'Through the struggles of Indigenous Australians for recognition and self-determination it has become common sense to understand Australia as made up of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and things. But in what ways is the Indigenous/non-Indigenous distinction being used and understood? In The Difference Identity Makes, thirteen Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics examine how this distinction structures the work of cultural production and how Indigenous producers and their works are recognised and valued.

'The editors introduce this innovative collection of essays with a path-finding argument that ‘Indigenous cultural capital’ now challenges all Australians to re-position themselves within a revised scale of values. Each chapter looks at one of five fields of Australian cultural production: sport, television, heritage, visual arts and music, revealing that in each the Indigenous/non-Indigenous distinction has effects that are specific.

'This brings new depth and richness to our understanding of what ‘Indigeneity’ can mean in contemporary Australia. In demonstrating the variety of ways that ’the Indigenous’ is made visible and valued the essays provide a powerful alternative to the ‘deficit’ theme that has continued to haunt the representation of Indigeneity.' (Publication summary)

'There are Kooris who say that outsiders cannot get our sense of humour. Of course, this is not true of everyone. Most people are able to learn the cultural and historical context that makes something funny. Clarrie Cameron’s Elephants in the bush and other Yamatji yarns shows how extensively Aborigines use comedy in everyday life. Learning this is crucial to gaining an in-depth understanding of our communities. This book deserves a wide audience because it tells us all something about how we see ourselves. These are not narrow stories about disadvantaged or disengaged victims. Yes, Cameron deals with the standard issues of colonisation. However, he does it from a point of view that does not filter out the sense of fun that is integral to the ways that Aborigines live as an altered colonised minority. Cameron’s yarns are funny, in places gentle, but they confront these important issues as effectively as any raging or pitiful plea to understand what is happening in Aboriginal communities.' (Introduction)

'This book examines physical activities and sports important to Erambie Kooris, including the animated form of storytelling that has a significant physical performance component, games such as rounders and skipping, as well as bare knuckle fighting. It also examines the connections between physical activities and sports as cultural practices.' (Source: Koori Mail, issue 548 2013)

'Indigenous Australian communities are blessed to have storytelling historians who share their humour, knowledge and insight about our people’s involvement with mainstream sports. In contrast, there are few established Indigenous historians writing in the small academic field of sports history. One of the few, Worimi historian John Maynard, has turned his attention to the subject of Indigenous participation in soccer. In The Aboriginal Soccer Tribe: A history of Aboriginal involvement with the world game, he shares stories about the contribution prominent Indigenous soccer players make to the game. By blurring the line between Indigenous storytelling and academic history, Maynard tells the reader more than the standard story about Aborigines in sport.'  (Introduction)

'Representations of Aborigines matter. Clearly, media presentations about us matter because they are how many Australians get to know us. In the same way, every policy document, government report and academic text contributes to our collective and individual identities. Mainstream educators are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of representations as they create strategic partnerships with communities. Creating community–school partnerships are a particular focus of Aboriginal education courses at many universities. Many students will arrive at these courses with little personal knowledge of Aborigines. What the students are guided to learn about Aborigines in training courses will affect the ways that they initially engage Aboriginal students and communities. It follows that the conversations experienced teachers have with pre-service and early career teachers will have a significant impact on learning and teaching in Aboriginal education. These conversations matter in terms of teaching practice and curriculum content. There is then a significant responsibility that comes with writing a textbook about Aborigines for an audience of pre-service and early career teachers.'  (Introduction)

'Boori Monty Pryor and Jan Ormerod’s Shake a Leg is an exciting children’s book from a gifted Murri storyteller. It is reviewed here by three members of one Wiradjuri family — an 11-year old school boy (Jesse), a K–12 classroom teacher with experience in tertiary and vocational education (Beatrice) and a researcher (Lawrence), who examine how representations of Aborigines affect community engagement with schools.'  (Introduction)

'There is an increasing body of literature, and awareness, of the nature of deficit discourse and its contribution to the essentialising of Indigenous identity. Through an analysis of sports writing since the 1960s, this paper explores how such discourses can develop. Sport, however, has another attribute: it is the avenue by which Aborigines and Islanders have earned and demanded the respect of non-Aboriginal Australia; it has given them a sense of worth and pride, especially since they have had to overcome the twin burdens of racism and opposition on the field. It has shown Aborigines and Islanders that using their bodies is still the one and only way they can compete on equal terms with an often hostile, certainly indifferent, mainstream society (Tatz and Tatz 2000:33). In the aftermath of civil rights victories, the politics of 'victimhood' became the predominant methodology of black advocacy and the reigning paradigm of public policy thinking (Pearson 2007:26).' (Publication abstract)

'The first time I took Richard Broome’s Aboriginal Australians (the second edition) from a library shelf, it was as an undergraduate curious to see what the book said about Aborigines. Searching through the book for references to Wiradjuri people and places, I was surprised to read that Broome had mistakenly located Warangesda Mission (my grandfather’s birthplace) near Brewarrina. Finding that Paul Coe (we are both from Erambie Mission) was mentioned, I read a few pages to see what was written about him. In that section it was claimed that Aborigines lacked self-esteem and that there was a growth of Aboriginal identity and pride during the 1970s. Finally, I read that welfare groups developed pride and independence among Aborigines. Next, Broome’s claim that it was natural for humans to feel that their own group was superior to others drew me into reading what he had to say about that point.'  (Introduction)