Professor Heidi Norman

I am a researcher in the field of Aboriginal political history and a descendant of the Gomeroi people from north western NSW. My research sits in the field of history and draws on the cognate disciplines anthropology, political-economy, cultural studies and political theory. I seek to contribute to understandings of Aboriginal social, cultural, economic and political history. My research addresses questions of power in relation to Aboriginal citizens, the state and settler society and Aboriginal land justice. At the heart of my research, is my support for Aboriginal peoples’ rightful place in the nation, especially within political institutions, in society and the economy as landholders.

In 2018, I am the founding Director of the Indigenous Land and Justice Research Group, which sits within Humanities & Languages in Arts, Architecture and Design. From 2020-2023, I was the Associate Dean (Indigenous) in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Technology Sydney and Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Indigenous Knowledges, where I hold an Honorary appointment. 

My past research has included: a history of the NSW Annual Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout; the social and economic impact of mining in relation to Gomeroi lands; study of economic change over time and relationship to Aboriginal lives in cities. In 2015, I published a book based on my PhD research titled, What Do We Want? A Political History of Aboriginal Land Rights in NSW. This book is the first-ever study of land rights in NSW. I documented the land rights and how the laws changed relationships between Aboriginal people, the state and one another. From 2018-2023, I conducted a large ARC funded study of the social, economic and cultural benefits of Aboriginal land repossession in NSW.

My research and teaching has been recognised for scholarly and real-world impact. I was a finalist for the UTS Chancellor's Medal for Research Excellence in 2021, received the UTS Research Excellence Medal for Collaboration in 2015 and the National Teaching Excellence Award for my work in Indigenous studies in 2016. I was the inaugural Gough Whitlam Research Fellowship (2017-18) and was named one of ABC's Top 5 Humanities Researchers in 2018. Over the last decade, I have won three ARC grants ($1.3million) and secured more than $400,000 in research consultancies from the NSW and Federal government.