Brownfield, E. E.2019-09-252019-09-252009-01-13200417057841http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12424/172011Australian Aborigines and Canadian First Nations people have experienced similar kinds of governmental paternalism. While similar, they are not identical, and much can be learned from the differences. In Canada, a form of band chief and council was imposed on all First Nations people living on reserves. In Australia, this process was accompanied, in some cases, by methods which allowed the Aboriginal people to make the process their own. This is the story of a group of Aboriginals on Bathurst Island, off the north coast of Australia. With the help of a consultant, then working at IBM, and the encouragement of the white people who governed them, they were able to become truly self-governing. The importance of this story is in the lessons it teaches. These lessons are for all people who would work in communities with a different culture. This story is about learning to govern. It could also be about coming into communities to do research. The lessons are the same.engWith permission of the license/copyright holderhealth ethicscommunityAboriginal theologyethicsBioethicsCommunity ethicsHealth ethicsArticle