October 22, 2024
On Monday, October 21, 2024, Indigenous Australian senator Lidia Thorpe confronted King Charles III during a royal reception in Australia’s Parliament, delivering a defiant message: “You are not my king. This is not your land.” Her powerful protest serves as a stark rejection of the ongoing legacy of British colonialism, calling attention to the unresolved dispossession and suffering of Indigenous peoples in Australia.
“You committed genocide against our people,” she shouted, demanding accountability from the monarchy. “Give us what you stole from us—our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people. You destroyed our land. Give us a treaty. We want a treaty.” For Thorpe, the absence of a treaty represents the unhealed wounds of colonization and the ongoing struggle for justice.
Thorpe’s words reflect the brutal history of colonization that began when British settlers arrived, seizing land under the doctrine of terra nullius—as if the land was empty, denying the existence of Indigenous peoples who had lived there for over many thousands of years. This colonization brought death, displacement, and the destruction of cultures, leading to systemic inequalities that persist today—higher incarceration rates, lower life expectancy, and economic disparity.
Her protest is part of a broader movement demanding long-overdue recognition through a formal treaty. This is not merely a symbolic gesture but a necessary step toward justice, where the true history of colonization can be acknowledged, and Indigenous peoples in Australia can reclaim what has been taken—land, culture, and dignity. “We want a treaty,” she declared, affirming her commitment to this cause.
Though some, like Indigenous elder Aunty Violet Sheridan, criticized Thorpe’s protest as “disrespectful,” it underscores a larger truth: the British monarchy remains a symbol of colonial oppression. For many Indigenous peoples in Australia, confronting the Crown’s role in their suffering is essential to healing and moving forward.
Thorpe’s defiance resonates beyond Australia, connecting the struggles of Indigenous peoples globally. From Canada to Palestine, British colonialism has left deep, enduring scars. In Canada, here Indigenous peoples have faced land dispossession, cultural erasure, and forced displacement—mirroring the violence endured by Palestinians under occupation. Both communities have suffered the theft of ancestral lands, suppression of their rights, and the erasure of their cultures. While Canada has made strides toward reconciliation through treaties and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, justice remains elusive, as Indigenous peoples continue to fight for the restoration of what was stolen.
Similarly, Palestinians face systematic dispossession, restrictions on their freedoms, and ongoing cultural erasure, culminating in the genocide in Gaza, where entire communities are being wiped out under siege, denied their basic human rights, and subjected to relentless violence. This is being carried out by Israeli forces with the support of the U.S., Britain, other Western powers, and Zionist governments, compounding the suffering of the Palestinian people as they resist occupation and struggle for their land and dignity.
The shared legacy of British imperialism underscores a global history of exploitation and displacement, with the British monarchy complicit in the suffering of Indigenous peoples worldwide. Thorpe’s defiance transcends national boundaries, standing in solidarity with Indigenous communities everywhere who continue to resist the structures of colonialism. Her protest is a powerful call for justice, not only in Australia but across the world, where Indigenous peoples, including those in Gaza, still struggle for recognition, sovereignty, and the return of their lands.
Thorpe’s actions demand that the colonial legacy be addressed, calling for recognition of Indigenous sovereignty and justice for generations of suffering. The monarchy, as a representative of that painful history, must reckon with its past. Until it does, for many like Thorpe, the Crown will never be a rightful authority on their land.
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