Almost daily our newspapers and radio stations are full of non-Indigenous perspectives on Indigenous issues. Be it the stolen generations, native title, the re-emergence of assimilationist policy or land rights, the non-Indigenous voice is foremost. So where are the Indigenous columnists, radio presenters, television anchors and journalists? They do exist, but compared to the amount of space given to non-Indigenous writers and commentators, the Indigenous voice is marginal in the mainstream media. If we are serious at all about reconciliation and self-determination then we need to hear Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices more often. Presented here is an incredibly brief history of the development of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander media and a list of web, print and broadcast services worth engaging.

The contemporary Indigenous communications environment consists of an array of media services. Presently there are approximately one hundred licensed Aboriginal radio stations, one commercial television station, numerous print publications, an Indigenous film industry (with Indigenous media productions being screened on non-Indigenous television and radio) as well as an embryonic online media sector. There are currently over 50 Indigenous media associations working within local, regional, national and international settings represented at the national level by the National Indigenous Media Association of Australia (NIMAA). Interestingly, Aboriginal broadcasting and print endeavours have typically been the result of self-initiative and motivation, with many of these developments beginning as 'experimental' radio and television stations. These low-powered transmissions initially operated outside of the legal and political processes of state and federal government.

A small but consistent Indigenous print sector has also existed for more than 160 years. The first examples of Aboriginal print journalism appeared in the 1830's, with publications like the Australian Abo Call: the voice of the Aborigines begins and the Flinders Island Chronicle. Papers such as the Australian Abo Call and the Koori Mail have featured highly in the development of an Aboriginal political subjectivity. Certainly the success of print has been limited due to poor English literacy standards that continue to plague Indigenous welfare over the nation. Hence the success of radio has been in its ability to maintain and continue the practice of oral communication historically vital to Indigenous culture.

In 1972 the first Indigenous-produced community radio program aired on 5UV in Adelaide. A year later the first ever all-Aboriginal TV Show produced, 'Basically Black', a National Black Theatre production, was broadcast. Throughout the 1970s Indigenous broadcasting began to grow at the grassroots, from the community sector and establish its own unique position in the Australian communications sphere. Radio in particular played a crucial part in cultural, social and economical development. The access to and control of media and communications technology is now regarded as a powerful tool for facilitating community ties and cultural activity.

However it was with the launch of Australia's first domestic satellite in 1985, that the Indigenous broadcasting environment took shape. For the first time many remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders gained access to telecommunications, broadcast television and radio. The launch was seen as both a potential advance for Indigenous communications and a threat to the maintenance of an already diminished language and culture. At this time Aboriginal concerns over the effects of satellite broadcasting were 'duly noted and then largely ignored' as a technologically determined policy established a Remote Commercial Television Station (RCTS) that largely ignored the interests of the numerous distinct language groups that fell within the broadcast footprint.

Introduced in 1987 the Broadcasting for Remote Aboriginal Communities Scheme (BRACS) established radio in remote areas. BRACS, a small scale, community based system, designed to transmit over short distances, was first piloted in the remote communities of Ernabella (Anangu Pitjantjatjara lands) and Yuendumu (Walpiri lands) and has to date allowed for varying degrees of Aboriginal control. Initially conceived as a gatekeeper of media content, BRACS gave communities the ability to produce their own video and radio programs and re-broadcast or 'embed' this material in mainstream programming by turning off main signals and transmitting their own programs locally. Over 100 BRACS stations now exist, allowing limited community control of incoming satellite television and radio broadcasts, as well as rebroadcasting equipment.

Even with such rapid success in Indigenous media over the last 30 years, a number of obstacles remain. Simply statedÑthe ubiquity of cultural property on-line, lack of access to broadband networks in remote regions, appropriate training, or adequate funding, and the perpetual issues of upgrading and maintenance continue to trouble this sector.

Some Indigenous media outlets:

Print
Koori Mail
Land Rights News
Journal of Journal of Australian Indigenous Issues

Radio
Koori Radio/Gadigal Information Services (Syd)
Umeewarra Radio (Port Augusta) - 5UMA 89.1 FM
Broome Aboriginal Media Association Ð 67.5AM (Broome) and 81.3AM (Derby)
4K1G Radio - Townsville Aboriginal and Islander Media Association.

Web
Indiginet - www.indiginet.com.au
Kooriweb - kooriweb.org
Irati Wanti - iratiwanti.org
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association
(CAAMA) - www.caama.com.au

For a full list of websites go to www.aboriginalaustralia.org