The Cunning of Recognition: Indigenous Alterities and the Making of Australian Multiculturalism

405 Pages·2002·4.13 MB·English

by  Elizabeth A. Povinelli

THECUNNINGOFRECOGNITION
POLITICS,HISTORY,ANDCULTURE
AseriesfromtheInternationalInstituteattheUniversityofMichigan
serieseditors:GeorgeSteinmetzandJuliaAdams
serieseditorialadvisoryboard:FernandoCoronil,GeoffEley,FatmaMuge
Gocek,NancyHuntRose,WebbKeane,DavidLaitin,Ching-KwanLee,JulieSkurski,
MargaretSomers,KatherineVerdery,ElizabethWingrove
SponsoredbytheInternationalInstituteattheUniversityofMichiganandpublishedbythe
DukeUniversityPress,thisseriesiscenteredaroundculturalandhistoricalstudiesofpower,
politics,andthestate—afieldthatcutsacrossthedisciplinesofhistory,sociology,anthro-
pology,politicalscience,andculturalstudies.Thefocusontherelationshipbetweenstateand
culturerefersbothtoamethodologicalapproach—thestudyofpoliticsandthestateusing
culturalistmethods—andasubstantiveonethattreatssignifyingpracticesasanessential
dimensionofpolitics.Thedialecticofpolitics,culture,andhistoryfiguresprominentlyinall
thebooksselectedfortheseries.
THE CUNNING OF RECOGNITION
IndigenousAlteritiesandtheMaking
ofAustralianMulticulturalism
elizabeth a. povinelli
DukeUniversityPress Durham&London 2002
©2002DukeUniversityPress
Allrightsreserved
PrintedintheUnitedStatesof
Americaonacid-freepaper(cid:4)
DesignedbyAmyRuthBuchanan
TypesetinMinionbyTseng
InformationSystems,Inc.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-
in-PublicationDataappearonthe
lastprintedpageofthisbook.
From The Cunning of Recognition by Povinelli, Elizabeth A.. DOI: 10.1215/9780822383673
Duke University Press, 2002. All rights reserved.
TOCLAIREANDERICKREBSWHOCHANGEDOURMINDS

CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix
Introduction:CriticalCommonSense 1
1/ MutantMessages 35
2/ TheVulvaThieves(AtnaNylkna):Modal
EthicsandtheColonialArchive 71
3/ SexRites,CivilRights 111
4/ ShamedStates 153
5/ ThePoeticsofGhosts:SocialReproduction
intheArchiveoftheNation 187
6/ TheTruestBeliefIsCompulsion 235
Notes 269
SelectedWorksCited 311
Index 325

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book is the result of conversations with a numberof peoplewhowere
generous to sharewith me their insights on problems addressed in the fol-
lowingpages.GillianCollishaw,FrancescaMerlan,DeborahBirdRose,and
AlanRumseyprovidedcriticalconversationonindigenoussociallifefroman
anthropological perspective.Wendy Asche, Ross Howie,Tom Keely, Jessica
Klingender,MariaLovinson,KenLum,andBenScambariandotherswork-
ingattheNorthernLandCouncilplayedavitalroleindeepeningmythinking
aboutthelegalandinstitutionalmediationsof indigenousrecognition.The
staffworkingattheAustralianArchivesinDarwin,Sydney,andMelbourne,
withtheElkinpapersattheUniversityofSydney,withtheStannerpapersat
theAboriginalandTorresStraitIslandersCouncillibrary,andattheNorth-
ernTerritory Archives provided patient, vital help navigating the historical
From The Cunning of Recognition by Povinelli, Elizabeth A.. DOI: 10.1215/9780822383673
Duke University Press, 2002. All rights reserved.