Compensation for cultural loss in Indigenous Australia

Abstract

The issue of compensation for harm to Indigenous culture is increasingly prominent in Australian society, given the High Court's landmark decision in Northern Territory v Griffiths (2019). The High Court sought to assess the meaning of cultural loss from Indigenous testimony and ‘translate the spiritual hurt from the compensable acts into compensation’. The destruction of Juukan Gorge in Western Australia's Pilbara region in 2020 also prompted efforts to assess, evaluate and remedy the harm Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura peoples suffered. Parallel debates about treaties have also raised the possibility of reparations for colonization. This article considers the challenges these legal and political developments pose for anthropology in Australia, where scholars have avoided discussing the concept of cultural loss for a generation.