Country, Kin and Culture
Survival of an Australian Aboriginal community
Claire Smith
PB 208 PP 210 x 135 ILLUS 1862545758 $24.95
Aboriginal Studies / History APN 9781862545755
Wakefield Press June 2004
When Captain Cook landed on Australian shores
he came into contact with one of the most dynamic, culturally
rich and socially sophisticated societies that had ever existed.
This book documents how one such community drew upon their sense
of country, kin and culture to survive the incursions of British
colonisation. It outlines their histories from before contact
to the present, through protectionism and assimilation, to self-determination
and reconciliation. It presents the direct voices of Aboriginal
people and government authorities through interviews and archival
documents. This is a history not just of colonisation and resistance,
but of cultural, social and political survival, even in the present day.
Dr Claire Smith has worked closely with the
Barunga–Wugularr community of the Northern Territory, Australia
since 1990. She is a Senior Lecturer with the Department of Archaeology,
Flinders University and President of the World Archaeological
Congress.