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his is a book about the practice of anthropology in the context of Australian native title claims. The Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) established a means whereby Indigenous Australians can make application to the Federal Court for the recognition of their rights to the continental landmass of Australia and its islands and seas. Such rights were identified in the legislation as ‘native title rights’. The application is subject to legal process. Those who make the claim (the applicant) have to prove to the court that the native title rights have continued to exist substantially uninterrupted since the acquisition of sovereignty over Australia by the British Crown. They also have to show that the native title rights have not been extinguished by subsequent acts of the colonisers. In this, the onus of proof lies with the applicant. Even applications that seek determination by the consent of the participating parties have to satisfy the Federal Court of the justice of their claim according to the Native Title Act and subsequent case law. Consequently, applications for the recognition of native title require that the case be prepared and the pleadings developed. Lawyers must draft the application under instruction from those who make the claim, typically a group of Indigenous Australians who lay claim to a common area of land. Legal counsel must prosecute the application and, should the matter not be settled by the parties prior to trial, the application goes to a hearing. In these regards, an application made to the Federal Court for a determination of native title shares much common ground with other applications brought to that court. Like much else that depends upon a judicial process for its resolution, a significant factor in the prosecution of a native title claim is the evidence that supports the applicant’s case.

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