The Aboriginal Embassy, Sovereignty, and Reconciliation: A Report

This report examines the Aboriginal Embassy's role as a symbol of Aboriginal sovereignty and the ongoing struggle for land rights and self-determination in Australia. It summarizes the article by Muldoon and Schaap, discussing the Embassy's significance in the context of reconciliation politics and the appropriation of state sovereignty claims. The report highlights the Embassy's demonstration of Aboriginal constituent power, its impact on the Australian public discourse, and the hindering effects of reactionary politics on the reconciliation process. The report also touches on the politics of atonement, the apology to the stolen generations, and the role of racial ideas in shaping the reconciliation process. The author found the article insightful in understanding the complexities and challenges surrounding the reconciliation process and its impact on the well-being of the country. The report draws from various sources to give a detailed analysis.

Running Head: ABORIGINAL SOVEREIGNTY AND OF RECONCILIATION 1
Aboriginal Sovereignty and Of Reconciliation
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ABORIGINAL SOVEREIGNTY AND OF RECONCILIATION 2
Aboriginal sovereignty and the politics of reconciliation: the constituent power of the
Aboriginal Embassy in Australia
By Paul Muldoom and Andrew Schaap
Article summary
This article discussed the Aboriginal Embassy as an inspirational demonstration of the
fifth for land rights as well as the self-determination of the Aboriginal. This is especially in the
reoccupation of the land that is in front of the parliament house for a half a year in 1972. Since
then, the protesters have strived to maintain the embassy on the particular location as a statement
for their continued Aboriginal struggle. Monumentally, 20 years later in 1992, the demonstrators
pronounced Aboriginal sovereignty. This was instrumental at the time since state-instituted
reconciliation talks were kicking off in the country. In the Australian public discourse, the
reconciliation process is always in tandem with progressive politics (Muldoon & Schaap, 2012).
The paper examines how reactionary politics especially those related to the reconciliation
process impact the fight for land rights as well as the Embassy’s sovereignty. According to
Muldoom and Schaap, the sovereignty of the state and democratic praxis are related. As can be
seen from the case of Antonio Negri, the Embassy is deemed as one way in which the constituted
power of the Aboriginal people can be exhibited. The same applies to those who do not support
them. Until today, the Aboriginals still feel that their independence and sovereignty was not
ceded underlining why they are always revolting. The authors also posit that the Australian state
appropriates to prop up its claims regarding sovereignty that are hugely flawed. They go ahead to
illustrate this proposition by drawing comparisons between the symbolism of the Reconciliation
Place in Canberra and the Aboriginal Embassy.

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They outline various ways in which the Embassy exploits the fact that the Aboriginal
people are ambiguous. This makes them appear as citizens that live within and without the
community that is presupposed by the country. By so doing the Embassy brings forth the
probability of there being a break with the past-the colonial era- then we see it in the
reconciliatory politics which on the face of it the state has failed to implement.
This article was very useful since it helped me understand the never-ending struggles between
the Aboriginals and the Embassy. Apart from just shading light on the subject, it helped me
understand why the reconciliation process is long overdue. According to the authors, the
reconciliation process has been hindered by politics that oftentimes defocus the whole objectives,
the article is replete with evidence regarding this. Reading this material was quite intimidating at
the beginning due to its size. I had to jot down little notes for the eventual summarization. The
emphasis on how the Aboriginals and the Embassy are related was particularly instrumental in
comprehending how the phenomena affect the country’s wellbeing (Watson, 2017).
The politics of atonement have come to shape the current political landscape of the
country thus underlining their significance. They are also central to the reconciliation process
that is now age-old. The apology of the stolen generations is another important aspect of the
nations that are worth considering in this context. Atonement is all about making the sidelined
communities feel again part of the national discourse (Goodall, 2016). Thus making them realize
as beneficiaries of otherwise what was initially considered to be privileges of other communities
in the past can be an instrumental part of the reconciliation process. Racial ideas have been
central to the atonement process. Initially, there attempts to limit cover for acts of discrimination
by maintaining the status quo which was a significant hindrance to their effectiveness. However,
things are changing significantly with each passing day.

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References
Muldoon, P., & Schaap, A. (2012). Aboriginal sovereignty and the politics of
Reconciliation: the constituent power of the Aboriginal Embassy in Australia.
Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 30(3), 534-550.
Newfong, J. (2012). The Aboriginal Embassy. Identity.
Dow, C. (2015). Aboriginal Tent Embassy: icon or eyesore?.
Lothian, K. (2017). Moving blackwards: Black power and the Aboriginal Embassy.
Watson, I. (2017). The Aboriginal Tent Embassy 28 Years After it was Established:
Interview with Isobell Coe. Indigenous Law Bulletin, 5(1), 17-8.
Goodall, H. (2016). Invasion to embassy: land in Aboriginal politics in New South Wales, 1770-
1972. Sydney University Press.