1 July, 2016

Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council Tackles the Issue of Identity

More than a hundred Aboriginal community members from around Australia made the trip to the heart of Sydney on Mabo Day, for a forum dedicated to Aboriginality.

The Metropolitan Local Aboriginal and Council (MLALC) invited communities to discuss their thoughts and issues, make recommendations on who should define Aboriginality, and how organisations assess and process claims of Aboriginality.

MLALC’s Board agreed last year to hold a public forum, following a significant number of fraudulent Aboriginality claims, highlighting what it believes is a need for a standardised system of identity checks.

It follows the Registrar of the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act’s controversial decision in 2013 to remove a woman from the membership roll of a land council.

OurMob’s video package of the forum is below.