I am not an Australian citizen

This is Jimmy Everett-puralia meenamatta. Born at Flinders Island, Tasmania in 1942, he has been a seaman, skilled laborer, soldier, poet, playwright, writer, actor, and creative producer for films. For over 50 years, he has been involved in the Australian Aboriginal Struggle. Through my work in Indigenous rights and truth-telling in Australia, I’m lucky to have met and learned from him in some capacity.

Jim talks a lot about sovereignty, citizenship, and treaty in Australia. These are crucial conversations that will become increasingly important as the present Labour government attempts to attempt the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full. Questions we need to resolve if we are to reconcile with the violence, racism and oppression of the past and move together, in the spirit of truth-telling, as one people.

All words are Jim’s.

”I’m not an Australian citizen. I am the plangermairreenner of the Turbuna people of Tasmania. I maintain myself as a sovereign citizen because they’ve never asked us to be citizens. There is no form of documentation or Treaty ever undertaken in this country.”

“The 1967 referendum is assumed (to have) made us citizens. It didn’t. It simply said that they’d count us in the census and that the Commonwealth would have the powers to make laws for Aborigines. Which they never used- they only used it to make laws against us.”

“When there was talk of a Treaty at the end of the 80s… They (Bob Hawke’s government) changed the terminology from Australian Aboriginals to Aboriginal Australians. Now, this may seem harmless. But as Australian Aboriginals we were Aboriginals, albeit from Australia. But now we were Australian “citizens”, albeit Aboriginal.”

“Then (when Howard came to power), they changed it to Indigenous Australians. I heard him on the radio, when he was asked “what is this about, Prime Minister?” And he said, “well, everyone born in Australia is Indigenous.”

“We have to keep this struggle up. Because there can be no deals with the Australian government over citizenship if we’re already citizens.”

“The Voice to Parliament is just a distraction from making mob citizens. They can legislate a Voice tomorrow; they don’t need a referendum.”

“Colonial governments give very little away. A Treaty now will not be an agreement sovereign to sovereign, but a domestic agreement under the Constitution. Its important that at least it protects heritage, health, housing…”

“This is still a colony. It still flies the butcher’s apron. And right now, it’s a colonised self-colonised country. Because they can’t (seem to) let go.”

By Ro. For more artwork and stories see @sketchin_stories