A Short History of the Australian Indigenous Resistance 1950 - 1990 ‘We are our own salvation ... Our destiny is in our own hands ... We cannot leave it to churches, government, international pressures, dreams or the goodwill of others.’----- Charles Perkins By Gary Foley Introduction This history is as interesting and vibrant as history can be, yet it is largely unknown to the majority of the Australian people. I would hope that the following small taste might encourage you to read other accounts and find out more for yourself. The events and people discussed here are only a small number of those that could have been included in a more comprehensive examination and analysis of these 50 years. This history is important for you because it will help you understand that Australian history is multi-layered. There are many perspectives from which Australian history can be viewed. An understanding of some of these different perspectives will give you a broader understanding of who you are as an Australian. Whilst the selected events discussed in this short history focus largely on the indigenous resistance in NSW, they also illustrate how events that occurred in NSW during this period ultimately had profound effects on a national level.