Policy For Self-Determination: the Case Study of ATSIC

This project aims to provide a focused study of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (1990-2005) to inform Indigenous policy-making and governance in Australia. Utilising interdisciplinary approaches and a national perspective it will analyse how, and in what context, the Commission functioned and document the stories of those involved. Expected outcomes of the project include detailed data on the successes and challenges of the organisation and a set of Indigenous oral histories/biographies that will inform public and political debate. This history will benefit and change the way Indigenous governance is understood, discussed, remembered and formulated in contemporary Australian society.