Summary

As Australia became a nation in 1901, no-one anticipated that 'Aboriginal affairs' would become an on-going national preoccupation.

Not 'dying out' as predicted, Aboriginal numbers recovered and – along with Torres Strait Islanders – they became an articulate presence, aggrieved at colonial authority's interventions into family life and continuing dispossession.

Indigenous and Other Australians since 1901 narrates their recovery – not only in numbers but in cultural confidence and critical self-awareness. Pointing to Aboriginal leaders, it also reassesses the contribution of government and mission 'protection' policies and the revised definitions of 'Aboriginal'.

Timothy Rowse explains why Australia has conceded a large Aboriginal land and sea estate since the 1960s, and argues that the crisis in 'self-determination' since 2000 has been fuelled by Aboriginal critique of the selves that they have become.

As Aboriginal people put themselves at the centre of arguments about their future, this book could not be more timely.

• The first single volume to cover a century of Aboriginal affairs since 1901
• A major work by one of Australia’s most significant scholars of Aboriginal Studies
• Takes a fresh look at pertinent topics, such as the cost to Aboriginal Australians of government ‘protection’ policies
• A valuable addition to the debate on policy approaches taken by authorities on Aboriginal issues
• Comes right up to the present, including 2017’s Uluru Statement from the Heart