Aboriginal law & justice

If Aboriginal customary law and white law come together and recognise one another, they can change the direction everything is heading in. —Yidumduma Bill Harney, Aboriginal lawman [2]

Aboriginal law and justice statistics

Aboriginal youth programs that work

Aboriginal youth is often exposed to domestic violence and abuse which increases the risk of them becoming future offenders.

The songlines that once linked Aboriginal communities have been replaced by trauma lines. —Ken Zulumovski, Aboriginal Men's Healing and Life Skills Program [19]

Taking these young Aboriginal people out to activities can break the cycle, renew their ties to Aboriginal culture and respect for elders.

It is refreshing and encouraging to read a few success stories in the area of law and justice:

"Those kids are now seen as heroes"

When Aboriginal youths destroyed a police truck NSW Aboriginal Liaison Officer Eddie Moore started spending time and talking with them.

He realised that he had to "establish ways of relieving the boredom, of getting the kids off the street and actively involved in things" [12].

One task was to "break the cycle where repeat offenders were often seen as heroes and role models by younger Aboriginal youths and find them other role models".

In 2006 Mr Moore established the Wanga Indingii Program which started with a three-day camp for about 15 Aboriginal boys with activities like spear-making and storytelling. Since then the program has grown into a 12-month structured program for about 40 Koori kids each year.

Aboriginal kids participating in the program are nominated by their schools or youth-related service providers, which encourages the kids to regularly attend school and perform well.

The program monitors the children's school attendance and behaviour and helps them get back on track if there are any problems at school or at home. Through teaching them life-skills and encouraging them along the way these kids complete their courses, thus becoming role models of a different kind to their peers.

A leadership project identifies future leaders in the Aboriginal community among the kids who are then taken to an intensive training. At the end they walk the Kokoda Track (a narrow 96-km track in Papua New Guinea) with seven police officers, a life-changing experience.

Those kids are now seen as heroes and are acting as mentors to other kids. —Eddie Moore, NSW Police Aboriginal Liaison Officer [12]

That's one of the hardest things I'll probably ever do in my life. Everything seems easier now. You think back to when you're over there. You don't need to complain. —Jessica Pratt, leadership project participant [13]

"I am a far better person," says Redfern police commander

For some police officers working in Redfern, Sydney's suburb with the highest Aboriginal population, "the suburb's notorious Block is beyond conventional police control" (Sergeant Paul Huxtable) and is the "bag snatch capital" of Australia [1].

But this is only half the story. After walking the streets and acting as a primary contact to Aboriginal people as a Police Local Area Commander in Redfern for 14 months, Catherine Burn said:

I am a far better person because of what I have learned from many Aboriginal people over the last 14 months. My daily walks around the Block and other areas in Redfern have given me a greater understanding of so many troubling issues but have also given me a greater hope that we can move forward and achieve positive change. Catherine Burn, Police Commander

For Catherine breaking down the barriers between police and Aboriginal people is key to "overcome some of the obstacles that have traditionally been present between police and Aboriginal people." This can be done through projects like

• Youth Mentor Program: Young Aboriginal children are allocated a police mentor who aims to meet with them fortnightly to discuss relevant issues such as school or sport;
• Oz Tag, the only true non-contact form of Rugby League, where a tackle is affected when a tag is removed from the side of a player's shorts;
• Horse Whispering, where young Indigenous people learn about using trust instead of fear when they manage horses at the Redfern Mounted Police Centre;
• Sea skills: teaching Aboriginal youth sea skills,
• community BBQs

and a whole range of other activities. In reference to the young Aboriginal children at Redfern Catherine states:

They are great kids who have experienced more trauma in their short lives than most of us have ever, or will ever, experience. Catherine Burn, Police Commander

Traumas are often caused by domestic violence, drug or alcohol abuse, social and economic disadvantage or cross-generational traumas of the Stolen Generations.

Young Aboriginal offenders celebrate culture

Sydney's Cobham Juvenile Justice Centre has successfully tried another way of strengthening young Aboriginal offenders' self-confidence and cultural knowledge [5].

To prepare the performance of a Dreaming story the group learned about the Dreaming and how to perform traditional Aboriginal dance.

The young offenders learned about their culture and reconnected with their Aboriginal identity. They also learned to share knowledge and developed a better understanding of each other, their self-respect and respect for others.

The program provides a forum for Aboriginal young offenders to develop friendships with other Aboriginal young people in custody, helping them to stay on the right track towards rehabilitation.

Does extra police help?

What happens if more police are deployed to Aboriginal communities?

A study has shown that more police in Northern Territory communities reduced alcohol-related problems, but did little to 'invisible' crimes like marijuana use, sexual assault or stealing [22].

