A glance at the chapters in this book discloses issues of great importance to Aboriginal people. They include:

• self-determination for Aborigines,
• claims of title to and compensation for loss of traditional lands,
• the impact of British law on colonised peoples,
• deaths in custody,
• the Convention Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries,
• criminal law after Mabo v Queensland (No 2),
• incarceration of Aboriginal women, and
• intellectual property rights in indigenous art.

These are issues which reflect the culture, the perceptions, the aspirations, and concerns of Aboriginal people. As such, they are of importance to the whole country. This book will stimulate informed discourse which, in turn, will facilitate identification and resolution of unaddressed problems for the benefit of all.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: Nungas in the nineties - Irene Watson
CHAPTER 2: Detention, torture, terror and the Australian State: Aboriginal people, criminal justice and neocolonialism - Chris Cunneen
CHAPTER 3: British common law and colonised peoples: Studies in Trinidad and Western Australia - Jeannine Purdy
CHAPTER 4: The price of compromise: Should Australia ratify ILO Convention 169 - Lisa Strelein
CHAPTER 5: Keeping the colonisers honest: The implications of Recommendation 333 - Neil Lofgren
CHAPTER 6: Koori cultural heritage: Reclaiming the past? - Greta Bird
CHAPTER 7: Intellectual property and the "imaginary Aboriginal" - Shelley Wright
CHAPTER 8: Te reo Maori - Te reo rangatira o Aotearoa - Te okeoke roa: The Maori language - The chiefly language of Aotearoa - The long struggle - Nin Tomas
CHAPTER 9: Deconstructing the Royal Commission - Representations of "Aboriginality" in the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody - Mark Harris
CHAPTER 10: Five issues for the criminal law after Mabo - Jenny Blokland & Martin Flynn
CHAPTER 11: The recognition of Aboriginality by Australian criminal law - Stanley Yeo
CHAPTER 12: The incarceration of Aboriginal women - Marie Brooks
CHAPTER 13: The Yorta Yorta struggle for justice continues - Wayne Atkinson

"While several books have been published on rights of Australia’s indigenous population, Majah approaches the subject from a unique angle. It is insightful, informative and quite comprehensive."

--Australian Lawyer, October 1996