This vital and timely book is the first sustained investigation of the creative strategies employed by two Australian Indigenous nations in re-asserting their sovereign capacities for self-determination. Continuing the remarkable history of Indigenous peoples resisting settler-colonialism, these nations echo the resurgence of collective cultural identity and political capacity evident across Australia. Describing and comparing the governance innovations developed by Elders and leaders of the Gunditjmara People and the Ngarrindjeri Nation reveals the distinctive contributions made by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations to a worldwide movement of Indigenous nation rebuilding. Facing the realities of structuring and rebuilding Indigenous nationhood, the political techniques set out in Indigenous Nation-Building in Australia range from transforming localised instances of injustice to developing communities and protecting ancestral Country. By sharing these Australian Indigenous leaders' insights, this book provides practical, sophisticated and tested methods to further Indigenous self-government across the globe. “This work presents an applied analysis of Indigenous nationhood, and cauterizes anthropological approaches to Indigenous self-determination in the process. These authors know exactly what is at stake for Indigenous Nations, and they share research that is strengths-based in the truest sense of the word; deeply sensitive to complexity and lived experience and wholly committed to Indigenous authority. Focused, practical and inherently decolonial, this work clarifies and extends conceptual models built from real-world practices of strengthening Indigenous nationhood. This book is also a powerful and generous gift of knowledge from the Gunditjmara People and the Ngarrindjeri Nation. By sharing their stories of resistance and rebuilding-challenges faced, and victories won-these Indigenous nations show what can be achieved for Country and culture, and the next generation who will carry responsibility for both.” ― Professor Nikki Moodie (Gomeroi), University of Melbourne “From the legacy and actions of our old people, the shared insights inspire Indigenous nation building and leadership in practice to shape the future of our coming generations.” ― Donna Murray, Wiradyuri citizen and nation building practitioner “A crucial and timely contribution to support the international grassroots movement of Indigenous Peoples in their pursuit of self-determination.” ― Joan Timeche (Hopi), Executive Director (2009-2025), Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona, USA Daryle Rigney is director of the Indigenous Nations and Collaborative Futures research hub at Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, University of Technology Sydney, Australia. Daryle is one of Australia's foremost Indigenous nation building scholars and practitioners. He has been a critical strategist for the Ngarrindjeri Nation in asserting its sovereignty and exercising its inherent rights to self-determination and was and is pivotal to the formation of Ngarrindjeri decision-makings institutions and mechanisms. Damein Bell is a Gundtijmara man and Chief Executive Officer of Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (GMTOAC), Australia. Under instruction from the community, he implements the Corporation's strategic plan, and advocates for Gunditjmara in native title and cultural heritage. Miriam Jorgensen is a Research Director of the University of Arizona Native Nations Institute, USA, and Research Director of the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. Her work in Indigenous governance and economic development-in the United States, Canada, and Australia-has addressed issues as wide-ranging as child welfare policy, policing and justice systems, natural-resource management, cultural stewardship, land ownership, tribal enterprises, housing, financial education, and philanthropy. Alison Vivian is a lawyer and Senior Researcher in Indigenous Nations and Collaborative Futures at Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research, University of Technology Sydney, Australia. Alison's primary research focus relates to Indigenous nation-building and governance as an exercise of Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination. Steve Hemming is a member of the Indigenous Nations and Collaborative Futures research hub at the University of Technology Sydney, Australia. His work with Indigenous communities began in the early 1980s as a museum curator and, over the last few decades, his community engagement and research has focussed on Indigenous nation building, environmental management, cultural heritage management, and Indigenous environmental studies.