Introduction: Racism, Resentment and the Challenges of Democracy for Indigenous Peoples
By: Sarah Maddison, Carew Boulding, Raymond Foxworth
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On 26 May 2017, the Uluru Statement from the Heart was presented to the people of Australia. Standing in front of a media pack, in the shadow of Uluru, constitutional scholar and co-chair of the Referendum Council, Cobble Cobble woman Megan Davis, read the Statement to the nation. The Statement spoke of Indigenous sovereignty that has never been ceded or extinguished, of the torment of the powerlessness experienced by First Nations in Australia, and called for constitutional reforms that would allow Indigenous people to ‘take a rightful place’ in their own country (Uluru Statement, 2017). These reforms were articulated as a demand for Voice, Treaty and Truth, with the first step being to enshrine an Indigenous advisory body, a proposed Voice to Parliament, in the Australian Constitution. In this moment, Australia began what would be an extraordinarily challenging journey towards its 45th referendum, a journey that would leave many wondering what had gone so badly wrong. As the history books will show, the ‘Voice’ referendum, eventually held on 14 October 2023, was resoundingly defeated, joining a long list of failed referenda in this country.
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