Treaties, international investment and self-determination were at the heart of the inaugural Intertribal Foreign Affairs Forum, held in Gimuy (Cairns).
Gudang and Kaurareg Elders say they want to break free from reliance on the Australian government and take control of their own affairs.
They will be one of the first groups to launch a sovereign government structure in the Northern Peninsula Area (NPA) or Torres Strait, and have already appointed community members to portfolios.
Minister for Elders, the Honorable Koey Kula, said he wanted to see positive change in the remote communities of the NPA for his children’s sake.
“We are going to do it all by our self, we will do this thing for our glory,” he told NITV.
“We want the [government] to look at us and see how [they] have oppressed us for a very long time, in our own County.
“Every time we want to come up, governments press us down.
“Now we have an opportunity to stand up.”
Yidinji Nation leads the way after a decade of sovereignty
The Sovereign Yidindji government, which organised the event, said 13 different nations attended the event from across the continent to discuss sovereignty and statehood into the future.
International law experts, former employees of international banks and technology experts were among the professionals invited to workshop the discussions.
Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister, Murrumu of Walubara, said the Yidindji nation had been on the journey as a sovereign nation government for over a decade.
“The forum was an event to really celebrate the tribal nations looking at setting up their own governments or their own governing councils that will make it easier for Australia to conduct multiple treaties in the future,” he said.
“Talking about the future of money and how digital currencies may play an important role in Indigenous statehood – I think that's a very important consideration for tribes to look at.”
‘Unite the tribes’, make a treaty
The Yidindji Sovereign Government held the first intertribal gathering.
Victoria led the way, with their Treaty act being the first in Australia to be passed in 2018, while Queensland’s Path to Treaty Act was passed in parliament in May 2023.
Those processes intend to lead state an commonwealth governments on the path to making treaties with Indigenous nations or societies.
Murrumu said his nation had formed a treaty with the Birri Gubba nation, and believed building diplomatic relations was an important step toward autonomy and self-governance.
“Without a treaty, Australia is sort of floating around at the moment,” he said.
“What we're trying to do is to inform and provide that knowledge of how we did it and [encourage others] to conduct inter-tribal treaties.
“We want to unify the Commonwealth of Australia and give it what they call security of tenure, security of personality.
“Make sure that Australia can be a great story in the future of settling the past and securing the future.”
Guest speaker at the intertribal forum, international environmental lawyer, Caroline Mair-Toby said it was important for Indigenous peoples to unify their voice on important issues.
“Everywhere I go, everywhere I talk to in the Amazon, in the Caribbean, north America, Russia, Africa, east Africa and Australia, it’s the same narrative,” she said.
“There’s a cultural genocide happening [and] there’s a physical genocide happening.
“How do we continue our culture from one generation to the next? This is what we’re fighting every single day as Indigenous peoples.
“What we have to do is unite the tribes [and] start talking about the reality of the situation.”
International investment on the cards
Murrumu said building statehood had its challenges but benefits would also prevail.
“How do you create something that you control?” he said.
“Form your government or your nation and build on it.
“Once you start to exhibit your intention internationally, then you get invited to speak via video conference to with presidents of various countries or some sort of trade mission or forum internationally.
“You start to build your name, the brand or the tribal name internationally.”
Yidindji Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon Murrumu, (second from left) is encouraging more nations to establish governing structures.
He said they’d been meeting with Chinese investors to discuss development of dilapidated infrastructure at significant sites of high tourism value.
“They’re willing to help us move forward very fast, no games,” he said.
“We want to show the outcomes to our people and all the jobs and things we've been talking about for many years."
Honorable Iwallee said Elders and community leaders had long fought against oppressive governments.
He said he was concerned about rising rates of incarceration in young people and felt his people couldn’t afford to wait on the Australian government to take action.
“We have children coming through, but all they do is get into trouble.
“We want to move to put education in place, put training in place and more jobs for our people. It's not about one person, it's about everybody.
“We need to move together as one people, and the only way is through sovereignty [and] we need it now.”
