The Politics of Identity: Who Counts as Aboriginal Today? by Bronwyn Carlson (review)

THE POLITICS OF IDENTITY: WHO COUNTS AS ABORIGINAL TODAY? is a timely study by Bronwyn Carlson on the historical construction of Aboriginal identities in Australia. Carlson's book comes on the heels of increasing debate in Australia among Indigenous and non-Indigenous academics, social commentators, politicians, journalists, and Aboriginal people alike on what can be classed as legitimate criteria for a person to claim an Aboriginal identity. In 2001 Mick Gooda, Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social justice commissioner at the time, stated, "Surely it is vital that every individual has the power to shape their own identity—to stand up and say 'this is who I am and this is what I believe' without that certainty being challenged? For Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, however, this has rarely been the case" ("One's Identity Is for the Individual to Interpret," Sydney Morning Herald, November 24, 2001). Since then, public debate has increased in intensity, with senior Aboriginal leaders and academics joining the discussion. Carlson's book is an important contribution to this conversation.

In a compelling introduction, Carlson interweaves her family history and her developing understanding of the composition of her own Aboriginality with a commentary on the emerging politics of identity in Australia over the past forty years. Carlson juxtaposes this analysis with an exposé of officially accepted definitions of the criteria used to confirm Aboriginal identity. In this discussion, Carlson skillfully exposes the contradictions between personal, Aboriginal community, and government definitions of what characteristics delineate an Aboriginal person.

Carlson's book is based on the extensive research she undertook as part of her doctoral thesis. Most important, her study is conducted from within an Aboriginal perspective where her own Aboriginality has been rigorously scrutinized over time by herself, her family, her peers, and the wider Indigenous and non-Indigenous community in which she now lives and works. Carlson's personal journey has compelled her to critically review the extensive research already undertaken in Australia on the history of state and federal policies and legislation and the church and welfare interventions under which Aboriginal people in Australia have been forced to live. She concentrates her review particularly on the period since the 1900s, which continues to have profound resonances for how Aboriginal people from all walks of life see themselves in contemporary Australian society.

Carlson's book is presented in two parts. Part 1 "begins by looking at the colonial construction of Aboriginality" (15) and then ventures into an exploration of the period from the 1960s until 1988. She then explores the literature of the 1970s to the present, looking at the shifts in focus on the "changing meanings of Aboriginal identity" (15). In part 1 Carlson relies heavily on the primary research, analysis, and quotes of historical and anthropological materials developed by others such as McCorquodale, Reynolds, and Langton in the formulation of her own ideas on the issue of Aboriginal identity as constructed socially and historically in Australia.

In part 2 Carlson "deals with the contemporary contests of Aboriginality" and the confirmation of Aboriginality processes (15). In this section Carlson comes into her own with insightful evaluations of the political implications on the myriad people who claim Aboriginality within a contested identity space in contemporary Australian society. This group includes members of the Stolen Generation. Carlson's final chapter—"Concluding Remarks"—draws directly from the interviews used in her doctoral thesis. Carlson highlights the difficulties many Aboriginal people face in claiming an Aboriginal identity that is considered legitimate across politically diverse and often opposing platforms. These include Aboriginal communities, media commentary, universities, and the sphere of politics and government.

In concluding her book, Carlson admits she does not intend to resolve any of the issues she has raised about the contested identity space that is Aboriginality. Rather, her book is a call for further review and reflection, and in particular self-reflection by Aboriginal people, on "our own practices" and a compliance with government and...