Foreword xvii
Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 2
Icons Used in This Book 2
Where to Go from Here 3
Part 1: An Ancient People: Then and Now 5
Chapter 1: Understanding Indigenous Australia 7
Indigenous Cultures: Then and Now 8
Ancient traditions 8
Diversity, diversity and more diversity 9
Contemporary painting, singing and dancing 9
Old and new ways of storytelling 10
And they can kick a ball! 10
There Goes the Neighbourhood 10
The takeover begins 11
The colony spreads 11
Loss of land 11
And children taken too 12
Fighting Back 12
The right to be equal 12
Changing the playing field 13
‘We want our land back’ 13
Reconciliation, practical reconciliation and intervention 14
‘Sorry’ — and then what? 14
New Problems for an Old Culture 14
Breaking the cycle of poverty 15
Challenging the rules and regulations 15
Setting up Indigenous enterprises 16
Doing It for Ourselves 16
Chapter 2: Rich Past, Strong Traditions 17
The First Australians 18
65,000 Years of Tradition 19
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Populations Today 21
Defining who is an Indigenous person 21
Counting the Indigenous population in Australia 23
Locating where Indigenous people live today 25
A Note about the Torres Strait Islands 27
Saying G’Day 28
‘Aboriginal’, ‘Torres Strait Islander’, ‘First Nations’ or ‘Indigenous’? 28
‘Aboriginal’ or ‘Aborigine’? 29
Us mob: Koori, Goori or Murri; Noongar or Nunga? 29
Opening an Event: Welcome to Country 30
Welcome or acknowledgement? 30
What do I say? 31
Whose land am I on? 32
Defining the Identity of an Aboriginal Person or a Torres Strait Islander 33
Stereotypes of Indigenous people 34
But some of us have blond hair and blue eyes! 36
Chapter 3: A Land of Cultural Diversity 37
Exploring the Indigenous Relationship to Land 38
Oral title deeds 39
Accessing another’s country 39
Celebrating Cultural Diversity 39
Clans and nations 40
More than 500 different nations 40
Freshwater people and saltwater people 41
Kinship and Totemic Systems 42
Moieties and skin names 42
Totems 44
Talking Languages 45
Who speaks what now? 45
Vulnerability of languages 46
Coming Together 48
Trade routes 48
Songlines 49
Maintaining Links to Traditional Country 49
Aboriginal land councils 50
Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation 51
National parks 51
Chapter 4: Traditional Cultural Values and Practices 53
Going Back to the Dreamtime 54
How was the world made? 55
The southern sky 55
An oral tradition of storytelling 56
Indigenous Worldviews 57
Sharing based on reciprocity 57
Respecting the wisdom of Elders 58
Separating women’s business from men’s business 58
Respect for the environment 59
Living with Nature 60
Hunting and gathering 61
Bush food 61
Bush medicine 63
Tools 64
Looking to the Skies 67
The Dark Emu 67
Controlling the Environment 67
Fire 68
Harvesting 68
Fish traps 69
Middens 69
Shelter 69
Contemporary Cultural Values 70
Caring for Country 71
Part 2: Invasion 73
Chapter 5: First Contacts 75
Looking for the Unknown Southern Land: Contact before 1770 76
Meet the neighbours: The Macassans 76
The Dutch were here 78
And then came the English 78
Landing in Australia: Cook’s Arrival 79
Cook’s instructions 80
Joseph Banks’ observations 81
The French floating around 81
Establishing a British Colony 82
Seeing through Indigenous Eyes: Perspectives on the Arrival 82
‘We thought they were ghosts’ 83
‘Are they human?’ 83
Chapter 6: The Brits’ First Colony: 1788 85
Captain Phillip and the First Fleet 86
The long trip over 86
The Captain’s orders 87
Establishing a Penal Colony 88
First impressions 89
A difficult start 90
Seeing How the Locals Dealt with the New Arrivals 91
Bennelong 92
Barangaroo 93
Pemulwuy 94
Patyegarang and Lieutenant Dawes 96
Chapter 7: Pushing the Boundaries of the Colony 99
Opening Up the Land: White Settlement Spreads 100
Spreading Disease Far and Wide 101
