Indigenous knowledge, law, society and the state. Law reform initiatives seek to foster ways of including Indigenous knowledge to resolve matters that come before the law more effectively, as well as redress social disadvantage. This project assesses existing programs in the courts and builds institutional capacity providing for more positive engagement with Indigenous knowledges on law and society.
From illustration to evidence in native title: The potential of photographs. This project aims to test the evidentiary value of large photographic collections of Aboriginal people in southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales. The project will seek to identify the photographed subjects and where and how they were photographed. Drawing on photographic theory, anthropology and Indigenous studies, the project should throw light on how photographs can reveal information about historical conti ....From illustration to evidence in native title: The potential of photographs. This project aims to test the evidentiary value of large photographic collections of Aboriginal people in southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales. The project will seek to identify the photographed subjects and where and how they were photographed. Drawing on photographic theory, anthropology and Indigenous studies, the project should throw light on how photographs can reveal information about historical continuities and changes, regional mobility patterns and connections to country over time. The expected benefit of the project is to assist in demonstrating Indigenous connections with land and place in native title claims.Read moreRead less
Aboriginal identity and community online: a sociological exploration of Aboriginal peoples’ use of online social media. This project explores Aboriginal peoples’ activity on social media, to provide a better understanding of how Aboriginal people make use of online network sites, as social media sites are popular for social and cultural interaction. The project will also explore whether there is a link between online and offline social and cultural engagements.
Aboriginal Help-Seeking behaviours on Social Media. This project is designed to contribute to knowledge of formal and informal help-seeking behaviours among Indigenous Australians. Given the rapid uptake of social media by Indigenous people, this project particularly aims to investigate help-seeking behaviours online. It is anticipated that the outcome of this research may influence the development of formal help sources in the services and programs relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islan ....Aboriginal Help-Seeking behaviours on Social Media. This project is designed to contribute to knowledge of formal and informal help-seeking behaviours among Indigenous Australians. Given the rapid uptake of social media by Indigenous people, this project particularly aims to investigate help-seeking behaviours online. It is anticipated that the outcome of this research may influence the development of formal help sources in the services and programs relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including health (eg suicide prevention), employment, housing, economic opportunities and legal services. Another intended outcome of the project is to better understand informal help-seeking and the way in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people respond to help.Read moreRead less
Aboriginalia: Collecting Histories of Aboriginal Representation. Since Federation, non-Indigenous people have produced material objects for the home depicting Aboriginal bodies, artefacts and designs and marketing these as the truly Australian look. Since the 1960s, Aboriginal people started to collect these material objects, defined as 'Aboriginalia'. This interdisciplinary project aims to examine Aboriginal collectors' representations of 'Aboriginalia'. This is the first study to examine Abori ....Aboriginalia: Collecting Histories of Aboriginal Representation. Since Federation, non-Indigenous people have produced material objects for the home depicting Aboriginal bodies, artefacts and designs and marketing these as the truly Australian look. Since the 1960s, Aboriginal people started to collect these material objects, defined as 'Aboriginalia'. This interdisciplinary project aims to examine Aboriginal collectors' representations of 'Aboriginalia'. This is the first study to examine Aboriginal collectors' representations of non-Indigenous historical depictions of Aboriginality within Australian material culture. The research and associated publications will explore the Aboriginal social life of material objects in historical perspective.Read moreRead less
Wellbeing not Winning: remote Indigenous identity and organised sport. This project examines the construction of Indigenous identity through organised sport in remote communities. Despite high profile successes of Indigenous people in elite sports, the effectiveness of relationships between remote communities and organised sport is not well understood. This project addresses the problem of how participation in organised sport affects identity and everyday life in remote Indigenous communities, b ....Wellbeing not Winning: remote Indigenous identity and organised sport. This project examines the construction of Indigenous identity through organised sport in remote communities. Despite high profile successes of Indigenous people in elite sports, the effectiveness of relationships between remote communities and organised sport is not well understood. This project addresses the problem of how participation in organised sport affects identity and everyday life in remote Indigenous communities, both positively and negatively. The project aims to provide an understanding of the role of organised sport in Indigenous identity construction in remote Australia and thus open opportunities for equitable and reconciliatory modes of participation.Read moreRead less
The role of cultural factors in the sentencing of Indigenous sex offenders in the Northern Territory. This is a study of the impact of extra-legal factors about sexuality and Indigenous culture on the sentencing of Indigenous sex offenders in the Northern Territory. It will provide an empirical basis for future policy, legal practice and law reform relating to sentencing in sexual assault cases in the Northern Territory, with broader application to other Australian jurisdictions.
Indigenous women and entrepreneurship in NSW. This research will provide an understanding of the experiences of Aboriginal women in Indigenous enterprises (private and social) in urban, regional and rural New South Wales and investigate the economic and social contributions that they and their enterprises make to Aboriginal communities and Australian society.
New ways for old ceremonies: an archival research project. This research aims to develop and implement suitable Indigenous frameworks for the preservation, interpretation and dissemination of the recordings of ceremonial performances in the Wagait-Daly region of the Northern Territory of Australia. The focus is a body of recordings, made by early anthropologists and missionaries, of final mortuary ceremony performances. The ceremonial performance is a key process for integrating Indigenous knowl ....New ways for old ceremonies: an archival research project. This research aims to develop and implement suitable Indigenous frameworks for the preservation, interpretation and dissemination of the recordings of ceremonial performances in the Wagait-Daly region of the Northern Territory of Australia. The focus is a body of recordings, made by early anthropologists and missionaries, of final mortuary ceremony performances. The ceremonial performance is a key process for integrating Indigenous knowledge from many different domains, a socially powerful site of exchange, transmission and transformation of relationship to country, kin and identity. The aim is to extend the power of ceremony in order to benefit Indigenous people's identity and Australia's shared history in the future.Read moreRead less
Representing Children in Australian Political Controversies. This project intends to expand Australian knowledge and understanding about how children appear in politics, thus shaping public discussions about key social, cultural, health and national security policies. The project plans to investigate how children are represented in Australian political controversies: specifically, the 2008 Northern Territory Emergency Response and the ongoing debates about children in immigration detention. Thro ....Representing Children in Australian Political Controversies. This project intends to expand Australian knowledge and understanding about how children appear in politics, thus shaping public discussions about key social, cultural, health and national security policies. The project plans to investigate how children are represented in Australian political controversies: specifically, the 2008 Northern Territory Emergency Response and the ongoing debates about children in immigration detention. Through this, the project intends to demonstrate how politics is transformed by representative claims about children. By examining these claims and their impact on political decisions, this project seeks to develop an explicitly political account of childhood and explore its implications for Australian policy-making.Read moreRead less