Indigenous studies and race relations in Australian sports

Abstract

The relatively young area of Indigenous sports studies in Australia has developed from some key foundational studies and expanded through a variety of approaches conducted primarily by non-Indigenous academics and journalists. More recently, the release of publications by Indigenous authors has unlocked a much-needed reflexive scholarship in which the collective and individual experiences of Indigenous people become a central feature of the research. We highlight some of the stages, the shift in methodologies and blossoming of a viable Indigenous Sports Studies field to the extent that an entire volume of current work can be called on. Such a volume draws on a wide group of academics all housed within Indigenous Studies units at universities across Australia.