This month, Townhall covered how an Ivy League university transferred ownership of a portion of its land to a Native American tribe.
Brown University transferred ownership of the land in Bristol, Rhode Island to a preservation trust created by the Pokanoket Indian Tribe.
According to the Associated Press, in 2017, members of the tribe and their advocates set up an encampment at the university, pointing out that the land was stolen from them centuries ago. A month later, the school reached an agreement acknowledging that the land belonged to the Pokanoket.
This is one of many examples in recent years where land has been given back to Native Americans. This sort of situation has occurred with Indigenous tribes in other parts of the world, as well, including Australia.
This week, reports broke that one Indigenous group has decided that they no longer want “land acknowledgement” ceremonies on their ancestral land in the Shire of Burdekin in Queensland. These ceremonies, called “Welcome to Country,” are performed by local indigenous groups to “acknowledge and give consent to events taking place on their traditional lands,” according to the University of New South Wales.
The Juru people in Australia decided this because they find it “embarrassing,” according to multiple outlets. Additionally, the group voted to ban the Welcome to Country ceremonies because they believe that people without ancestral ties to the Burdekin were profiting from the ceremonies (via Sky News):
The motion passed after receiving support from the elders with Juru Elder and Chair of the meeting Randal Ross suggesting the process had become a "business" and that it was being "abused".
"We're only speaking for our country and that's why it's important that we can see it well and truly being abused," he told Bill McDonald on 4BC Mornings.
"It makes us feel embarrassed."
Ross told News.au.com that “The elders have had enough.”
“It is being abused and they want to put a stop to it,” Ross said.
“I can’t get into a political nightmare here but all I can say is I’m happy to work with the traditional owners,” Burdekin Mayor Pierina Dalle Cort reportedly said. ““We had the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ vote (Voice referendum) and that vote should have been listened to at that time as well. We’re multicultural, we’re one country and we’ve all got to learn to live and work together.”
