"We wish we'd done more: Ninety years of CMS and Aboriginal Issues in North Australia" John Harris, Adelaide Openbook 1998 In this volume Harris gives careful analysis to the work of the Church Missionary Society in Oenpelli, Roper River and Groote Eylandt. Harris outlines the development of CMS policies and activities in: Aboriginal culture and society (including languages), suffering and need, social change (includes protection, assimilation and self determination), Aboriginal children, Aboriginal people of mixed descent and land rights. In this postmodern era missionaries are often castigated for seeing Christianity and civilisation as being virtually inseparable. John Harris addresses this and other concerns carefully and critically. He also writes with the perspective of having grown up in the area as he was the son of CMS missionaries in Arnhem Land. It is not uncritical; for example he discusses the failure of CMS to officially commence work in Aboriginal languages until sixty years after these missions were established. In contrast to this Harris also documents how CMS was the forerunner of land rights through its application for Aboriginal Reserves in Arnhem Land. He details CMS successful negotiations of an agreement with BHP over mining on Groote Eylandt and the payment of royalties to the local Aboriginal community. He also discusses the negotiations with regard to the Nabarlek uranium mine on the Oenpelli lands; which did not have such a positive outcome. The discussion around what the term "sacred sites" mean is helpful in the context of current debates. This book is not all policy and technical discussion. It is largely about people, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, and this volume unfolds largely through the stories and anecdotes of their lives. This is an excellent sequel to his classic "One Blood" (1994). I encourage anyone with an interest in the current debate on Aboriginal affairs or the history of missions in Australia to read this volume. It is compelling. March 1999 Stephen Hall Co-ordinator Sussex Street Community Law Service EAST VICTORIA PARK Western Australia 6101 Phone 08 9470 2676 Fax 08 9470 1805 ------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 To unsubscribe from this list, mail [EMAIL PROTECTED], and in the body of the message, include the words: unsubscribe announce or click here mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20announce This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use."
