Indigenous Australian Senator Raises Fist, Calls Queen Elizabeth a 'Colonizer' as She's Sworn Into Office

An Australian senator took aim at Queen Elizabeth by calling her a colonizer as she recited an oath of allegiance to the monarch, who is still head of state in Australia.

Lidia Thrope — the first Aboriginal Australian senator from Victoria who is of DjabWurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara descent — had her swearing-in ceremony on Monday at Australia's Parliament House. She approached the floor with her right fist raised in the air and was asked to recite the traditional oath of office.

"I, sovereign Lidia Thorpe, do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I will be faithful, and I bear true allegiance to the colonizing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II," Thorpe said before being cut off by Senate President Sue Lines and objections from others.

One senator said, "You're not a senator if you don't do it properly."

Thorpe also turned around to tell someone, "You've got to have some respect."

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Lines asked Thorpe to repeat the oath "as printed on the card," which she did while holding up her fist.

Thorpe later tweeted, "Sovereignty never ceded."

Thorpe's party, the Australian Greens party, says on its website, "The continued legacy of colonialism has not yet fully recognized the sovereignty of our First Nations peoples across the entire continent of Australia. This is a wrong that must be made right. Endemic racism, oppressive laws and policies, misunderstanding, ignorance and the lack of knowledge and education has meant that First Nations peoples have generationally been subject to policies and legislation that have impoverished many lives. At present, many still live in poverty and disadvantage, without the same rights and services that other Australians enjoy. This must be changed so that future generations of First Nations children can dream of better things."

Jane Barlow - Pool/Getty; Sam Mooy/Getty

Despite Indigenous Australians being one of the oldest civilizations on Earth, the British Government declared the country "terra nullius" — meaning land of no one — in an attempt to justify its acquisition by the British.

Australia was a British colony for more than 100 years, settled as a penal colony where Indigenous inhabitants were displaced or killed. Although the country became its own nation in 1901, it became part of the Commonwealth, a political association of 56 member states of which Queen Elizabeth is head.

Sam Mooy/Getty Lidia Thorpe

In recent months, a number of Commonwealth countries have declared their intention to become independent countries. It was a central topic of Prince William and Kate Middleton's tour of the Caribbean in March, where they were met with anti-colonial protests in Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas.

"Our trip was an opportunity to reflect, and we learnt so much," Prince William said in June as he marked Windrush Day, applauding the contribution of the British-Caribbean communities. "Not just about the different issues that matter most to the people of the region, but also how the past weighs heavily on the present."

Karwai Tang/WireImage Prince William and Kate Middleton in Jamaica on March 24

William reflected on the future governance of the Caribbean nations in a statement at the end of their March tour, saying, "I know that this tour has brought into even sharper focus questions about the past and the future. In Belize, Jamaica and The Bahamas, that future is for the people to decide upon."

He continued, "Catherine and I are committed to service. For us, that's not telling people what to do. It is about serving and supporting them in whatever way they think best, by using the platform we are lucky to have."

Barbados broke ties with the Queen in November and voted in its first president.