Indigenous leaders from 12 Commonwealth nations have called on King Charles to apologise for “centuries of racism” and the “legacy of genocide” perpetuated by the crown. The group also demanded financial reparations and the return of stolen cultural treasures. The letter was signed by leaders from Australia, as well as several Caribbean nations once plundered for slaves, who said they had banded together to help their people “recover from centuries of racism, oppression, colonialism and slavery”.
The monarchy has faced a reckoning over its links to the slave trade and the British Empire’s legacy of violence in recent years, and Charles has made efforts to engage with Indigenous leaders. While he has acknowledged the wrongs that shaped the past, the Indigenous leaders have implored him to go further and offer a formal royal apology.
The letter was signed by former Olympian Nova Peris, the first Aboriginal woman elected to Australia’s federal parliament, who is a staunch critic of Australia’s ties to the royal family. She said it was time to “acknowledge the horrific and enduring impacts” of colonization and the “legacy of genocide” felt by many Indigenous populations.
The letter also called for discussions about compensating Indigenous people, who watched as British colonizers pilfered their treasures and trashed their cultures. Human rights expert Hannah McGlade, an Aboriginal woman from Western Australia, said reparations remained a key sticking point for many. “We are increasingly seeing Indigenous people call for reparations from the royal family,” she told AFP.
The Indigenous leaders who signed the letter come from Canada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and former British colonies in the Caribbean, where Indigenous people were forced off their lands and enslaved. The group urged Charles to take action to help their people recover from the harm done by centuries of colonialism and slavery.
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