food land law
Land is not a resource. It is relation
Mother Earth in our Country is our teacher of traditional knowledge and the ultimate custodian of lore and laws. We are part of the land, children of our respective Countries. We cannot claim to own land.
Looking after Country. Family responsibility.
Aboriginal people only take from Mother Earth what is necessary to survive and sustain an enriched yet modest existence. Movements across land were carefully planned to coincide with anticipated seasonal changes. Adequate recovery. Resources replenishment. Cultural burning. Sustainable fishing and hunting practices. Since before colonisation.
Mother Earth has endured the effects of The Stolen Generations. When children were taken from their families, they were also taken from their Mother Country. Dispossession. Outside interventions. Denial of Aboriginal ways of looking after Country. Mother Earth’s misery and deterioration.
Mutual acknowledgements. Mutual respect. Integrating non Aboriginal technology with traditional Aboriginal value systems. Learning from our knowledge systems and our relationship to Country. Caring and sharing for others.
In another time and place.
In another time and place. Agricultural cycles tied to reverence and ritual.
The Roman festival of Cerealia was held in honour of Ceres, goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships. It took place in April. Games and public ceremonies recognised the importance of grain to the Roman state. Grain was survival. The health of crops meant the stability of society.
Food production not merely economic but sacred. Cycles of sowing and harvest. Dependence on land.
Across cultures there is recognition that land sustains life. Honour and shame laws. Agricultural renewal. Survival requires respect.
where we stand now
Too much time has passed. Too much change has come about for land to be as healthy as it was before colonisation. Mother Earth’s state of health ought to be of concern for all people. A harmonising of developments with greater sensitivity and understanding of Mother Earth’s capabilities is needed to better look after the Earth our Mother so that She can continue providing for us as she always has.
Food. Land. Law.
Care for Country. Show up for Mother Earth.