Koowarta and the rival Indigenous international: our place as Indigenous peoples in the international

Abstract

Indigenous Australian nations have been interacting with each other since time immemorial. Ravi de Dosta posits that there was, and still is, an Indigenous transnationalism. This transnationalism is required between the Indigenous nations for our nations' sustainability and maintenance as distinct polities. The relationship between the Indigenous peoples of Australia and the Anglo-Australian legal system has been a difficult one to manage due to the denial of recognition of Indigenous jurisdiction by the Anglo-Australian legal system. Indigenous peoples have maintained our own recognition processes of each other and the Anglo-Australian legal system. The Koowarta decision of the High Court of Australia focused the Anglo-Australian legal system outwards towards the international order and the recognised Indigenous jurisdiction that exists outside of the borders of Australia and our Indigenous nations' borders. Indigenous people(s) have been participating in the international arena for decades. This paper explores the unique ways that the Koowarta decision brought together the Indigenous international, the international order and the domestic jurisdiction of the Anglo-Australian legal order, and how the decision has influenced the life of a Wiradjuri legal academic.