Aboriginal Autonomy: Issues and Strategies

by Herbert Cole Coombs , Foreword by Mick Dodson

• ISBN13: 9780521446372
• ISBN10: 0521446376
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1995-03-16
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

After more than two hundred years, one of the most important moral issues facing Australian society in the 1990s remains the need for reconciliation with its indigenous people. In this selection of essays, H. C. Coombs reflects on the nature of Aboriginal identity and the importance of autonomy for Australiaas Aboriginal people. He also suggests strategies by which self-determination might be achieved in practice. Many of the chapters have been written especially for this volume - including one in which Dr Coombs makes a thoughtful and provocative contribution to the Mabo debate, linking the High Courtas historic 1992 decision on native title to prospects for Aboriginal autonomy. Dr Coombs writes with the conviction that mainstreama Australia stands to gain as much, if not more, than Aboriginal people from the fulfilment of Aboriginal aspirations. It is a personal and passionate plea for a just society, from one of white Australia's most influential and eloquent advocates of self-determination for its indigenous people.

Author Biography

After a long and distinguished career of public service, Dr H.C. Coombs is a Visiting Fellow of the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies and the North Australian Research Unit at the Australian National University. A former Governor of the Reserve Bank and a Chancellor of the Australian National University, he has also been Chairman of the Australian Council for Aboriginal Affairs, the Australia Council and the Elizabethan Theatre Trust.

Table of Contents

Foreword	ix	(2)
Michael Dodson
Preface	xi	(4)
Acknowledgments	xv
The Aboriginal World View	2	(22)
1 The making of Aboriginal identity	2	(22)
Aborigines and the Land	24	(30)
2 The future of the homeland movement	24	(8)
3 Warlpiri land use and management	32	(7)
4 The implications of land rights	39	(15)
Aboriginal Lifestyles	54	(32)
5 Economic, social and spiritual factors in Aboriginal health	54	(12)
6 Aboriginal education and the issues underlying Aboriginal deaths in custody	66	(10)
7 Aboriginal work and economy	76	(10)
Aborigines, Resources and Development	86	(32)
8 The ideology of development in the East Kimberley	86	(14)
9 Aborigines and resources: from 'humbug' to negotiation	100	(11)
10 The McArthur River development: a case in point	111	(7)
Aborigines, Law and the State	118	(38)
11 The Yirrkala proposals for the control of law and order	118	(13)
12 Aboriginal political leadership and the role of the National Aboriginal Conference	131	(12)
13 Aborigines and the Treaty of Waitangi	143	(13)
Asserting Autonomy: Recent Aboriginal Initiatives	156	(44)
14 Aboriginal initiatives on the land	156	(15)
15 Initiatives in Aboriginal political organisation	171	(16)
16 Education: taking control	187	(13)
The Recognition of Native Title	200	(20)
17 The Mabo decision: a basis for Aboriginal autonomy?	200	(20)
Conclusion	220	(11)
18 Negotiating future autonomy	220	(11)
Appendix: The Eva Valley Statement	231	(4)
References	235	(6)
Select Bibliography of work by H.C. Coombs	241	(6)
Index	247