Blackfellas, Whitefellas, and the Hidden Injuries of Race

In December 1997, in a small town in rural Australia, a fight broke out among local Aborigines that turned into a full-blown riot when police intervened with force. In Blackfellas, Whitefellas, and the Hidden Injuries of Race, anthropologist Gillian Cowlishaw uses this vivid incident as a means of launching a larger discussion about race, identity, and racialized violence. In this lively, highly readable ethnography, Cowlishaw brings indigenous Australians into the contemporary global race discourse – a discourse largely dominated to date by discussions of African Americans and American Indians in the United States. Cowlishaw’s work broadens and enriches discussions of the dramas of a racialized world.

Cowlishaw’s style is known for its clarity, verve, and accessibility. Written both for beginners and those well-versed in contemporary debates, Blackfellas, Whitefellas, and the Hidden Injuries of Race introduces new readers to key theories of race relations and offers more seasoned readers her fresh perspective on racial and Aboriginal politics.