The research found that 'public' problems such as alcohol (46% people reporting improvements) and community violence (45%) had improved most. An interesting finding is that people in remote communities supported an ongoing police presence, with 75% of respondents approving a permanent police presence and 53% believing police did a good job [22]. However, there were vast differences between communities.

Compare these compensations

So you thought you could trust Australia's justice system to be just?

Tribal punishment

One of the traditional tribal punishments is spearing where the victim gets speared into the leg. This type of punishment is often shown in Aboriginal movies and imposed if you don't follow the tribal law.

Here's a personal account by Henry Long about receiving a spearing.

I got speared in the leg, too, for being cheeky. I got hit on the head, too, by all my old people. The spear came out of the calf of the leg. My old father did that. I was a cheeky bloke fighting the other fellas over some silly things I been doing in my young days. I was going with the wrong girls. My skin gorup is Milangka. I was with someone from a wrong skin group...
After you've taken your punishment then people don't worry about you. —Henry Long, Aboriginal man [15]

Law grounds

Traditionally Aboriginal law was decided in councils of men and they decided matters of the land and its boundaries [16]. These men met on law grounds which were usually within the boundaries of a tribes' country. Some of these law grounds however were on the boundary itself, hence accessible for both tribes. This enabled Aboriginal people of both tribes to meet together without crossing other people's lands.

Law grounds were used not only for councils but also to put young Aboriginal men and women through traditional law. If each parent was from a different tribal group they could decide between them where each child of theirs would be initiated and at which tribe's law ground [17].

The beginning of an initiation ceremony

Peter Stevens, a Kurrama man, remembers law meetings for initiation [17].

"When there are law meetings for initiation, the starting procedure is for the ceremonies to start from the centre of the law ground. Say you've got a son to start the meeting, you must stay within the law ground boundary and start the ceremony there. If you go to the ceremony, you can't leave that law ground until everything connected with the initiation process is finished. As a father you are not allowed to go anywhere. All the fathers must sit there throughout the ceremony."

"The preparation for the ceremony starts with one boy going round to the communities bringing all of the mobs to the law ground for the opening. And this young boy and the others who are going through the law with him will come back to the centre of that law ground."

"The traditional method was that two boys at a time would go through the law together in accordance with their skin grouping, and in a relationship of skin which cannot be mixed up. These boys are said to be yarlbu to each other, which means that they have gone through initiation together."

"These days, with the loss of traditional land and culture, there is a lot of mixing up of skin grouping at these ceremonies, everybody is yarlbu now. Traditionally boys who were yarlbu were said to be like brothers-in-law, gumbarli. At the end of this meeting and when the ceremony is over, the people will decide where the next ceremony will be held, which law ground, and when."

Out of respect for Aboriginal culture I use Indigenous sources as much as possible.
[1] 'Redfern, 90 days after the eruption', The Sydney Morning Herald, 16/5/2004 [2] 'Crime & punishment in Aboriginal law', The Arch (Bond Uni), Spring 2009 p.14 [3] Koori Mail 394 p.16 [4] 'The intervention we had to have', SMH 21/6/2008 [5] 'Young offenders celebrate culture', Koori Mail 444 p.38 [6] 'Police ordered to pay $55,000 for wrongful arrest', Sun Herald, 3/5/2009 [7] 'WA murder compo denied', NIT 12/6/2008 p.6 [8] 'Internal probe for Qld police over Hurley compo', NIT 12/6/2008 p.5 [9] 'Inmate levels worsen', Koori Mail 454 p.14 [10] 'More in prisons', Korri Mail 467 p.19 [11] 'Calma's final report points to brighter future', Koori Mail 468 p.7 [12] 'Program helps kids walk tall', Koori Mail 436 p.38 [13] 'Going the Distance', MessageSticks, 12/11/2007, ABC1, 6pm, www.abc.net.au/tv/messagestick/stories/s2087835.htm (3/1/2009) [14] 'Prisoners in Australia, 2007', Australian Bureau of Statistics [15] 'Karijini Mirlimirli', Noel Olive, Fremantle Arts Centre Press 1997 p.38 [16] 'Karijini Mirlimirli, loc. cit. p.76 [17] 'Karijini Mirlimirli, loc. cit. p.78 [18] 'More being locked up', Koori Mail 470 p.15 [19] 'Enquiry examines jailing of juveniles', Koori Mail 472 p.37 [20] 'Books plan locked in', Koori Mail 473 p.6 [21] www.hiltonsydney.com.au, visited 6/6/2010 [22] 'Mixed findings', Koori Mail 474 p.15 [23] 'Legal service DVD drama focus on people's rights', Koori Mail 480 p.26