Control is the Oldest Reflex

From custody to culture to the page, the state still decides who gets to speak, survive, and be seen - even during reconciliation week.

The state has always reserved its tightest grip for First Peoples. Control is its oldest reflex. Over land, over language, over culture and over bodies. When it begins to lose control, even slightly, it reacts. Swiftly. Brutally. Predictably.

This month, that control has worn three faces. In Mpartwe, young Warlpiri-Luritja man, Kumanjayi White died unde…