The Subject of the State? Changing Relations Between Government and Indigenous North Queenslanders

Following recent developments in Indigenous policy, this project will analyze the deepening involvement of the state in Indigenous lives. An ethnographic investigation of the presence of the state in Indigenous lives in three north Queensland townships will examine the effects of changing Indigenous policy. Particular attention will be given to the relationship between the neoliberal state, the complexities of contemporary Indigenous subjectivity, and a growing emphasis on ideas about identity and community both in government and among Indigenous people. The geographical location of this research places it at the forefront of changes in Indigenous policy, and research outcomes will inform academic work, social policy and local projects.