Palawa (Tasmanian Aboriginal people) have not ceded sovereignty. We have not ceded our rights to Lutruwita/Tasmania lands, waterways, seas and sky Country.

Country is the English word we use to describe the lands, waterways, seas and sky that we are a part of. Country is more than a description of our connection to lands, waterways, seas and sky. Country is us and we are Country. Country is intrinsic to our culture and tunapri/knowledge. We understand that we are a part of Country, not separate to it.

We have an unbroken obligation to care for it, as we do for family. Country holds lore, custom and language, and is at the center of our spiritual and cultural practices providing sustenance for our people as it has for millennia. Country is a living being that has its’ own right to exist and thrive.

Palawa have a unique, ongoing, unbroken and reciprocal relationship with Country. We have responsibilities to care for and look after Country.

Part of our relationship to Country is that we are interconnected with all elements of Country within a reciprocal relationship. “Healthy Country Healthy People” is real for us, and it goes both ways too – healthy people leads to healthy Country.

Our relationship with Country is at the heart of all we do. It is the legacy we carry from all the generations who came before us, it guides our values, our principles and our rights, and it brings with it the responsibility to care for Country in stewardship for future generations.

Country also provides us with a sense of who we are as individuals, families and as a Community. It’s a place of sustenance, healing and regeneration, and it helps anchor us back to what is important.

It is Country that created us and our belonging to Country gives us our responsibility and our ownership. Through our history, our struggles and our enduring connection we have not ceded sovereignty or our rights our Country.

We ask that all people that live, work and visit our Country learn to respect our people’s rights to our Country. From our relationship with Country, we assert the rights to maintain our ongoing connections to Country, and all that this connection brings to us. These rights being:

  • The right to self-determination in choosing how we as a Community advance in all matters related to our Country.
  • The right to shared decision-making with others on issues that impact on our Country, and especially where these decisions impact on our Community.
  • The right to economic benefits derived from our Country.