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Four Corners: Native title: How to free your heart

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Red cliffs in outback
Four Corners: Native title: How to free your heart

SUBJECTS:  Civics and Citizenship, History

YEARS:  9–10


Society's attitudes towards Native Title have evolved since 1992.

In this clip, listen to the opinions of key players in the struggle for native title as they reflect on the success of Mabo twenty years later.

This clip is last in a series of six.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Decades have passed since the High Court of Australia acknowledged that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have the right to claim ownership over country in which their families lived prior to British settlement. What changes would you expect to have occurred in Australian society in the ensuing years?
  2. 2.How many Native Title claims have been successful? What percentage of Australia is covered by Native Title? According to Elaine James (Aboriginal elder), Campbell Anderson (former President of the Australian Mining Industry Council) and Sir Anthony Mason (former Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia), how has Mabo (the Native Title decision) changed Australia? Who has benefited?
  3. 3.Listen carefully to Mick Dodson, the Aboriginal leader who speaks at the end of the clip. Make a note of what he says Indigenous Australians want. Does this seem reasonable to you? Do you think his wishes are realised in Australian society today?
  4. 4.Using appropriate sources, find those parts of Australia that are under Native Title. Are there any observations you can make regarding their location and size? Select one area and research its history, including when and why Native Title was granted.

Date of broadcast: 7 May 2012


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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