Alyawarr Intervention Walkoff Support

I write on behalf of the Alyawarr people of Central Australia, as authorised by their kinsman and nominated spokesperson, Richard Downs.

The Alyawarr are leading a gathering of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Alice Springs during 6-9 July 2010 to protest against racism and the Intervention, and discuss ways of approaching these issues. They seek your support.

Three years after the Intervention was hurriedly implemented without consultation on the back of the Little Children Are Sacred report, and without incorporating the vast majority of the report’s recommendations, there is little evidence that the Intervention has achieved or will achieve its stated outcomes. The Alyawarr people are protesting against the Intervention as it has worsened their lives and community, and is clearly a racist policy.

The Alyawarr have walked off their prescribed community of Ampilatawatja and set up a protest camp on country. They are fighting for the Intervention to be rolled back, and for Aboriginal people to be allowed to direct their own lives with dignity and respect. They are resisting being pushed from pillar to post by government actions that, whatever their intention, result in further disadvantage, the indignity of compulsory income management and loss of control of their own community.

The Alyawarr elders are seeking your support for the Alyawarr people and the Intervention Walkoff. You can support them in two ways:

· attending or sending a representative/s to the Alice Springs gathering
· writing a letter of support, or agreeing to be a signatory to either of the ones enclosed

The Alyawarr people appreciate your consideration in this matter. Their action is a grass-roots movement, and your support will be significant. As anthropologist Margaret Mead once said, “A small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Find out more:

- OR be a signatory to the below letter of support - please click on the blue 'Sign the Petition' button below.

Again, thank you for your consideration of this request for support from the Alyawarr people. You can make a difference in the fight against Indigenous inequality. I hope that you or your representative/s will attend the gathering in Alice Springs. I look forward to seeing you there and working together toward achieving equality and justice for Indigenous peoples.

Yours sincerely,

Tammie Davidson
on behalf of

Richard Downs
Alyawarr spokesperson for the Intervention Walkoff
Phone: 0428 611 169