For as long as “History” with a capital ‘H’ has been written, Indigenous peoples have been placed outside its circle. Consequently,
Western methods of preserving history have excluded Indigenous stories. How can we include Indigenous narratives and their methods of maintaining history?
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Untold stories of Aboriginal exemption
La Trobe academics Dr Lucinda Aberdeen and Associate Professor Jennifer Jones are the editors of a new book titled Black, White and Exempt: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lives under exemption which presents the untold story of Aboriginal exemption, a policy imposed by state governments on Aboriginal people during the twentieth century.
Exemption certificates promised Aboriginal people access to the benefits of Australian citizenship that Aboriginal status denied them; including access to education, health services, housing and employment. In exchange, exempted individuals were required to relinquish their language, identity and ties to kin.