Meeting Aboriginal Resistance 102
Growing the British Colony 105
Over the mountains 107
To Van Diemen’s Land 108
Into Moreton Bay 110
The Adelaide experiment 110
Dealing with Frontier Conflict 111
A wealth of misunderstanding 111
Official responses 112
Refuge at a cost: Missions and reserves 116
Ignoring Prior Ownership: No Treaties 120
Chapter 8: Land, Livestock and Loss 123
Clashing Cultures: Conflict over Land 124
Aboriginal people, land grants and squatters 124
Conflict on the frontier 126
Aboriginal People and the Developing Pastoral Economy 127
Off the sheep’s back 128
The rise of the cattle industry 128
Aboriginal women and pastoralists 132
Asserting Rights and Other Acts of Resistance 133
The petitions of William Cooper 133
The Pilbara strike 134
The Wave Hill walk-off 135
Chapter 9: Taking the Children 137
Examining the Ideology of Assimilation 138
‘Making them white’ 139
‘Focus on the children’: Forget about the oldies 140
‘For their own good’ 141
Formalising the Removal Policy: Rules and Regulations 142
The impact on Indigenous children 143
The impact on Indigenous families 144
Acknowledging the Stolen Generations 145
The report of the inquiry into the Stolen Generations 145
The official response 147
Unfinished Business: Reparations and Compensation 149
Saying sorry 150
Seeking legal justice 152
The realities of litigation and compensation 153
Part 3: Indigenous Activism 157
Chapter 10: Citizenship Rights 159
Early Claims to Better Treatment 160
Flinders Island 161
Coranderrk 162
Cummeragunja reserve 164
British Subjects, but Not Quite 164
Denying basic rights 165
For their own ‘protection’ 166
The realities of assimilation 167
Excluding Indigenous People from the Constitution 167
The states establish their powers 168
A legal ability to discriminate 169
War Heroes: Frontier Wars and Beyond 170
The black diggers 170
Returned soldiers and racism 173
Still Denied Equality 174
Dispossession increases 174
A piece of paper to say you’re white 175
Not Taking It Lying Down 175
Indigenous people organise 176
The 1938 Day of Mourning 178
Steps Towards Equality 179
Chapter 11: The 1967 Referendum 181
Growing Awareness of Indigenous Disadvantage 182
FCAA and FCAATSI 183
The Freedom Ride 184
The Referendum is Announced 186
Getting to ‘yes’: The constitutional campaign 187
Australia decides 188
Lasting Legacies of the Referendum 189
The power to legislate 190
But no protection against discrimination 190
The myths of the referendum 192
The unintended consequences 192
Not what was hoped for so what next? 193
Chapter 12: Land Rights 195
Establishing the Modern Land Rights Movement 196
Linking land rights and social justice 196
Setting up the Tent Embassy 198
Visiting the Black Panthers 200
Comparing Land Rights with Native Title 202
Legislating Land Rights 203
Recommending the Northern Territory Land Rights Act 204
Looking at the New South Wales Land Rights Act 207
Failing to Secure a National Land Rights Scheme 208
Following the Mabo Case: A Finding for Native Title 210
A native title package 211
The legacy of the Mabo case 213
Examining Public Reactions to Land Claims 214
Looking At the Work Still to Be Done: Taking Back the Land 215
Chapter 13: The Era of Reconciliation 217
Starting the Reconciliation Process 218
The Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation 218
Paul Keating’s Redfern Park speech 220
Trying to deliver on land and social justice 221
Establishing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission 223
Defining the aims of ATSIC 224
Recognition, rights and reform 226
The Unfinished Business of Reconciliation 229
A pathway for reconciliation 230
‘We call for a treaty’ 234
Why a treaty? 235
What would a treaty look like? 236
First steps? 237
Chapter 14: Practical Reconciliation 239
‘The Pendulum Has Swung Too Far’ 240
‘Practical reconciliation’ explained 241
