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Jan 26, 1972-1972

Australia

The Aboriginal Embassy Tent Met with Violence

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ACTIVISTS/ACT.GROUPS/DESCRIPTION OF THE GROUP

Several Indigenous Protesters; Gurindji Tribe

TARGET

Prime Minister Harold Holt; Governor-General Lord Casey; Many Cabinet Ministers; Vestey Family

WIDELY HELD BELIEF

Indigenous people have rights over lands they are living on for hundreds of years over generations. The government cannot take away lands that are rightfully theirs by force.

CASE NARRATIVE

Issue and Opponent: The Indigenous people are known to be part of the Gurindji Tribe in the Northern Territory, Australia. In 1966 they entered a dispute with the Wave Hill station where they worked, fighting for labor rights and a return of indigenous lands. Dilemma Action: They engaged in various actions over the years, often occupying land peacefully. In this dilemma action, though, they chose to highlight the irony of the fact that their rights were not represented by the Australian government. To make the point, on Australia Day, January 26, 1972, four young Aboriginal men erected a beach umbrella on the lawns outside Parliament House in Canberra and put up a sign which read ‘Aboriginal Embassy.’ The site then became known as the Aboriginal Tent Embassy. The action then drew considerable attention, and over the months, supporters grew to 2000. Outcomes: The action drew a lot of media and grew support for the action. When the protesters were met with violence as the police violently dismantled the tents, television film crews captured the violence for the evening news, and an outraged public expressed its disgust toward the federal government. The violent actions of the government exposed their repressive tactics and built sympathy for the activists. Several successes were claimed, including funds for the Gurundji people to purchase land. Also, in 1976 the “Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act was passed, which allowed Indigenous people to claim land with proof that they hold a traditional and spiritual connection with.

PRIMARY STRUGGLE/GOAL

Environment

DA TACTICS USED

Ironic representation

Nonviolent occupation

CASE NARRATIVE WRITER

SUCCESS METRICS

11 / 12

(CONC) Concessions were made

(EREP) Dilemma action got replicated by other movements

(MC) Media Coverage

(MSYMP) Media coverage was sympathetic to the activists

(OR) Opponent response

(PS) Dilemma action built sympathy with the public

(PUN) Punishment favored the activists

(REFR) Dilemma action reframed the narrative of the opponent

(RF) Dilemma action reduced fear and/or apathy among the activists

(SA) Dilemma action appealed to a broad segment of the public

Laugtivism

PART OF A LARGER CAMPAIGN

3 / 3

Activist group continued working together after the action

Encouraged more participants to join the movement

Internally replicated by the same movement

RESOURCES

Project documentation

Dilemma Actions Coding Guidebook

Case study documentation

Dilemma_Actions_Analysis_Dataset

CC BY 4.0 Deed, Attribution 4.0 International

SOURCES

Robinson, S. 1972. “The Aboriginal Embassy: An Account of the Protests of 1972,” Retrieved July 20, 2023. (http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p72441/pdf/article0712.pdf).

National Museum Australia. 1972. “Aboriginal Tent Embassy,” (https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/aboriginal-tent-embassy).

https://www.nma.gov.au/explore/features/indigenous-rights/land-rights/embassy. Accessed April 15, 2022.

Rivard, Angeline. 2013. “Indigenous Gurindji win land rights in Australia (Wave Hill Walk Off) 1966-1975,” Global Nonviolent Action Database, November 18. Retrieved July 20, 2023. (https://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/indigenous-gurindji-win-land-rights-australia-wave-hill-walk-1966-1975).

Srduncombe. 2012. “Aboriginal Tent Embassy,” Actipedia, September 20. Retrieved July 20, 2023. (https://actipedia.org/project/aboriginal-tent-embassy).

Robinson, S. 1994. “THE ABORIGINAL EMBASSY: AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROTESTS OF 1972.” Aboriginal History. Retrieved July 20, 2023. (https://www.jstor.org/stable/24046088).


Lothian, Kathy. 2007. “Moving Blackwards: Black Power and the Aboriginal Embassy.” Retrieved July 20, 2023. (http://www.kooriweb.org/foley/resources/pdfs/132.pdf).

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