Uluru Statement from the Heart / Come On Down

This sovereignty is a spiritual notion: the ancestral tie between the land,
or 'mother nature', and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who
were born therefrom, remain attached thereto, and must one day return thither
to be united with our ancestors. This link is the basis of the ownership of the
soil, or better, of sovereignty. It has never been ceded or extinguished,
and co-exists with the sovereignty of the Crown.
How could it be otherwise? That peoples possessed a land for sixty millennia
and this sacred link disappears from world history in merely the last two
hundred years?
With substantive constitutional change and structural reform, we believe this
ancient sovereignty can shine through as a fuller expression of Australia’s
nationhood.
Proportionally, we are the most incarcerated people on the planet.
We are not an innately criminal people. Our children are aliened from their
families at unprecedented rates. This cannot be because we have no love for
them. And our youth languish in detention in obscene numbers. They should be
our hope for the future.
These dimensions of our crisis tell plainly the structural nature of our
problem. This is the torment of our powerlessness.
We seek constitutional reforms toempower our people and take a rightful place
in our own country. When we have power over our destiny our children will
flourish. They will walk in two worlds and their culture will be a gift to
their country.
We call for the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the
Constitution.
Makarrata is the culmination of our agenda: the coming together after a
struggle. It captures our aspirations for a fair and truthful relationship with
the people of Australia and a better future for our children based on justice
and self-determination.
We seek a Makarrata Commission to supervise a process of agreement-making
between governments and First Nations and truth-telling about our history.
In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and
start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a
movement of the Australian people for a better future."
Society’s enormous
Alienation breeds
Loneliness so sad
We need company
Get off those little screens
And find out what it all means
Gather round the campfire
The campfire of humankind
Come on Down
Come on Down
To the stompin' ground
Come on Down
Faces are glowing
Strange music plays
Smoke adds distortion
In a magical way
Timepasses freely
We’re all passing through
A night round the campfire
Gonna do it for you
Come on Down
Come on Down
To the stompin' ground
Come on Down