Figure 11.23: A performer at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra, Australia. Intermittently since 1972, and continuously since 1992, Aboriginal activists have camped out on the grounds of Australia’s parliament house in Canberra, Australia. Considered by many to be the most effective political action ever taken by Australian Aborigines, the first tent embassy was a response to the Australian government’s denial of land ownership and other land rights to Aborigines in territories they had continuously occupied for thousands of years. As Aboriginal land rights have gained recognition, the tent embassy has championed other causes, including opposition to mining that threatens Aboriginal communities and cultural sites, as well as the plight of the Aboriginal urban poor, such as the community of Redfern in Sydney, Australia. The tent embassy remains controversial; it has been targeted by arsonists. The Australian government plans a more permanent structure but will then ban camping at the embassy.