Land sovereignty, the ability of First Peoples to assert control over their ancestral lands, varies widely from one country to another. In Australia, Native Title allows Aboriginal communities to have some say in land management decisions, but without full autonomy.
In contrast, Native American reservations in the United States offer a level of sovereignty and self-determination that's absent in the Australian model. But does that sovereignty come at a cost?
Professor Alex Pearl, an enrolled citizen of the Chickasaw Nation and Professor of Law at Oklahoma University, told National Indigenous Times:
"Once land is identified as having reservation status, we think of it in legal terms as Indian country. This immunizes those Tribal lands from things like State Taxation or other state laws. Federal law still very much applies, such as environmental protection and mineral rights."
However, Professor Pearl points out the complexities.
"Even if it's still reservation status, a non-Indian corporation wanting to, say, drill for oil, is going to need to get approval from the federal government and tribal approval. So there's still this sort of two layers of government they have to work with."
While Native Title in Australia allows Indigenous communities to negotiate with mining companies, it doesn't provide the same level of self-determination. In recent times, there's been a push from some Aboriginal communities in Australia to assert more sovereignty over their Native Titled lands, aiming for legislation that provides greater autonomy. In the U.S., reservations have offered a lifeline to Tribes.
"Reservations are essential. They've always been essential. I get very frustrated when I hear non-Indian folks say tribes were given land. The lands were ours, upon Columbus getting lost and landing here," Professor Pearl said.
However, the professor notes that reservations also pose challenges.
"Being on a reservation with significant resources exposes that tribe and its citizens to significant harms, especially Native women," he said.
It's a commonality that echoes with Australia's Native Title system, where resource-rich lands attract external entities, sometimes to the detriment of Indigenous communities. Furthermore, disparities exist within Reservations where there can be economic extremes with some Tribes worth billions, and others in abject poverty.
"There are reservations where they're not economically productive. That's a question we don't have a handle on, that we have to start to figure out. And tribes and tribal sovereignty allow them to be creative."
While the U.S. reservation system and Australia's Native Title both have merits and flaws, what binds them is the centuries-old fight against colonialism and the commitment to Indigenous sovereignty.
"The only reason tribes are where they are today is because they've been fighting for five centuries," he said.
