Wrong word

May 19, 2025

I congratulate Henry Reynolds for this article. It was important and informative. However, it also reveals how the best-intentioned authors and editors can undermine arguments presented. Reynolds described Indigenous people as “possessing” the country. This is not so.

However, modern English spell checkers no longer accept the word “ownee” to describe humans possessed by country. This is a more intimate and non-negotiable relationship that does not deny ownership. The editor reinforces the back-to-front counterproductive thinking with an acknowledgement to “Traditional owners”.

Please use the word “ownees” in the future, as I did on pages 163/4 in my 1977/8 parliamentary papers, which were republished in 1980. I cite my 1980 article in When Land Owns People. The words “custodians” or “stewards” degrade the now neglected term owneeship because they impute an interest for others. My 2022 article with ownee Anne Poelina discusses this on pages 12/13.