Digital Commons Network^™

Conflict In The Statutory Elicitation Of Aboriginal Culture In Australia, James F. Weiner

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

In order for Aboriginal rights and interests to be recognised under the Native Title Act (1993), such rights and interests must arise from laws and customs that can be shown to have continuity with the particular set of laws and customs that existed at the time of sovereignty, or, at least, at the time of first European contact. This interpretation of continuity has been applied in Australian native title cases since the High Court’s Yorta Yorta decision (Yorta Yorta v the State of Victoria [2002] HCA 58). Yet today’s Aboriginal native title claim groups are also required to participate in …

Research And Indigenous Participation: Critical Reflexive Methods, Ruth Nicholis

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

In response to the theories of empowerment and social justice, research involving Indigenous peoples often demands participatory and collaborative methodologies. Consequently, researchers need to engage with reflexive evaluation of collective and negotiated design, data collection and data analysis to consider inter-personal and collective dynamics during the research process. What this means for those attempting counter-colonial research is that we cannot rely on a singular application of reflexivity to situate knowledge. Additional political and relational layers of reflexivity are essential to critically evaluate empowerment and participation by working ‘the spaces between’ through reflection about collaboration. By exploring ‘relationality’ as a methodology, …

Using Ethnographic Methods To Articulate Community-Based Conceptions Of Cultural Heritage Management, Julie Hollowell, George Nicholas

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

How can ethnographic methods help communities articulate and enact their own conceptions of heritage management? This and related questions are being explored through an international research project, ‘Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage’. The project includes up to twenty community- based initiatives that incorporate community-based participatory research and ethnographic methods to explore emerging intellectual property-related issues in archaeological contexts; the means by which they are being addressed or resolved; and the broader implications of these issues and concerns. We discuss three examples that use ethnography to (a) articulate local or customary laws and principles of archaeological heritage management among a …

Indigenous Self-Determination And The State, Shin Imai

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

The right of indigenous self-determination is now accepted at both the national and international level, but the exercise of the right to self-determination does not connote any specific institutional arrangement. This chapter, from the forthcoming book, Indigenous Peoples and the Law: Comparative and Critical Perspectives (Hart Publishing, Oxford), describes a variety of arrangements in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States. Indigenous people have the greatest political autonomy in the sovereignty/self-government model found in the United States and in the latest self government agreements from Canada. The self- administration/self-management model provides for indigenous entities to deliver social services and …

Indigenous Laws: Some Issues, Considerations And Experiences, Val Napoleon, Richard Overstall

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

No abstract provided.

Oil And Gas Exploitation On Arctic Indigenous Peoples’ Territories Human Rights, International Law And Corporate Social Responsibility, Rune S. Fjellheim, John B. Henriksen

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

The Resource Centre for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples’ Gáldu Čála nr 4/2006 con- tains two articles addressing certain core social, legal and economic questions related to oil and gas operations in indigenous areas, written by Mr. Rune Sverre Fjellheim and Mr. John B. Henriksen respectively.

Around the world, including in the Arctic, there are disputes about ownership, utiliza- tion, management and conservation of traditional indigenous lands and resources - often caused by decisions or attempts to use traditional indigenous lands and resources for industrial purposes, including oil and gas exploration. This situation represents an enor- mous challenge, and in …

Some Legal Considerations Concerning Saami Rights In Saltwater, Elisabeth Einarsbøl

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

The rights of the coastal Saami form the focus for this paper, which has been written by one of the advisers at the GÁLDU Resource Centre for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It explores the views on the rights of the coastal Saami that prevail today in the light of earlier perceptions and practices within sea fishing. The challenge is to attempt to say something about what this development entails in purely legal terms. The paper is one of the first to seek to provide an overview of what has been done with regard to surveys and research in the …

‘Improving Their Lives.’ State Policies And San Resistance In Botswana, Sidsel Saugestad

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

A court case raised by a group of San (former) hunter-gatherers, protesting against relocation from the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, has attracted considerable international attention. The Government of Botswana argues that the relocation was done in order to ‘improve the lives’ of the residents, and that it was in their own best interest. The residents plead their right to stay in their traditional territories, a right increasingly acknowledged in international law, and claim that they did not relocate voluntarily. The case started in 2004 and will, due to long interspersed adjournments, go on into 2006.

This article traces the events …

Predicting Death In Young Offenders: A Retrospective Cohort Study, Carolyn Coffey, Rory Wolfe, Andrew W. Lovett, Paul Moran, Eileen Cini, George C. Patton

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

Objective: To examine predictors of death in young offenders who have received a custodial sentence using data routinely collected by juvenile justice services.

Design: A retrospective cohort of 2849 (2625 male) 11–20-year-olds receiving their first custodial sentence between 1 January 1988 and 31 December 1999 was identified. Main outcome measures: Deaths, date and primary cause of death ascertained from study commencement to 1 March 2003 by data-matching with the National Death Index; measures comprising year of and age at admission, sex, offence profile, any drug offence, multiple admissions and ethnic and Indigenous status, obtained from departmental records.

Results: Theoverallmortalityratewas7.2deathsper1000person-yearsofobservation. Younger …

Blame It On Rio: Biodiscovery, Native Title, And Traditional Knowledge, Matthew Rimmer

Aboriginal Policy Research Consortium International (APRCi)

This article examines the legal responses to protect traditional knowledge of biodiversity in the wake of the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity. It considers the relative merits of the inter- locking regimes of contract law, environmental law, intellectual property law, and native title law. Part 1 considers the natural drug discovery industry in Australia. In particular , it looks at the operations of Amrad, Astra Zeneca R & D, and the Australian Institute of Marine Science. This section examines the key features of the draft regulations proposed under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) - model contracts, …