day 3: too much to list

11:00am: sovereignty camp
There is an Indigenous/Aboriginal Sovereignty camp set up in King's Domain (part of the big grassy area that extends from the Royal Botanic Gardens). I learned of the camp’s existence from Gary Foley, the professor who has been lecturing for my Indigenous Culture and Learning class. He is, to say the least, a big name within the Aboriginal activist community. And is proud to talk about it… and was speaking when I got there. [If you are interested in who Gary Foley is you can check out his info by clicking on that link that I just learned how to make!] The sovereignty camp has been set-up as a kind of peaceful protest. There is a huge history behind acts such as this one. Background for you (from my class): The most successful Indigenous political action in history was the 1972 Aboriginal Embassy protest. In January of 1972 Prime Minister McMahon announced in a policy speech that his government would *not* grant Aboriginal land rights. That night four Indigenous people set up a tent on the lawn of Parliament fully expecting to be arrested. However, the police officer who first approached them told them that if they had 11 tents or less… there was no law saying that they could not camp on the lawn of Parliament; a loophole. So huge numbers of Aboriginal people joined the four protesters and established themselves in front of Parliament; and they ensured that they never had more than 11 tents erected. They conducted workshops and lectures and handed out pamphlets and gained increasing amounts of public support and media attention. “Why an Australian embassy in Australia?” people asked. Exactly, they said. If they were going to be treated like aliens on their own land they at least deserved an embassy. Their scraggly tent labeled “Aboriginal Embassy” was, obviously, a huge embarrassment to the government. After some amount of time a law was passed through making their camp illegal and it was, immediately, violently smashed… and internationally televised. Later, 2000 Aboriginal protesters re-erected the camp, surrounded it, and defied the police. It was smashed again. 3000 then re-erected it. This time though they let the police take their tents peacefully, symbolically. They declared a moral victory. The sovereignty camp that is here in Melbourne now is set up by what is called "The Black GST." GST stands for Genocide, Sovereignty, Treaty... Genocide to stop, Sovereignty recognized, Treaty to be made.




1:00pm: welcome place- wominjeka
The welcome place has been set up by the Koorie Heritage Trust. The information about it says, "An important part of Aboriginal culture is the welcoming of visitors to the country by the traditional owners- Welcome Place continues this tradition providing a fascinating insight into the rich diversity of Victorian Aboriginal Culture." However, it is mostly people selling things, some of which are genuine original Indigenous art... but many of which are extremely commercialized. Then there is a small space where dancing, music, and arts and crafts demonstrations happen daily. So we walked in to see the dance that was happening and it was really depressing. Indigenous people exoticized and stuck in a small corner to perform. Very striking having just come from the sovereignty camp.

1:30pm: spouting man
Yep. A man spouting water. Street performer. We actually saw this from the back so we saw all the pipes coming out of the back of the man's unisuit instead of the thrill from the front. Kinda entertaining.

3:30pm: african show boyz
Just four blocks away from my apartment, in the City Square. Five brother's from Ghana who call themselves the "African Show Boyz" and play wonderful reggae music, both traditional and otherwise and highlight their performances not only with their incredible drumming and dancing, but also with magic tricks.














5:30pm: anti-war protest
Troops out of Iraq protest. Three years since the U.S. invasion. On the steps of the Victoria State Library. Which means... directly across the street from my apartment, and right outside my window. I walked outside just past 5:30 to check it out (sounded like a dance party from my window). And this is the image I got when I opened the door to the street:


Yep. Six mounted police. You know, to control those crazy Australian hippies. And all the tourists supporting them. "No racism, no war— this is what we're fighting for."


9:00pm: miriam makeba (who is now 74)
I love free music concerts, I really do. We sat in the back, in the grass, and I for the vast majority of the concert I lay on my back and looked up at the stars. Just listening and feeling the rhythm through the ground. A perfect way to end a very busy day.

Except... then there was more. As I was walking home from the concert I saw that in the Arts Centre was a performance not to be missed! The performance was called "Dream Engine" and was performed by a group called the "Conedancers." Two aerialists performing suspended from the top of an eight-metre high inflatable cone lit from the inside. Wow.