Noel Pearson

Noel Pearson (1965 - ) is an Australian Aboriginal lawyer, academic, land rights activist and founder of the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership. He has advocated for new policies in child protection, welfare, education and development for Indigenous people, policies which would more strongly support self-determination and mainstream participation. He outlined this position in 2000 in his speech, “The light on the hill”.

It is time to ask: are we Aborigines a serious people? … Do we have the seriousness necessary to maintain our languages, traditions and knowledge? … The truth is that I am prone to bouts of doubt and sadness around these questions. But I have hope. Our hope depends on how serious we become about the education of our people.