Well, hey there. Let’s talk about this “who owns native” thing. It’s a real head-scratcher, ain’t it?
First off, what in tarnation does “native” even mean? Lots of folks use different words, ya know? Some say American Indian, some say Indian, some say Native American, some say Indigenous, and some just say Native. It’s like tryin’ to pick the right apple from a whole dang orchard! But what I hear is, most times, them folks just wanna be called by their tribe name. Like, if they’re Kiowa, call ’em Kiowa. Makes sense, right? Like callin’ me by my name, not just “that old woman down the road.” And hey, if you wanna say “thank you” in Kiowa, it’s “aho.” Learned that little tidbit somewhere.
Now, this “spirit animal” thing… gotta be careful there. It ain’t somethin’ to be thrown around lightly. Them Native folks got their own special ways, and this “spirit animal” stuff is real important to ’em. It ain’t right to just go around usin’ it like it’s some kinda toy. It’s like takin’ someone’s special quilt they made and wearin’ it like a tablecloth. Just ain’t right.
Okay, so who owns the land, the “native land”? That’s a big ol’ question. It’s about what they call “native title.” Sounds fancy, but it just means who rightfully owns the land. There’s all sorts of rules and laws about it, and it ain’t always easy to figure out. They got these big books and papers, and lawyers talkin’ in circles. It’s enough to make your head spin.
- They got these “prescribed body corporates,” or PBCs, for short. These are groups that manage the land for the Native folks. It’s like a bunch of folks comin’ together to take care of things, make sure everything’s fair and square.
- And they talk about “beneficial ownership legal structures”. Sounds complicated, don’t it? It’s just about figuring out who really benefits from the land, who the real owners are. It can be messy and slow going.
They even got folks lookin’ at old bones and stuff, tryin’ to figure out who was where way back when. But that can be tricky too, ’cause ya gotta be respectful of them old bones and the people they came from. It’s like diggin’ in your grandma’s attic without askin’ – just ain’t right.
Thirty years after that Mabo fella, they’re still figurin’ this whole thing out. It takes a long time, seems like. Lots of talkin’, lots of paper shufflin’, lots of arguin’. It’s important though. It’s about respect, about doin’ what’s right, about makin’ sure folks get what’s rightfully theirs. It’s about the land, the rights to the land. They even got laws and stuff, like the Native Title Act from 1993, but it seems like it is still messy and complicated.
And you know, this ain’t just about the past. It’s about the future too. It’s about makin’ sure that the Native folks have a say in what happens to their land, that they can keep their traditions alive, that their kids and grandkids can have a good life. It’s about more than just owning land. It’s about owning their own story, their own history, their own future.
And another thing I hear they talk about, it is that “cloud-native development approach”. I don’t know what that is, but seems like it cost lots of money. And I think it is also about who owns it. Same as the land, same as everything, money and land always cause arguments. People always want to own something.
So, who owns native? Well, it ain’t a simple answer, is it? It’s a whole mess of history, laws, traditions, and respect. And it’s somethin’ we all gotta keep talkin’ about, keep tryin’ to understand, keep workin’ on, so everyone gets a fair shake. It is about being fair and square to everyone, especially to them who were there first.
Tags: Native, Native American, Indigenous, Native Title, Land Rights, Ownership, Cultural Appropriation, History, Legal Process
