Native Quarantine Law
Indigenous Law, Aboriginal Quarantine Carried By Narrative Texts
Part of Aboriginal Sovereignty is the right to impose native quarantine to stem the onslaught of foreign invaders (plants, I mean!)
The Weeds Of Invasion
In previous articles Romantic Invaders Part One, Romantic Invaders Part 2 and Biological Invasion, I have touched on the environmental disaster caused by invading peoples' reckless introduction of exotic species.
Foreign governments can install quarantine departments and agencies, but are they really effective? Judging by Australia's 4 billion dollar a year weed problem, I'd say not. Before the invaders' government took over, there was law which effectively provided quarantine for millennia, through story.
Story As Quarantine Law
As an example, look at Mornington Island. A great place to find sugarbag (native bee honey). However, on nearby Sydney Island the ecology is different. There are no bees there, and their introduction would really upset the ecosystem, as would bacteria from meat originating elsewhere. Story protects the place, stronger than the foreign laws and threats that have categorically failed to do the same throughout the rest of the land.
There is a story from the Lardil people of Mornington about some cheeky sugarbag bees who once tried to cross the water, despite the warnings of a wise oldman eagle. This story has protected the Sydney Island ecosystem since time out of mind. To find out what happened to the bees, read the full story in the blog Death By Sugarbag.
Also, this is tied to Rainbow Snake story. I can't share that because I don't have permission and it's not a story in the public domain. But because of that lore/law, people know they can't take meat across the water, or the serpent will come and make them belly-sick. You're not even allowed to go to the water with greasy hands from meat. This quarantine is still effective today, and puts the multi-billion dollar efforts of government departments to shame.
We have law here that works already. Why replace it with something as ineffective as Western government policy? If everybody could know and respect the stories of the places where they are staying, our ecology could remain in balance instead of being destroyed. Dominant cultural society might function a bit better, too. For a start, a lot less people would be getting sick out there for apparently no reason...
