The National Museum of Ethnology (Minpaku) is a research center for ethnology and cultural anthropology.

Dynamic Relationship of Australian Aboriginal Society with Governmental Policies

Joint Research Coordinator KUBO Masatoshi

Reserch Theme List

Objectives

FY2001
In the Northern Territory of Australia, aborigine society perceived as traditional has since the end of the 1970s undergone bewildering changes, not just in terms of the systems for indigenous land rights, but also in line with various Australian domestic policies concerning culture, labor, development, tourism, among others. In response various policies have changed in turn. This research seeks to discover historical documentation that speaks in micro terms about the changes which have occurred in aborigine society and culture, while synthesizing this information with marco narratives regarding policy changes at various levels, in an attempt to narrate and analyze a history of dynamic relations involving aborigine society and policies concerning the aborigines. This research will attempt to illuminate the mutual effects of the policies towards the aborigines of Australia, a nation which is advanced in global terms, and the society of the aborigines. Hopefully, we will be able to suggest solutions for problems of relations with indigenous peoples, an issue which is certain to surface in various countries and regions of the world, including in Japan, in the days to come, and indicate specific directions and suggestions that might be followed in developing policies for indigenous peoples.