The Vision Statement of the Nyoongar Tent Embassy is...
To unify all Tribal Sovereign people to pursue our inherent, universal and indivisible right to self- determination for all present and future generations.
On 26 January 2023, hundreds of people across state lines and territories joined rallies in solidarity with the Aboriginal Tent Embassy and First Nations People, in what Tent Embassy organisers named ‘Sovereignty Day’ in Canberra.
This year, protests focused heavily on a sovereign recognition treaty, particularly in response to the government's proposed Voice to Parliament and upcoming referendum. The Tent Embassy does not support the referendum and shifted the focus of this year’s rallies back to sovereignty and truth-telling.
A short history of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy (link)
Billy Craigie and Michael Anderson setting up the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in front of Old Parliament House, on Ngunnawal Country (Canberra), on 27 January, 1972. Their sign reads, ‘Why pay to use our own land?’ Photo: State Library of New South Wales collection, sourced from Alamy
Often people think about the Aboriginal Tent Embassy as something historic, dating back to the 1970s. But it should also be thought of as a site of the longest protest for Indigenous land rights, sovereignty and self-determination in the world.
On 26 January 1972 four Indigenous men set up a beach umbrella on the lawns opposite Parliament House in Canberra. Describing the umbrella as the Aboriginal Embassy, the men were protesting the McMahon government’s approach to Indigenous land rights.
The embassy operated in a number of locations and took many forms before its permanent establishment on those same lawns in 1992.
The goals of protesters have also changed over time, and now include not only land rights but also Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination.
Tents stay put – Sydney Morning Herald 4/2/1972, p 1
Brisbane, QLD (launched 13 March 2012)
Cowra, NSW (Wiradjuri, launched 27 May 2012)
James Price Point, WA (Walmadan; launched 14 September 2011)
Moree, NSW (launched 12 April 2012)
Perth, WA (Bibbulman Tent Embassy at Matagarup (Heirisson Island), launched 12 February 2012, re-established in February 2015)
Port Augusta, SA (Gugada Embassy, launched 15 August 2012)
Portland, VIC (launched 8 February 2012)
Redfern, NSW (on The Block, from May 2014 to September 2015 in response to controversial redevelopment plans)
Sandon Point, NSW (Kuradji, launched December 2000)
Swan Valley, WA (Lockridge community; launched 19 May 2012)
Woomera, QLD (launched 16 May 2012)
