Camp Sovereignty
King's Domain Victoria | |
| Location | King's Domain, Melbourne, Australia |
|---|---|
| Type | Demonstration |
| Theme | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights |
| Organized by | Marg Thorpe, Robbie Thorpe, Gary Foley, Robert Corowa |
Camp Sovereignty is the name given to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander protest movement established as part of the "Black GST" political movement. GST stands for ending genocide, acknowledging sovereignty, and securing treaty. The camp has existed as two iterations, one in March 2006 and one in January 2024. On 12 March 2006, a camp was established and a ceremonial fire was lit at the Kings Domain Resting Place, Melbourne, which is also a sacred site also used as a burial ground for repatriated remains of Aboriginal people. This camp was previously used to protest against the 2006 Commonwealth Games, referred to by the protesters as the "Stolenwealth Games" in reference to the negative treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders by the Commonwealth.
After the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games, the central emphasis of the camp shifted towards the ceremonial fire. Robert Corowa, one of the leaders of the protest, argued that the fire was sacred because of the central place of fire in Aboriginal traditions and ceremony. Under legal threat and the protest of over 100 people it was eventually quenched on 10 May 2006. However several sister fires have been lit in Redfern, Dandenong, and Framlingham to continue the protest.
These events have also guided other Australian protests, such as the Camp Freedom rally on the Gold Coast during the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The events of Camp Sovereignty have also been sourced as inspiration for future Indigenous activists and leaders from this notable and large-scale protest.
The 2024 camp has the additional goal of receiving ownership of the land around the memorial for use as a community space by the Indigenous community. Camp Sovereignty places emphasis on maximising media coverage nationally and internationally to so that Indigenous Australian civil rights issues would be understood by the global population. Further commentary through the form of podcasts and documentaries have continued to promote and acknowledge the impacts of the Camp Sovereignty movement.