On Thursday, October 17, a federal court in Hobart, Tasmania, ruled that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Commission (ATSIC) roll is a legal method of determining who is entitled to Aboriginal status in Tasmania. This decision set in motion the Administrative Appeals Tribunal case concerning whether 130 Tasmanians who were removed from the ATSIC roll can vote in Aboriginal elections. At stake for these Tasmanians is their eligibility to vote in ATSIC's November and future elections and official recognition of their status as Aborigines. The ATSIC state chairman, John Clark, is among the group that is challenging the roll, claiming that a small cadre of individuals is manipulating the registry and vote to satisfy their own interests.
The task of determining who is of Aboriginal descent on the island of Tasmania is a complicated one. Many Tasmanian Aborigines have light skin and have lost contact with the land and their culture. The history of the island has made the issue particularly difficult and divisive. After decades of decimation by introduced diseases and violence, by 1843 only fifty 'full-blood' Tasmanian Aborigines were thought to be alive. Most of these were 'imprisoned' on a Flinders Island mission in Bass Strait.
Around this time Social Darwinism and pervasive racism became the norm. Facing widespread discrimination, many individuals of Aboriginal descent denied their ancestry. Until the establishment of the ATSIC roll the right to vote in Aboriginal elections was not an issue. Because Aboriginal history was passed down on orally, few clues now exist to confirm one's family lineage, and state archives are of only limited value.
The ATSIC roll was intended to help clean up the Commission's image, which had been plagued by allegations of mismanagement and corruption. Prior to the ATSIC roll anyone who claimed to be an Aborigine could vote. But with the ATSIC roll the need was born for documentation of an Aboriginal family tree. Due to cultural and historical factors, proving one's Aboriginal heritage was rendered difficult for many Tasmanians. Meanwhile, over the last 30 years, Tasmania has seen a resurgence in claims of Aboriginal identity. On an island of less then 500,000 people the number of those who identify themselves as Aborigines has jumped considerably: in the 1981 census only 2,700 identified themselves, whereas the figure rose to 16,000 last year.
