A public holiday was declared in Australia on 22 September to mark a day of mourning for the passing of the Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. And it was indeed a day of mourning for many First Nations Australians – but a day of mourning for Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, a day of mourning for loss of land, the attempted loss of culture, the removal of children and the continued and ongoing dispossession of Aboriginal people.
Across the country, the Warriors of the Aboriginal Resistance organised rallies calling for the Abolition of the Monarchy, a return of land, and an end to Aboriginal deaths in custody.
On today’s program, I will bring you some of the speeches from the Melbourne rally.  And later on the program, one speech from the 50 yr anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra, as another marker of Aboriginal people’s resistance to the Monarchy and to colonisation.
With the voices of Donna Kerr and Meriki Onus, the family of Josh Kerr who died in custody 6 weeks ago; Lidia Thorpe, Australian Senator; and Dtarneen Onus, reading out a statement of Uncle Percy Nelson who was the partner of Veronica Nelson who died in custody.