Indigenous nationhood in the absence of recognition: Self-governance insights and strategies from three Aboriginal communities

This important project anticipated the substantial political changes that now characterise Indigenous communities’ relationships with Australian state governments, a circumstance that often led to the immediate implementation of its findings by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations and peoples and by government departments and agencies. Critically, the project built a network of Indigenous nation builders in Australia who are engaged in applying, testing and refining theories about the existence, jurisdictional goals and governing capacities of Australian Indigenous nations. Through such efforts, this Linkage Project also helped Indigenous nation building become a recognized field of research and practice in Australia.