Methods

Telling It Like It Is: Aboriginal Perspectives On Race And Race Relations collected data from 44 in-depth interviews with a cross-section of Darwin’s Aboriginal residents and visitors, a survey of 474 Aboriginal people living in, or regularly visiting, Darwin.  Both of these were matched to the socio-demographic profile of Darwin’s Indigenous population based on the 2011 Census of Population and Housing.  To access the perspectives of Darwin’s Aboriginal residents more broadly, we also used a community Facebook page where we posted material from the interviews and other sources for Aboriginal residents and regular visitors could have their say on the issues.

The study asked these respondents:

•     how they view the relationship between themselves and settler Australians

•     their perceptions of settler Australian politics, values, priorities and lifestyles

•     their views on arrangements for governance in Australia

•     what can be done to improve race relations between the Aboriginal population and settler Australians.

Our early findings are provided under the ‘Findings’ tab on the home page. In presenting these findings we would like to thank the many people who helped make this project possible, including the members of our Advisory Group, and especially our respondents who agreed to share their views, and the many contributors to the Facebook community page.