Diane Bell (anthropologist) facts for kids

Diane Robin Bell is an Australian expert who studies human societies and cultures, known as an anthropologist. She is also an author and a strong supporter of social justice, which means fairness for everyone. Her work mainly focuses on the Aboriginal people of Australia. She studies their Indigenous land rights, human rights, traditional beliefs, and how they connect with the environment. She also explores ideas about women's roles in society.

Diane Bell has done research in central and southeastern Australia, and also in North America. She has held important teaching jobs in universities in both Australia and the USA. In 2005, she moved back to Australia after living in the United States for 17 years. She worked on several projects in South Australia. As of 2025, she is a Professor Emerita of Anthropology at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., USA. She is also a Distinguished Honorary Professor of Anthropology at the Australian National University in Canberra.

Her well-known books include Daughters of the Dreaming (first published in 1983), Generations: Grandmothers, mothers, and daughters (1987), and Ngarrindjeri Wurruwarrin (1998). One of her novels, Evil (2005), was even turned into a play.

Early Life and Schooling

Diane Robin Bell was born in 1943 in Melbourne, Victoria.

She finished school at age 16. Then, she trained to be a primary school teacher at Frankston Teachers College from 1960 to 1961. She taught in different schools in Victoria and New South Wales between 1962 and 1970.

After her children, Genevieve (born 1967) and Morgan (born 1969), were born, she went back to school. She completed high school by taking night classes at Box Hill High School in Victoria (1970-1971). She then earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Anthropology from Monash University in 1975. Later, she completed her PhD from the Australian National University (ANU) in 1981.

Her Career Journey

In 1981, Diane Bell started working for the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Protection Authority. This group helps protect important Aboriginal places. From 1982 to 1988, she ran her own business in Canberra, giving advice on anthropology. She worked with groups like the Central Land Council and the Australian Law Reform Commission.

She also held academic positions. From 1983 to 1986, she was a Research Fellow at the ANU. After that, she became the Chair of Australian Studies at Deakin University in Geelong. She was the first female professor to work there.

In 1989, Bell moved to the United States. She took on an important role at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. This position focused on religion, economic development, and social justice.

In 1999, she became the Director of Women's Studies and a Professor of Anthropology at George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C. She retired from GWU in 2005 and was given the title "Professor Emerita of Anthropology." This means she keeps her professor title even after retiring.

When she returned to Australia in 2005, she became a writer and editor at Flinders University. She also worked as a visiting professor at the University of Adelaide. As of 2024, she is an Emerita Professor at the ANU.

Understanding Cultures: Her Anthropological Work

Diane Bell's first major book about anthropology was Daughters of the Dreaming. This book explored the religious and ceremonial lives of Aboriginal women in central Australia. The book has been very popular since it was first published in 1983. It helped show that Aboriginal women have important roles in managing land and making decisions. Because of her research, it is now common for women's groups to be part of decision-making in Aboriginal affairs.

In 1986, Diane Bell wrote Generations: Grandmothers, Mothers and Daughters. This book looked at how important items were passed down through generations of Australian women. It showed how these items helped connect women to their families. Bell used an ethnographic approach, which means she studied people's cultures closely. The book explored common experiences among Australian women of different ages, backgrounds, and regions. It became a bestseller shortly after it was published.

During the 1970s and 1980s, Bell was deeply involved in issues about Aboriginal land rights and law reform. With lawyer Pam Ditton, she wrote Law: The old and the new (1980/1984). This book discussed changes needed in laws in Central Australia after the Land Rights Act 1976 was passed. Bell worked on about 10 land claims, helping Aboriginal groups gain rights to their traditional lands.

The Hindmarsh Island Bridge Discussion

In the late 1990s, Diane Bell became involved in a discussion about a bridge to Kumarangk (Hindmarsh Island) in South Australia. In 1994, a group of Ngarrindjeri women, who are the traditional owners of the land, said the bridge would harm places sacred to them. This special knowledge, known as "secret women's business", was debated in the media and courts.

In 1996, a South Australian investigation suggested the women had made up their beliefs. However, most of the women did not speak at this investigation because they felt it went against their religious freedom.

Later, in 1997, a court case began. The court heard new evidence that was different from the earlier investigation. In 2001, Justice von Doussa, the judge, stated that he was not convinced the women's sacred knowledge was made up. He believed it was a genuine part of Aboriginal tradition.

On May 4, 2009, the "Meeting of the Waters" site, which the Ngarrindjeri women wanted to protect, was officially registered by the Government of South Australia. On July 6, 2010, the South Australian government apologized for the pain caused to the Ngarrindjeri community. They acknowledged that the Ngarrindjeri knowledge was a real part of Aboriginal tradition.

Diane Bell got involved in this issue after the first investigation. She researched old records and worked with the Ngarrindjeri women. She became convinced that there was enough evidence to support the women's claims. Her book, Ngarrindjeri Wurruwarrin (1998/2014), was highly praised. From 2005 to 2013, Bell lived on Ngarrindjeri lands while she helped research their Native Title Claim.

Her Writing

Diane Bell has written or edited 10 books and many articles. These works cover topics like religion, land rights, law reform, art, history, and social change.

Her first novel, Evil, is about secrets within a church. It was turned into a play and performed in Washington, D.C., in 2006, and in Adelaide in 2008. Another play she wrote, "Weaving and Whispers," was performed in 2014.

Involvement in Politics

In 2008, Diane Bell ran as an independent candidate in a special election for the Mayo area. Her campaign was called Vote4Di. She finished third in the election, showing strong support as an independent candidate.

Advocating for Rivers

Diane Bell has also worked to protect the environment, especially the River Murray, Lakes Alexandrina, Lake Albert, and the Coorong. In 2007, she helped start the 'StoptheWeir' website. She worked with a group to stop a dam from being built across the River Murray. She also managed the "Hurry Save The Murray" website and often spoke about environmental issues.

Other Activities and Roles

Diane Bell served on the board of trustees for Hampshire College for eight years. She also helped edit several academic journals and encyclopedias, sharing her knowledge with others. She was a consultant for National Geographic for their Taboo TV series from 2002 to 2004.

Awards and Recognition

• 1999: Her book Ngarrindjeri Wurruwarrin won the NSW Premier's Gleebooks Prize for Critical Writing.
• 1999: Ngarrindjeri Wurruwarrin was also a finalist for The Age Book of the Year.
• 2000: Ngarrindjeri Wurruwarrin was a finalist for the Australian Literature Society Gold Medal.
• 2021: She received the Medal of the Order of Australia for her "service to literature" in the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours.
• 2023: She was awarded the Hazel Rowley Literary Fellowship.

Her Published Works

Books She Wrote

• Evil: A novel (2005)
• Ngarrindjeri Wurruwarrin: A world that is, was, and will be (1998, new edition 2014)
• Generations: Grandmothers, Mothers and Daughters (1987)
• Daughters of the Dreaming (1983, 1993, 2002)
• Law: The Old and the New (with Pam Ditton) (1980)

Books She Edited

• Kungun Ngarrindjeri Miminar Yunnan: Listen to Ngarrindjeri Women Speaking (2008)
• All about Water: All about the River (co-edited with Gloria Jones)
• Radically Speaking: Feminism Reclaimed (co-edited with Renate Klein) (1996)
• Gendered Fields: Women, Men and Ethnography (co-edited with Pat Caplan and Wazir Karim) (1993)
• This is My Story: The Use of Oral Sources (co-edited with Shelley Schreiner) (1990)
• Religion in Aboriginal Australia (co-edited with Max Charlesworth, Kenneth Maddock and Howard Morphy) (1984)