Patrick Dodson

Patrick Dodson (born January 29, 1948, Broome, Western Australia, Australia) is an Australian activist and politician who became one of Australia’s most influential Indigenous leaders and who is known as the “Father of Reconciliation.”

A member of the Yawuru people, Dodson was the son of an Irish-Australian father and an Aboriginal mother. When Dodson was age 2, his family moved from Western Australia to Katherine in the Northern Territory to escape the Western Australian laws which prohibited mixed-race families. Both of his parents had been imprisoned in the early years of their relationship as a result of their refusal to adhere to government-imposed racial segregation. In 1960, Dodson, then age 13, and his six siblings were orphaned. Although an aunt and uncle of Dodson’s battled with authorities to prevent the children from being sent to live in a Catholic mission settlement, Dodson, his younger brother Mick—who would become a renowned activist and scholar in his own right—and two of their siblings were made wards of the state.

In 1961, two priests from the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart arranged scholarships for Patrick and Mick to finish their education at Monivae College, a Catholic boarding school in Hamilton, Victoria, at which they were the only Aboriginal students. At Monivae, Dodson not only proved to be a conscientious and accomplished student, but he also was elected college captain and served as captain of the school’s Australian rules football team. At this juncture he was already displaying strong leadership skills and the potential to become a powerful voice for Indigenous rights.

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After graduating from Monivae, Dodson studied for the priesthood. When he joined the order of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in 1975, Dodson became the first Aboriginal person to be ordained a Catholic priest in Australia. As a priest, Dodson sought to balance and blend his faith in Catholicism with his Aboriginal spirituality. However, after many years of struggling to reconcile the two, Dodson left the priesthood. This marked the beginning of his journey of activism for Indigenous rights and his commitment to the reconciliation movement. In 1981, Dodson joined the Central and Kimberley Land Councils, and eventually he was appointed the director of both influential land rights organizations. In that capacity, Dodson successfully negotiated the return of the giant monolith Uluru/Ayers Rock to its traditional owners, the Anangu people.

Dodson made some of his most acclaimed and influential contributions to the pursuit of rights for Aboriginal peoples as a royal commissioner appointed in 1989 to investigate the deaths of Aboriginal persons in custody. It was his work as the founding chairperson of the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation (CAR) from 1991 to 1997, however, that led to his becoming known as the “Father of Reconciliation.” He also served as cochair of the Expert Panel for Constitutional Recognition of Indigenous Australians (2010–16). Dodson was devoted to building constructive relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples through mutual respect and dialogue. His achievements in this realm were profound, as he brought fundamental issues of the country’s past to the forefront. After retiring from the CAR, Dodson continued his advocacy for constitutional change and recognition of Indigenous rights. He served as chairperson of Nyambu Buru Yawuru Ltd. (2010–16).

In 2016 Dodson was appointed as the Australian Labor Party’s replacement for Joe Bullock as a senator representing Western Australia when Bullock stepped down over differences with his party on the issue of same-sex marriage. Dodson also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Notre Dame in Broome. Dodson was recognized as a National Living Treasure, and in 2008 he was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize.