...Letter from Black to white...

'The land is my backbone. I only stand straight, happy, proud and not ashamed about my colour because I still have land. The land is my art. I can paint, dance, create and sing as my ancestors did before me ... I think of land as the history of my nation. It tells of how we came into being and what system we must live. My great ancestors who live in the times of history, planned everything that we practise now. The law of history says that we must not take land, fight over land, steal land, give land and so on. My land is mine only because I came in spirit from that land, and so did my ancestors of the same land ... My land is my foundation.'

Keywords: aboriginal law, cultural preservation, culture, custom, 1976

'Land Rights News', December 1976, p 9.
Author: Strelein, Lisa
Source: 'Letter from Black to White'