The Native Title Era: Emerging Issues for Research, Policy and Practice

Abstract

Papers from a session on 'The Anthropology of Native Title Claims: Emerging Research Issues' convened at the Australian Anthropological Society Conference, 27-29 September 1995, University of Adelaide. The call for the session arose from a workshop held early in 1995 in Canberra at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies to discuss aspects of anthropological practice under the Native Title Act 1993.

Papers focus on the native title process and cover the role of the anthropologist as expert witness; the management of consultancy research; the practice and policy implications of forensic anthropology; the relationship between lawyers and anthropologists; native title extinguishment and Indigenous dispossession; sea claims; the role of research experts in Canadian land claim cases; the interpretation of ethnographic information; representational politics of Native Title Representative Bodies; and issues of anthropological ethics, objectivity and independence. The Foreword by Finlayson and Smith addresses the implications for public policy and research practice highlighted by the papers.