Who are they? First Nations peoples from communities across Australia, and their supporters.
What do they want? Freedom from colonial bondage, and nothing less, is what many Australian First Nations Peoples are striving for in their advance toward a treaty that returns to them what was so brutally taken from them: sovereignty.
Australia’s First Nation peoples have never ceded sovereignty, and fight to this day for the right to live true to their own cultural vision. Sovereignty is about taking total responsibility, self-determination and self-sufficiency. Instead of being dependent on a system of exploitation, the twin pillars of freedom and responsibility are the essence of sovereignty.
Who/what are they fighting? Colonial oppression from an occupying force (the Australian government).
How do they organise? The sovereign rights movement is a decentralized network of Indigenous rights activists, elders and community leaders who have formed a sovereign union for the advancement of a treaty. The union is attended by representatives from across the continent.
Success stories: In 2012 the National Unity Government of the Sovereign Union of First Nations Peoples in Australia was established, and the Act of Sovereign Union between First Nations Peoples in Australia was formally recognized by signatories. A number of Sovereign Embassies have since been established across the continent.