This paper reconsiders the framework of the relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in the Northern Territory of Australia through a critical examination of anthropological studies about the problem drinking of indigenous peoples there. In the 1960's, discriminatory legislation against indigenous people in Australia began to be abolished. Thus, state legislation prohibiting alcohol consumption by indigenous people was also repealed. However, after 1970, the consumption of alcohol among indigenous people in the Northern Territory increased rapidly, and problems like alcohol-related crimes, violence, and abuse became extremely prevalent in parts of the area. In 2007, shocking news about the sexual abuse of aboriginal girls in an indigenous community led the Commonwealth to reinstate alcohol prohibitions in indigenous communities in the Northern Territory. Today, alcohol-related problems are still a topic of heated debate. Anthropological studies have been treating alcohol-related problems since the 1980's. Many of those studies took issue with the relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in the Northern Territory. I take those studies into account in examining how the relationship between those two peoples has been described. I demonstrate that the authors of the earlier studies pointed out positive aspects of the indigenous people's drinking, such as socialization. Those anthropological studies were criticized by researchers in the 1980's for not describing the negative aspects of that drinking. By that time, the indigenous people in the Northern Territory had themselves begun to speak out against problem drinking, which was partly what sparked further research interest. In 2007, the Commonwealth again intervened, as described above. Therefore, given the urgency of those situations, several researchers have chosen to address the topic by taking a broader view and demonstrating a hidden asymmetric relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples, positing a connection between social changes in the Northern Territory and their drinking. Those papers have been accumulating gradually. Thus, the discussion on problem drinking has become firmly fixed within the framework for the relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. Those later studies have revealed a hidden colonialism in the Northern Territory, and have provided an important contribution to the discussion on problem drinking. However, few studies have focused on conflicts or negotiation among the indigenous people themselves, who may differ in their standards and opinions about drinking. Thus, any connection between the inner dynamic concerning drinking and those people remains ambiguous and unclear. Therefore, it is necessary to focus on the different opinions and attitudes toward drinking that exist among indigenous people, and, in light of the findings, to reconsider the existing framework of the relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous people in the Northern Territory.
