Connection with the land

I read today that a steering committee has recommended that all Crown land in Victoria should be opened to Native Title claims by Indigenous groups. If this was to come to fruition (it still has to become legislation and pass the parliament) it would be a great step forward for Reconciliation in this state.

A number of years ago I was able to walk with the Indigenous custodian of Wilsons Promontory. He spoke of the Aboriginal heritage of that place and their connection to the land in that place. Anyone who has ever been to the Prom recognises that it is a spiritual place. That walk, more than anything else, has shown me the connection that our Indigenous people have with this land. It also showed me the lack of connection that we non-indigenous people have with the land.

While some indigenous cultural practices might change our use of the land (not climbing Uluru for example) I think that this would be for the best. For too long we have tried to live in Australia as if we lived in England. We steal water from the rivers to irrigate farmland to grow and graze food and animals from Europe.

The article currently highlights a problem with the current system. Indigenous groups currently have to show a continuous link to the land they wish to claim under Native Title. In Victoria most indigenous communities were relocated after colonisation and so have lost that continuous link. It is interesting to realise that I lived for 18 years in Gippsland and was never told once that it was the site of numerous massacres of the Indigenous population. Their disconnection from the land is a direct result of European colonisation.

It is definitely time that we recognised the indigenous communities connection with their land.

What I read today:

Native title reform bid

Isreali troops enter Gaza City