Agreements between the mining industry and Indigenous people are not creating sustainable economic futures for Indigenous people, and this demands consideration of alternate forms of economic engagement in order to realise such futures. Within the context of three mining agreements in north Australia this study considers Indigenous livelihood aspirations and their intersection with sustainable development agendas. The three agreements are the Yandi Land Use Agreement in the Central Pilbara in Western Australia, the Ranger Uranium Mine Agreement in the Kakadu region of the Northern Territory, and the Gulf Communities Agreement in relation to the Century zinc mine in the southern Gulf of Carpentaria in Queensland. Recent shifts in Indigenous policy in Australia seek to de-emphasise the cultural behaviour or imperatives of Indigenous people in undertaking economic action, in favour of a mainstream conventional approach to economic development. Concepts of value, identity, and community are key elements in the tension between culture and economics that exists in the Indigenous policy environment. Whilst significant diversity exists within the Indigenous polity, Indigenous aspirations for the future typically emphasise a desire for alternate forms of economic engagement that combine elements of the mainstream economy with the maintenance and enhancement of Indigenous institutions and livelihood activities. Such aspirations reflect ongoing and dynamic responses to modernity, and typically concern the interrelated issues of access to and management of country, the maintenance of Indigenous institutions associated with family and kin, access to resources such as cash and vehicles, the establishment of robust representative organisations, and are integrally linked to the derivation of both symbolic and economic value of livelihood pursuits.

Foreword (p.iii) by Jon Altman and John Braithwaite - a brief history of this series of seminars held in May 1994; papers by J. Beckett, H. Reynolds, F. Brennan, G. Nettheim, J.C. Altman annotated separately.

The Australian Federal Native Title Act 1993 marked a revolution in the recognition of the rights of Australia’s Indigenous peoples. The legislation established a means whereby Indigenous Australians could make application to the Federal Court for the recognition of their rights to traditional country. The fiction that Australia was terra nullius (or ‘void country’), which had prevailed since European settlement, was overturned. The ensuing legal cases, mediated resolutions and agreements made within the terms of the Native Title Act quickly proved the importance of having sound, scholarly and well-researched anthropology conducted with claimants so that the fundamentals of the claims made could be properly established. In turn, this meant that those opposing the claims would also benefit from anthropological expertise. This is a book about the practical aspects of anthropology that are relevant to the exercise of the discipline within the native title context. The engagement of anthropology with legal process, determined by federal legislation, raises significant practical as well as ethical issues that are explored in this book. It will be of interest to all involved in the native title process, including anthropologists and other researchers, lawyers and judges, as well as those who manage the claim process. It will also be relevant to all who seek to explore the role of anthropology in relation to Indigenous rights, legislation and the state.

A union list of serials commencing publication after Dec. 31, 1949.

How are indigenous and local people faring in their dealings with mining and related industries in the first part of the 21st century? The unifying experience in all the resource-rich states covered in the book is the social and economic disadvantage experienced by indigenous peoples and local communities, paradoxically surrounded by wealth-producing projects. Another critical commonality is the role of law. Where the imposition of statutory regulation is likely to result in conflict with local people, some large modern corporations have shown a preference for alternatives to repressive measures and expensive litigation. Ensuring that local people benefit economically is now a core goal for those companies that seek a social licence to operate to secure these resources. There is almost universal agreement that the best use of the financial and other benefits that flow to indigenous and local people from these projects is investment in the economic participation, education and health of present generations and accumulation of wealth for future generations. There is much hanging on the success of these strategies: it is often asserted that they will result in dramatic improvements in the status of indigenous and local communities. What happens in practice is fascinating, as the contributors to this book explain in case studies and analysis of legal and economic problems and solutions.