ABSTRACT
Lemkin viewed genocide as an 'intrinsically colonial' product, and he clearly appreciated the importance of culture to group life and that destruction of such life would have dire physical consequences which is especially true of colonized Indigenous peoples. The culture of traditional Aboriginal people was diverse in terms of language, totems, food and daily routine, but with a communality of territoriality, kinship, spirituality, 'Dreaming', art, family structures, education, initiation and ceremonies. Given their intimate knowledge of the land and ability to survive under harsh conditions, the Aborigines made excellent stockmen and became the backbone of the livestock industry. The modern movement for Indigenous rights began in the 1920s with the formation of several Aboriginal political organizations. The Intervention and its associated measures have had such a culturally destructive impact on many Indigenous communities that some spokespersons have talked in terms of genocide.
