Indifferent Inclusion

Indifferent Inclusion offers a holistic interpretation of the complex relationship between Indigenous and settler Australians during the middle four decades of the twentieth century. Combining the perspectives of political, social, and cultural history in a coherent narrative, McGregor provides a cogent analysis of how the relationship changed, and the impediments to change.

McGregor's focus is on the quest for Aboriginal inclusion in the Australian nation; a task which dominated the Aboriginal agenda at the time. He challenges existing scholarship and assumptions, particularly around assimilation. In doing so, he provides an understanding of why assimilation once held the approval of many reformers, including Indigenous activists.

He reveals that the inclusion of Aboriginal people in the Australian nation was not a function of political lobbying and parliamentary decision-making. Rather, it depended at least as much on Aboriginal people's public profile, and the way their demonstrated abilities partially wore down the apathy and indifference of settler Australians.