Review of Terri Janke's True Tracks as published in Hearsay (original) (raw)

Terri Janke found herself studying law in Sydney in the 1990s. She dropped out of law and ended up working for the Aboriginal Arts Board of the Australia Council for the Arts. Janke ended up going back to law and completing her degree but her work in the field of Indigenous intellectual property led to her concentrating as a solicitor working to protect the rights of First Nations Australians in their cultural and artistic expression. Janke developed a set of ethical principles to guide anyone wishing to work with First Nations people and their creative output and knowledge, the true tracks which give their name to the book. The reader gains not just a lesson in ethical engagement but also a guide to First Nations achievement across many fields of endeavour including a history of the difference that following the true tracks principles makes in producing healthy and fair collaboration with First Nations artists.