Indigenous–Settler Relationships

This chapter argues that the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous societies in Australia is complex and conflictual, and that the nature of that relationship is itself a site of conflict. It identifies and elaborates the dominant ways of understanding the relationship in the Australian context: policy, rights, nation-building, and sovereignty. Different registers have been more influential at different times, but all have been present throughout the history of Indigenous–state interactions. While the policy register is dominant in academic and public discourse, this chapter suggests that viewing the relationship in terms of sovereign political orders is more useful.