Freeing the Aboriginal flag

The Aboriginal flag is a powerful symbol that has come to mean many things to many people. Since its creation in 1971, it has appeared on everything from jumbo jets to tattoos.

So who “owns” the flag? Who has the right to reproduce it, and why is there such a battle over these issues today? Here’s a summary of how we got here.

Luritja artist Harold Thomas created the flag

The flag was first used at a National Aborigines Day march in Adelaide in 1971. Dr Gary Foley later took it with him to Canberra, where it was flown at the Tent Embassy from 1972.

It was used at rallies and in imagery on posters, T-shirts and Aboriginal organisation logos from then on. The red, black and yellow came to symbolise the strength, resistance and resilience of Aboriginal people, particularly for the modern land rights movement.

In the 1980s, Thomas first asserted his rights to be recognised as its creator.

In 1995, it became an official flag of Australia by proclamation of the governor general, on 14 July. Other claimants came forward asserting they were the artist behind it, but in 1997 the federal court officially recognised Thomas as the sole author.

This means the flag is protected under the Copyright Act and can only be reproduced in accordance with that law, or by permission of Thomas.

“It’s not just any flag, it’s a flag born of struggle and the one uniting symbol for all Aboriginal peoples across this country. It’s something First Nations people feel deep ownership of and reverence to and I hope that everyone involved in this discussion can see that.”

Source
Lorena Allam
The Guardian

Listen: The fight over the Aboriginal flag
Guardian Australia’s Indigenous affairs editor Lorena Allam explains the history of the flag and why it’s at the centre of such a bitter dispute

Image
 ‘A flag born of struggle’: Dharpaloco (Dubs) Yunupingu and Abigail Delaney from Jannawi Dance Clan fly the Aboriginal flag atop the Sydney Opera House in 2019. Photograph: Daniel Boud