Writing about literacy in the remote Aboriginal context rarely considers anthropological aspects such as whether literacy has been incorporated into social practice, and how we understand change, transmission and transformation in the evolving social practices and cultural conceptions of reading and writing across the generations in the remote world. In this seminar Jerry Schwab and Inge Kral suggest that, in addition to schooling, everyday social practice is critical to literacy acquisition, maintenance and development in remote contexts.

This paper is part of a longer project about the history of Indigenous population statistics in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In the contemporary use of official statistics by Indigenous and non-Indigenous policy intellectuals, a particular understanding of social justice has emerged. Public discussion highlights the population binary 'Indigenous/non-Indigenous' and finds unjust the 'gap' between Indigenous and non-Indigenous values of certain socio-economic variables. I will answer two questions: 

Agreement making, especially through Indigenous Land Use Agreements, is an increasingly important aspect of native title practice. Major mining agreements in particular are typically highly complex legally-driven documents which focus on meeting or reconciling the various parties' perceived aspirations and interests within a risk management framework. However, comparatively little attention is given to agreements' necessarily intercultural character, and their roles in social and cultural as well as economic transformation.

One of the defining characteristics of Indigenous policy during the Howard era was the emerging influence of conservative think tanks, and in particular, the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS) and the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership (CYIPL). While this development mirrors other policy settings, there are some unique features of the ideologies espoused by CIS and CYIPL. Both appear to have a religious quest to transform Indigenous societies.

his seminar will provide a perspective on the Intervention from one of the largest Indigenous townships in the NT through the eyes of two doctoral research scholars who were researching in the community as the Intervention broke. The paper analyses the initial reactions of both the people of the region and their local organisations, as well as detailing their interactions with the Northern Territory Emergency Response Taskforce and other government agencies during the first month of the Intervention.

Aboriginal People in the tropical savannah of the Northern Territory (NT) own 170,000 sq km of land including 85% of the coastline. Land and sea country have great cultural, economic and social significance to Aboriginal people, underpinning their culture and society. Aboriginal landowners continue to be reliant on the natural environment for both spiritual and physical well-being. Creation ancestors form part of a living landscape and practices such as hunting, foraging, burning, caring for sacred sites and ceremony have an important place in contemporary Aboriginal life.

Analysts of Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) census data have commonly observed that the census enumeration in remote Indigenous regions of Australia underestimates the actual number of Indigenous people. Such underestimations of remote population groups have dire consequences not only for appropriate service delivery in such extreme regions, but also contribute to a misguided public perception that the population in remote Indigenous regions is declining. Clearly a better approach to undertaking census counts is needed in remote Australia.

Olga Havnen has held senior positions with both the government and non-government sectors, including the Northern Territory Department of the Chief Minister, the Central and Northern Land Councils, and as Indigenous program manager with The Fred Hollows Foundation. Olga has recently taken up a newly-created position with Australian Red Cross as Head of Indigenous Strategy Development.

Please note: This seminar is available in both Streaming Audio and MP3 formats.

At the core of alcohol control policies in Australia-and indeed in any country with a system of licensing-lies a key conflict. This is the conflict between the interest of the state in reducing alcohol-related problems on the one hand, and its interest in enjoying the economic benefits produced by the alcohol beverage industry on the other. When an Indigenous corporation buys into premises licensed to sell alcohol, it is faced with a similar conflict and a moral hazard: good sales may mean more alcohol-related harms for which others largely bear the cost.

The community engagement strategy for the Cape York Welfare Reform trials was designed to represent communities and individuals under consultation strictly in terms of seven pre-determined 'community dysfunctions' only. They were: the abuse and neglect of children; alcohol abuse; drug abuse; petrol sniffing; problem gambling; poor school attendance; and dysfunctional housing tenancy arrangements. However, much of the research conducted on the ground in Aurukun suggests community members do not define themselves or their immediate families in terms of 'social-norms deficit'.