Australian Senator Lydia Thorpe described Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II as a colony when she was sworn in.
The protest took place on Monday as the newly elected Thorpe reluctantly swore to serve the 96-year-old monarch, who remains Australia’s head of state.
“I swear allegiance to Her Colonial Majesty Queen Elizabeth II,” said Thorpe before reprimanding her and asking her to read the oath as it was written, which she later did.
Australia was a British colony for over a hundred years. During that time, thousands of Aboriginal Australians were killed.
Opinion polls show that most Australians want the country to become a republic, but there is disagreement over how to choose the head of state in this case.
Thorpe, an Aboriginal, also advocated truth and reconciliation about the past, and a “treaty” that legally recognized the historical rights of Aboriginal peoples to their lands.
Correction: An earlier version incorrectly stated that Thorpe was the first Aboriginal senator.
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