Australian Aboriginals have never ceded sovereignty. There has never been an official declaration of surrender, nor has there been any other sort of treaty or agreement that relinquishes indigenous sovereignty or sets a path forward with which indigenous and non-indigenous Australians can walk together as we strive for a better, more equal world.

I used to believe a treaty would be a good thing. I used to believe it would solve so many of the problems that make up the plight of indigenous Australians, or at the very least, pave the way to their solution.

And in theory it sounds great, having some sort of formal agreement that ensures equality and equity for indigenous people, an agreement that forces it’s signatories to abide by its terms.

But it isn't.

Not in practice.

Not when you consider New Zealand, The United States of America, and Canada.

These countries, like Australia, were all colonised by Britain. But unlike Australia these nations also all have treaties with their First Peoples. But unfortunately these countries also share something else in common: a dark and hidden shame that is the social predicament of their First Peoples. They all share a gross overrepresentation of indigenous people in statistics relating to unemployment rates, low numeracy and literacy competence, and the impoverishment that accompanies it. They share a common theme of poor housing standards and high rates of homelessness for their First Peoples; they share statistics that reflect the inequality of access to health care, and a population in the justice system that is dramatically disproportionate to their non-indigenous counterparts.

Treaties haven’t stopped these social injustices from happening.

Treaties haven’t stopped the protests over land rights and the access to ancestral lands that are still being fought for today in places like the United States and Canada, where after over 400 years we still have ongoing resistance to colonial rule, where indigenous people are still fighting the destruction of their ancestral hunting grounds and sacred sites for profit, despite treaties being in place specifically to protect these things.

“Treaties haven’t prevented the fact that indigenous people living in some of the world’s most prosperous nations continue to suffer, the presence of a treaty has done very little, if anything, to minimise and mitigate the negative impacts upon the colonised people of these countries”

This is because these nations do not respect their treaties. They do not view them as the significant founding documents they are. They are merely viewed as recommendations and footnotes that can be ignored and disregarded when needed. Governments even go so far as to introduce laws and legislation that restrict the interpretation of these treaties, and regulate the power that they hold for indigenous people, while increasing the authority and power granted to governments and corporations.