Some rambling thoughts that do not deserve their own thread in a football forum, but do not warrant the railroading of the 'Happy Australia Day' premise either.
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I was born here, and this is my country.
It bothers me when people whose ancestors were born here long before me tell me that this is not my land because they were here first. That should not be how the world works.
If you are born in a country or are accepted by the country as a citizen, then you should be an equal within that country.
It is a basic principle but it is how I think it should be.
To me, loving my country and wanting the best for it is patriotism.
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If you asked the local residents back when Cook popped in if it was alright if we lived on the land too I am wondering if the humanity of people would have produced the answer - live and share in peace.
By peace, I mean the tribal opposition type of peace where stealing a wife from another tribe and getting her away meant she was now part of her new tribe and all parties agreed that was a good result (no doubt for genetic purposes). The women were treated with the same respect as the original tribe because they knew their own daughters would possibly end up the same in another tribe.
Hunting on another's lands without permission was a reason to fight, but otherwise groups could live and co-exist.
The way of life has been lost, as it has been in most 'civilised' countries when the preference for shop bought survival replaces natural survival. When that happens, to me the tribal hunting grounds cease to have their same purpose and the rights to the land become just financial and power focussed more than need.
I do not agree with gates on beach access in the Eastern coastal region of Australia. The need to exclude people to protect a limited food source required for survival is no longer a factor - so the gates are a tool of greed or malice - and it is just another wedge between peoples.
I agree that from the hearsay I accept as truth, most normal minded indigenous people just want equality, acceptance and recognition of culture rather than exclusive access and restriction in their favour. They do not want to be separated by anything - either positive or negative - just all to be part of the one.
Tribal history and violence aside, to live with the land and each other was a basic life principle with concepts like war being counterproductive and counter intuitive to life.
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The traditional ownership of places is a political game - to the extent that Canberra was 'awarded' to the loudest indigenous group rather than the actual traditional owners at the time.
Uluru was claimed to be sacred all over - but the local indigenous people told a member of my family years ago that the group claiming Uluru and its sacredness was from across the WA border and they had waited until the old Singer of Songs from the original tribe died before they moved in and made noises about ownership and exclusion.
The locals said that the top of the rock was never a sacred place. There was no food, water or shelter there - it was just the top of the rock. All the sacred places were around the base.
None of that is talking about someone actually 'owning' the land originally - just that political motivations have been involved in the granting of land and I think that will always be the case. Not necessarily actual fairness and traditional ownership being the factor.
For indigenous membership I have always struggled with the 1/32 being considered indigenous to receive benefits. In effect, 31 of your ancestors may have been the bastards doing bad things to indigneous people but the 1 grants you full rights to financial support despite 31 parts of you not deserving it.
I am not saying it is wrong - just I do not understand the 'fairness' of that.
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As an unsupported anecdote, I thought it hilarious to the point of crying that some politically driven social justice group decided to put the naysayers to the sword by conducting DNA testing to prove the local Tasmanian indigenous population was not such a minority (almost to the mythical extent). The results showed so many people claiming indigenous heritage and benefits who were of South East Asian extraction and other brown skinned cultures and not in any way indigenous to Australia that they shut up shop and scrapped their plans for a national program of testing.
I know it smacks of yellow stars, but to prove actual indigenous heritage to receive benefits is invasive but it would do something in my head to make it at least legitimate to receive benefits for people not actually living in an indigenous community. The abuse by so many to receive Government funded financial benefits justifies the testing for me where they are not living in an indigenous community. We have to prove our right to claim everything else - this should be no different especially with the amount of money spent and being spent that is not getting where it needs to be and doing what it really could do.
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My only solution is for the Government to buy the land that is not actually necessary for survival or traditional practices, taking into account some portion of money previously paid, and Australia becomes Australia in all eyes.
Grant every indigenous person a million dollars as of a specific date (or whatever amount works) and the land ownership is sorted. Continuing to pay year after year (renting the country) is not an option for resolution.
As a person born here (or a person accepted by Citizenship) this is my country - I am not a tenant.