Land rights activist Noel Pearson is one of the most respected Aboriginal community leaders in Australia. He is a lawyer and founder of the Cape York Institute for Policy and Leadership. He comes from the Guugu Yimithirr community on the Cape York Peninsula, went to school in Brisbane and studied at the University of Sydney. "It is time to ask: are we Aborigines a serious people?" wrote Pearson in Quarterly Essay in 2009. "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 is dependent upon education."
