In Perpetuity

Originating during the 1980s land rights movement, the phrase ‘Always Was, Always Will Be Aboriginal Land’ is now used to celebrate First Nations sovereignty and declare that sovereignty was never ceded (meaning the land was taken and retained by force), and to emphasise how First Nations people remain deeply connected to the land. Kamsani Bin Salleh created this cartoon after the Western Australian Government repealed recent Aboriginal cultural heritage laws. It suggests that the statement is true both ‘always’ and in ‘all ways’ – even upside down and backwards.