Thousands gathered in the heart of the capital on Ngunnawal and Ngambri Country to commemorate, celebrate and honour the 50th anniversary of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, and protest the celebration of January 26.
Organisers estimated thousands of people turned up to attend the Invasion Day rally, which began in the centre of Canberra and marched to the Embassy at the foot of Old Parliament House.
The Tent Embassy is the longest running Indigenous land rights protest in the world.
(L-R) Grace Cooper, Isabelle Goolagong and Hunter Swan celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Tent Embassy. Source: Supplied: Sarah Collard
The Aboriginal Tent Embassy was established when four Aboriginal activists set up a beach umbrella on the lawns of Old Parliament house in 1972. It became a lightning rod for land rights all across the country, and today, people paid tribute to the founders of the Embassy.
Thousands of people celebrated the resilience of the embassy and its long fight over the decades, which continues today in Aboriginal political movements around the country.
Kooma Murri man Wayne 'Coco' Wharton said it was important for First Nations people to take pride and have the courage on the day.
"That's what the 26 January is. We've been fighting most our lives to tell the truth, and the truth is more important," he told NITV News.
"It's about demanding that the truth is told about today. The young people that are taking the trouble, it takes that courage to keep going."
Gomeroi woman Gwenda Stanley said it had been an intense nine months of planning before the event.
Wayne 'Coco' Wharton. Source: Supplied: Sarah Collard
"We're not going nowhere," she told NITV News.
"We've got the next generation here who are carrying on that legacy, who have that responsibility, especially the Embassy families.
"We've got to make sure the true story of this country is told, and that's what you're seeing now in the universities and in academia as well."
There were calls for justice and an end to Black deaths in custody. Around 500 First Nations people have died in custody since the Royal Commission handed down its findings in 1991.
Dunghutti woman Leetona Dungay, mother of David Dungay Jr, who died after prison staff stormed his Long Bay cell in 2015, said the day was about solidarity and the continuing fight for First Nations rights.
"I'm here to get justice for my boy," she told NITV News.
"And each time I go into courts, nothing has been changed.
"So today is gonna be the day for changes. We're all marching in every state today. And we're all together in solidarity."
A heavy police presence was reminiscent of past struggles, but today remained peaceful - the mood sombre as many reflected on present struggles such as the COVID pandemic and future battles for justice .