Winding back Indigenous rights 242
The history wars, or culture wars 242
A walk across the bridge 243
A Human Rights Scorecard 244
The Abolition of ATSIC 245
After ATSIC 248
A new administration 249
The National Indigenous Council 250
Shared Responsibility and Mutual Obligation 251
Emergency! Emergency! The Northern Territory Intervention 253
Key aspects of the Northern Territory Emergency Response 254
Objection! 254
Chapter 15: From Apology to Uluru 259
A New Government — A New Era? 260
The apology 260
The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples 261
Controlling Lives: The Intervention Continues 264
Evaluating the Northern Territory intervention 264
International criticism 266
Finding a National Voice 267
Another representative body 267
Constitutional change 268
The Uluru Statement 270
International benchmarks 272
Part 4: Contemporary Indigenous Cultures 275
Chapter 16: More than Rocks and Dots: Indigenous Art 277
Understanding the Role of Art in Indigenous Cultures 278
Connecting to the spirit through art 278
Using art to inform 279
Reading between the dots: Knowing what the symbols mean 280
Considering Indigenous Art around Australia 282
Recognising rock art 282
Looking at bark painting 283
Dot, dot, dot art 285
Appreciating Indigenous crafts 287
Examining Torres Strait Islander Art 289
Contemplating Urban Indigenous Art 291
Pulling no political punches 291
Finding out more about Indigenous photographers 294
Moving in the Mainstream: Indigenous Art as a Means to an Economic End 296
Revealing Indigenous Art Fraud 299
Chapter 17: Singing and Dancing 303
Traditional Expression through Music and Dance 304
The sacred and the profane 304
Banging out a rhythm 305
Traditional songs 306
Cultural dance 306
Carrying a Tune: Contemporary Indigenous Music 307
Singers in the mainstream 307
Both types: Country and western 309
Rock and pop 310
Just a few of the best 312
Hip-hop, rap and metal: Young people have their say 313
Jumping into Modern Indigenous Dance 315
Indigenous dance companies 315
The Bangarra Dance Theatre 317
Torres Strait Islander dance 318
Chapter 18: Indigenous Literature: We’ve Always Been Storytellers 321
Moving From Oral to Written Traditions 322
Writing about the ‘Aborigine’ in Australian Literature 323
White people writing about black people 323
Black people writing about black people 326
Establishing Indigenous Literature 328
Breaking through with Indigenous novels 328
Putting it into verse: Aboriginal poetry 330
Publishing Indigenous Stories 331
Not Putting Your Foot in It! 332
Chapter 19: Performance Storytelling: Film, Theatre, Television and Radio 335
Acting the Part: Indigenous People in Films 336
Films about Indigenous people 336
Taking Over the Camera 341
Indigenous filmmakers 342
Noteworthy Indigenous films 343
Telling it like it is: Documentaries 346
Treading the Black Boards 348
The National Black Theatre 348
Indigenous theatre companies 350
Must-see Indigenous plays 350
Appearing on Mainstream Screens 353
Notable Indigenous television shows 356
Indigenous media organisations 359
National Indigenous Television 361
Getting onto Mainstream Airwaves 363
National Indigenous Radio Service 363
Koori radio 364
Chapter 20: Indigenous People and Sport 365
A (Traditional) Sporting Life 366
Marngrook 366
Coreeda 366
Other traditional Indigenous games 367
Playing Them at Their Own Games 369
Getting in and having a go 369
Teaching through sport 370
Slipping on the Whites: Cricket 371
The first Indigenous cricket team 371
Indigenous cricketers today 372
Women’s cricket 373
Stepping Up in the Boxing Ring 374
The boxing tents 374
Title fighters 374
We Love Our Footy! 377
Australian Rules Football 377
Rugby league 381
Rugby union 385
Soccer 386
Track and Field 388
Championing Other Sports 389
All-rounders at basketball 389
Excelling at netball 390
A few out of the box 391
