Oral History on Trial: Recognizing Aboriginal Narratives in the Courts
Bruce Granville Miller
In many western countries, judicial decisions are based on “black letter law” – text-based, well-established law. Within this tradition, testimony based on what witnesses have heard from others, known as hearsay, cannot be considered as legitimate evidence. This interdiction, however, presents significant difficulties for Aboriginal plaintiffs who rely on oral rather than written accounts for knowledge transmission.
This important book breaks new ground by asking how oral histories might be incorporated into the existing court system. Through compelling analysis of Aboriginal, legal, and anthropological concepts of fact and evidence, Oral History on Trial traces the long trajectory of oral history from ... Read more
A bold intervention in legal and anthropological scholarship, this book is a timely consideration of an urgent issue facing Indigenous communities worldwide and the courts hearing their cases.
Show LessProduct Details
About Bruce Granville Miller
Reviews for Oral History on Trial: Recognizing Aboriginal Narratives in the Courts
Wendy Wickwire, The Johns Hopkins University Press
Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History, Vol. 14 No. 3