Mick Dodson

Mick Dodson
Dodson in 2014
Born
Michael James Dodson

(1950-04-10) April 10, 1950 (age 74)
Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia
NationalityAustralian
EducationMonash University
Occupation(s)Lawyer, professor
EmployerAustralian National University
RelativesPatrick Dodson (brother)
AwardsAustralian of the Year (2009)

Michael James "Mick" Dodson, AM (born 10 April 1950, in Katherine, Northern Territory) is an indigenous Australian activist, lawyer and teacher. He is the director of the National Centre for Indigenous Studies at the Australian National University. He is also a professor of law at the university's College of Law. He was previously director of the Indigenous Law Centre at the University of New South Wales.[1] He was named Australian of the Year in 2009.[2][3][4]

Dodson was born in Katherine, in the Northern Territory. He is a member of the Yawuru people, who are the traditional owners of the land around Broome, in Western Australia.[5] His brother is Patrick Dodson, who has become a well-known Aboriginal leader as well. Their parents died when they were still children. When this happened, Mick moved to Monivae College, a boarding school in Hamilton, Victoria. He graduated in law from Monash University in 1974. He was the first indigenous person to graduate from law in Australia.

Dodson has been an important advocate of land rights and other issues affecting Indigenous Australians. He was a commissioner with the Australian Human Rights Commission from April 1993 to January 1998. From August 1988 to October 1990, he worked with the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. He is currently a chairperson of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS).[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Professor Mick Dodson AM". Australian National University, National Centre for Indigenous Studies. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  2. ↑ Staff writer (25 January 2009). "Mick Dodson named Australian of the Year". the Sydney Morning Herald.
  3. ↑ Wendy Lewis (2010). Australians of the Year. Pier 9 Press. ISBN 978-1-74196-809-5.
  4. ↑ Erica Jaffe Redner (6 December 2011). "Voice of Conscience: Mick Dodson's Place Amidst Australia's Unfinished Business". Cultural Survival Quarterly. pp. 35–4.
  5. ↑ "Dodson Biography". National Museum of Australia. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 26 July 2013.