the Appeals Court overturned his conviction for manslaughter. Gene Gibson is from a remote indigenous community and barely understands English, the language in which he was tried and convicted. His lawyers argued he didn't understand what was going on when he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 21-year-old Josh Warnecke. Featured: Michael Lundberg, Gene Gibson's lawyer