Fourth Conversation

Ollie, Sydney, with Anne, Sydney.

1. A: What is sovereignty? What does it mean to you?

    O:It's like a recognition of equal rights to ownership of what we construct as a nation.

    

2. A: What would sovereignty physically look like?

    O:"White" Australia and Aboriginal Australia equal autonomous parts.

    If they work together, good. If they don't, that's ok. Each exercises its sovereignty.

O:What about you?

    A:For the first question, the power to control your destiny.

    For the second question, elders overseeing decisionmaking in their territories.

O: But what if 200 years of occupation has decimated their capacity to self-regulate?

    A:There needs to be institutional support.

O: Couldn't that be colonialist? Who oversees that support?

    A:Elders. A council of elders.

O: I suppose that could work.