Standing up for our land
Donation protected
I am a Wongutha man from the Goldfields of Western Australia. In October 2014 I was charged for defending a sacred site from desecration by mining.
The site is near to Mt Margaret Aboriginal community in Western Australia. All my life I have known that place is sacred and special. Miners were desecrating it without proper consultation or authority, putting themselves and our community in danger.
I tried to tell the miners they needed to stop before it was too late but they would not listen - and now I am the one in trouble with the law!
I need to fight this case in the courts and pay all the legal fees for private lawyers to represent me because the Aboriginal Legal Service cannot represent me unless I plead guilty - but I cannot plead guilty - I have a responsibility to protect our sacred places and our people.
It is a complicated case that requires experts to argue that traditional Aboriginal law and the rights of Aboriginal people are important, that our sacred places are important, and that we, Aboriginal people, are important. It will be expensive.
I am not a criminal, I am a warrior for my people and my land - will you be a warrior with me?
The site is near to Mt Margaret Aboriginal community in Western Australia. All my life I have known that place is sacred and special. Miners were desecrating it without proper consultation or authority, putting themselves and our community in danger.
I tried to tell the miners they needed to stop before it was too late but they would not listen - and now I am the one in trouble with the law!
I need to fight this case in the courts and pay all the legal fees for private lawyers to represent me because the Aboriginal Legal Service cannot represent me unless I plead guilty - but I cannot plead guilty - I have a responsibility to protect our sacred places and our people.
It is a complicated case that requires experts to argue that traditional Aboriginal law and the rights of Aboriginal people are important, that our sacred places are important, and that we, Aboriginal people, are important. It will be expensive.
I am not a criminal, I am a warrior for my people and my land - will you be a warrior with me?
Organizer
Christine Jeffries-Stokes
Organizer
Binduli, WA