The company offering Oscar nominees “a symbolic souvenir” of land in outback Australia says it has removed material, including the name of an Indigenous organisation, from its marketing after being accused of using it without consent.
Pieces of Australia is one of a number of brands to pay $4,000 to secure a spot in the Oscars gift bag that is unaffiliated with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, but sent by the company Distinctive Assets to the acting and directing nominees.
Pieces of Australia’s hamper item offers a small parcel of land in outback Australia as part of its “Conservation Gift Packs”. The land parcels all come with a “certificate of land licence”, but the terms and conditions go on to state that “you have purchased a symbolic souvenir … of the land” and people who own a “pack” may not “take possession of the parcel; use the parcel; enter upon the parcel and/or the land without the licensor’s express written consent”.
The digital “member’s handbook” which comes with Pieces of Australia’s “Conservation Gift Packs” has referenced the Indigenous Carbon Industry Network (ICIN) without the organisation’s permission, according to ICIN.
In a statement, the ICIN chief executive, Anna Boustead, and co-chair, Cissy Gore-Birch, refuted any connection with Pieces of Australia, and stated that the company had not contacted them.
One of the subheadings in the digital handbook read “a perspective from the Indigenous Aboriginals”.
“When most non-Indigenous people look at the land, they often see something they can exploit, an asset they can develop and use to create a profit,” it said. “An Aboriginal person, on the other hand, looks at land as something more. They see a living, breathing thing that is deeply connected to their past, present, and future.”
“Organizations like the Indigenous Carbon Industry Network (ICIN), who acts as an industry body, provides valuable resources to Indigenous local organizations.”
The handbook included several photos featuring Aboriginal ranger groups that are owned by member organisations of ICIN and appeared to have been taken from their website and reproduced without permission, Boustead said.
In a statement, ICIN said it “has not granted permission for any of our information, publications or photos to be reproduced to support the Oscars ‘Goodie Bag’ or ‘Pieces of Australia’.”
“The Indigenous Carbon Industry Network is a 100% Indigenous-owned charitable company owned by 23 Indigenous organisations across Australia,” it said.
“ICIN is seeking legal advice regarding this matter and will be able to provide further statement once we have sought appropriate advice.”
The Pieces of Australia founder, Niels Chaneliere, said on Saturday that “all content that may have been inappropriately used in relation to ICIN or their mention in the member’s handbook has now been removed and is no longer mentioned now that it has been brought to our attention”.
Chaneliere said the intention of his organisation was to provide “land licence agreements (where there is no land title transfer at any point) as novel/symbolic gifts for people around the world to engage and participate positively in conservation efforts”.
He previously told Guardian Australia he was yet to make contact with the traditional owners.
Pieces of Australia states that the organisation “[starts] by protecting & preserving the land that we own from development, deforestation and unnecessary intervention” as well as planting a minimum of two trees with each purchase through their partner ReForest Now in northern NSW “to help restore the vulnerable forests around Australia and ensure we can help stop the environmental decline in its tracks”.
Chaneliere said: “At no point is there any intention to come across as culturally insensitive or disingenuous in our communications towards First Nations people.
“Yes we have been featured in this year’s Oscars gift bags as an opportunity for exposure – this is to continue the growth and buy more land around Australia to prevent it from being cleared/deforested.”
Kevin Smith, the chief executive officer of Queensland South Native Title Services, said he was concerned by information on Pieces of Australia’s website. He said the use of images of Indigenous Australians in promotional material would be “outrageous” if “free, prior and informed consent” had not been obtained first.
On its website, Pieces of Australia acknowledges the Aboriginal people of the Baruŋgam nation as the traditional custodians and owners of the land.
Distinctive Assets said it did not know if Pieces of Australia had consulted with traditional owners of the Baruŋgam Nation. Founder Lash Fary said he had no knowledge of the topic.
“We are always looking for items that will make a positive impact on the nominees’ lives or on the world at large,” Fary said.
“For many years now we have also gone out of our way to include items from small businesses, female-owned businesses and minority-owned businesses which stand to benefit the most from both the media exposure as well as any celebrity social media love that might come their way.”
