Indigenous Studies
Kevin Bell reviews 'The Land is our History: Indigeneity, law, and the settler state' by Miranda Johnson
Australia’s national identity is as complex as the people who make up the nation and the historical forces by which it was made. Our Indigenous peoples, whose unique histories precede th More
Billy Griffiths reviews 'Rattling Spears: A history of indigenous Australian' art by Ian McLean
This beautifully illustrated book explores the ways in which Indigenous Australians have responded to invasion through art. ‘Where colonists saw a gulf,’ writes art historian Ian ...More
Kevin Bell reviews 'It’s our country' by Megan Davis and Marcia Langton, and 'The Forgotten People' edited by Damien Freeman and Shireen Morris
Are you part of the non-Indigenous majority? Have you had too little contact with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people? Do you feel that you do not fully comprehend their ...
MoreTimothy Neale reviews 'A Handful of Sand: The Gurindji struggle, after the walk-off' by Charlie Ward
The iconography of Indigenous land rights in Australia is fundamentally deceptive. Take, for example, the famous photograph of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam pouring red ...
MoreRichard Martin reviews 'Native Title from Mabo to Akiba: A vehicle for change and empowerment?'
Since the passage of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) and related law reform, legal rights and interests in a significant and growing estate have been transferred to Abori More
2016 Calibre Essay Prize (Winner): 'The Great Red Whale'
The history of my onomastic apprehension and misapprehension about the big thing in the middle of Australia: It is called Ayers Rock. No, it is ...
MoreJosephine Taylor reviews 'The Bauhinia Tree' by Kankawa Nagarra Olive Knight
Kankawa Nagarra Olive Knight is a leader in the Wangkatjungka community, south-east of Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley. For The Bauhinia Tree, her eventful seventy-year life story was recorded by Terri-ann White, then 'transcribed and refined' by White and Kankawa Knight. While the material has been edited to remove hesitations and interventions, the oral ... More
#1 Martin Thomas reads ‘“Because it’s your country”: Bringing Back the Bones to West Arnhem Land'
In 2013 we published Martin Thomas's Calibre Prize-winning essay ‘“Because it’s your country”: Bringing Back the Bones to West Arnhem Land'. This powerful story of the repatri More
Ruth A. Morgan reviews 'The Australian Archaeologist's Book of Quotations' edited by Mike Smith and Billy Griffiths
The Australian Archaeologist’s Book of Quotations is a veritable time-traveller’s guide for making sense of a continent, a nation, and its people. The editors, archaeologist Mike Smith and historian Billy Griffiths, have served up a smorgasbord of archaeological appetisers, with a feast of pithy insights into how Australians are coming to terms with ancie ... More
