Originally Posted by
itsnotthatbloodyhard
I realise this is now becoming the fashionable term, but what exactly were these ‘nations’? Can a nomadic tribe realistically be considered a nation?
And isn’t this just something which has been appropriated from Native Americans?
Nation as opposed to nation-state. A nation is a group of people who share common language, culture, traditions. Whereas a nation state includes a central government and defined borders.
First nation people can be used interchangeably with Indigenous people, Native people, First people etc.
So yes, a culture based on a semi nomadic lifestyle (Australian Aborigines moved locations on a cycle), with a system of governance and trade and relations with other groups is considered a nation.
In fact, the first international relations out of Australia, so the first time Australians dealt with those overseas, was not conducted by descendants of the the British settlers post 1788. It was peaceful trade conducted as early as the 16th or 17th centuries between Indigenous Australians in Arnhem Land and
Makassans from Sulawesi in now Indonesia, well before Captain Cook had laid eyes on the country. Products traded by indigenous Australians ended up being sold in China, so Australia's tradition of selling stuff to the big country up north has been going on far longer than people realise.
So you could say it's more appropriate for the Australian vessels of trade to carry the symbol of the first Australian traders, rather than a symbol which displays the nation that came here a few hundred years later to do it in second place.