Noel Pearson

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Noel Pearson (born June 1965 in Cooktown, Australia) is an Indigenous Australian lawyer, land rights activist and Director of the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership, an organisation promoting the economic and social development of Cape York.

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[edit] Life and work

Pearson grew up at Hope Vale, a Lutheran Mission in the Cape York Peninsula. His article Walking in two worlds provides background on the history of his family and the community he comes from.

Recognised as one of the foremost Indigenous thinkers and advocates in Australia, Noel Pearson is a law graduate from the University of Sydney. He has an arts degree with honours in history from the same university: his thesis focussed on the history of the Hope Vale Lutheran Mission.

In 1990 he co-founded Cape York Land Council where he was Executive Director until he resigned in 1996. He was legal advisor for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission. He now continues to advise a number of Indigenous organisations in Cape York.

Following the Mabo decision of the High Court of Australia Noel Pearson played a key part in negotiations over the Native Title Act 1993 as a member of the Indigenous negotiating team.

He has advocated for self-determination for Indigenous people and criticised approaches that keep Indigenous people dependent on welfare and disempowered in the name of "progressive" policies, a position outlined in his 'Light on the Hill' speech in 2000.

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[edit] Profiles and interviews

[edit] Short biographies