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Young, Elspeth: Aborigines, Land and Society, Longman Cheshire, Melbourne 1994, ISBN 0582870410

Table of Contents        ¦         Cover Text        ¦         Book Review

Table of Contents

Preface -iv-

Who are Australia's Aborigines? -1-

Aboriginal origins -1-

Aboriginal society - An evolving system -4-

Aboriginal identity and society today -4-

Inquiry 1: Discovering Aboriginality -7-

Population -8-

Inquiry 2: Socioeconomic status -10-

For review, research and discussion -11-

Further reading -11-

Traditional Aboriginal land use and ownership -12-

How Aborigines 'owned' the land -12-

Use of the land's resources -12-

The environment and resource use -12-

Inquiry 3: The contemporary economy in an Arnhem Land outstation -16-

The spiritual significance of land use -19-

For review, research and discussion -19-

Further reading -19-

The non-Aboriginal invasion -20-

Non-Aboriginal land ownership and use -20-

The impact of the non-Aboriginal invasion -20-

Case study: The Yuendumu story -23-

Economic and social disruption: A process of assimilation -24-

Inquiry 4: 'They took the children away' -27-

For review, research and discussion -27-

Further reading -28-

Getting the land back -29-

The national referendum and self-determination -29-

Inquiry 5: Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal concepts of land -30-

The recognition of land rights -31-

Aboriginal land and resources -33-

For review, research and discussion -36-

Further reading -36-

Aboriginal land and resources use today -38-

Subsistence hunting and foraging -38-

Pastoralism -39-

Case study: Willowra - Mt Barkly -40-

Mining -42-

Case study: Alligator uranium provinces and the East Kimberley -42-

Balance in land and resource use -45-

Land for living: The outstation movement -45-

Case study: Moving out from Yuendumu -45-

Inquiry 6: Wildlife resources -48-

For review, research and discussion -49-

Further reading -50-

Social and political issues: Present and future -51-

Land rights: Aboriginal viewpoints -51-

Land rights: Non-Aboriginal viewpoints -52-

Reconciliation between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians -53-

Conflicts and compromises -52-

Inquiry 7: Conflicts and compromises: Uluru - Katja Tjuta -54-

For review, research and discussion -57-

Further reading -57-

Index -59-

Cover Text

This book traces how, through non-Aboriginal settlement, Aboriginal poeples lost their land; and how, through land rights legislation and negotiations, they have now regained control over significant areas of it. Some of the ways in which Aboriginal peoples now benefit from that land are described, e.g. by earning cash incomes from pastoralism or tourism, by agreements with mining companies, or by hunting and gathering its natural resources for their own subsistence. 'Aborigines, Land and Society' is one of very few books written on Aboriginals from a geography perspective. Features include: - 'traditional' Aboriginal use of the land and tis appropriation by non-Aboriginals; - 'giving it back': the land rights movement of the past two decades; - contemporary Aboriginal populations and demographic patterns; - management of the land: subsistence; pastoralism; mining; tourism; outstation communities; - the social, cultural, economic and political significance of Aboriginal land ownership today. 'Aborigines, Land and Society' is aimed at senior secondary school students and particularly the new NSW course in Aboriginal studies, but is suitable for any senior course which includes an Aboriginal theme. Aboriginal ideas on land management, which stress the importance of environmental, economic and social sustainability, are relevant for all Australians and anyone interested in solving the problems of dwindling land resources and global survival.