Part 5: Dealing with Current Issues 395
Chapter 21: Closing the Gap: Health, Housing, Education and Employment 397
Looking Back at Past Government Policies 398
Moving from ‘amity’ to ‘practical reconciliation’ 399
Closing the gap 400
Closing the Gap Reboot 401
Examining Health Issues 403
Discussing particular medical issues for Indigenous people 404
Watching the emergence of Indigenous medical services and professionals 405
Looking at Housing Problems 409
Learning about Education Issues 412
Primary education 413
Secondary education 414
Tertiary education 415
Vocational education and training (VET) 418
Education as a step up the ladder 418
Working on Employment Problems 418
Realising why employment issues exist for Indigenous people 419
Running Indigenous businesses 421
No new Stolen Generations: Keeping Indigenous Children with their Families 422
Chapter 22: Working In the System and Changing the System 425
Black Lives Matter: Indigenous People and the Criminal Justice System 426
Examining the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody 426
Indigenous women and the criminal justice system 429
Stopping the cycle: Indigenous young people and incarceration 431
Inspecting the relationship between Indigenous people and police 431
Recognising customary law and sentencing 434
Changing the system from within 437
Reading the Australian Constitution: A Framework for Laws and Policies 437
The 1967 referendum 438
The 1999 referendum 440
Proposing Legal and Constitutional Reform 440
Considering changes 440
Responding to the Uluru Statement 442
Scrutinising Self-Determination and Self-Representation 442
Self-determination – more than a principle 443
Self-representation 443
Working within the existing process 446
Part 6: The Part of Tens 449
Chapter 23: Ten Important Indigenous Cultural Sites 451
Uluru, Northern Territory 452
Kata Juta, Northern Territory 452
Nitmiluk, Northern Territory 452
Windjana Gorge, Western Australia 453
Daintree Rainforest, North Queensland 453
Mungo National Park, New South Wales 453
Yeddonba, Victoria 454
Ngaut Ngaut, South Australia 454
Wybalenna, Tasmania 454
The Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Canberra 455
Chapter 24: Ten Indigenous Firsts 457
The First Indigenous Australian to Visit Great Britain: 1793 457
The First Indigenous Cricket Team Tour: 1868 458
The First Indigenous ‘Pop Star’: 1963 459
The First Indigenous Person to be Australian of the Year: 1968 459
The First Indigenous Person to be Elected to the Australian Parliament: 1971 460
The First Indigenous Lawyer: 1976 460
The First Indigenous Person to Make a Feature Film: 1992 461
The First Indigenous Surgeon: 2006 461
The First Indigenous Senior Council (SC): 2015 462
The First Indigenous Minister for Indigenous Australians: 2019 462
Chapter 25: Ten Myths about Indigenous People 463
‘Indigenous People Have a Problem with Alcohol’ 464
‘Indigenous People Are a Dying Race’ 464
‘Indigenous People Who Live in Urban Areas Have Lost Their Culture’ 464
‘Indigenous People Were Killed Off in Tasmania’ 465
‘Indigenous People Are Addicted to Welfare’ 465
‘Too Much Money is Spent on Indigenous People’ 465
‘Real Indigenous People Live in Remote Areas’ 466
‘Indigenous Organisations Mismanage Money and Are Prone to Nepotism’ 467
‘Indigenous Culture is Violent and Accepts Abuse of Women and Children’ 467
‘Indigenous Self-Determination Has Been Tried but It Has Failed’ 468
Chapter 26: Ten Key Legal Decisions (Plus One to Keep an Eye On) 469
R v Jack Congo Murrell: 1836 470
The Gove Land Rights Case: 1971 470
Koowarta v Bjelke-Petersen: 1982 471
The Mabo Case: 1992 471
The Wik Case: 1996 472
Kruger v Commonwealth: 1997 472
The Hindmarsh Island Bridge Case: 1998 473
Gunner and Cubillo: 2000 473
The Yorta Yorta Case: 2002 474
The Trevorrow Case: 2007 474
The Timber Creek Case: 2019 475
Glossary 477
Index 481
