To address the neglect of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in local, regional and State histories, professional historians and their funding bodies, historical societies, local government associations, and other professional organisations involved in historical research might consider developing guidelines to address the omissions. Historians and their organisations have the opportunity to play an important part in the process of reconciliation by promoting a wide community appreciation of indigenous Australians' cultures and history. Local and regional histories have a tendency to recognise the presence of indigenous Australians in the first 25 years of European history, but have very little information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities after that period. This may be explained by an ignorance of local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, and an attitude of 'don't want to know' rather than 'don't know'. Many local histories are commissioned by local government, and local government associations have a responsibility to encourage their member councils to embrace indigenous Australians' history in their community histories.
Local histories are popular because they celebrate people's attachments to particular places.
As such, it is a form of history writing that has the potential to celebrate the attachment to places that is shared by indigenous and non-indigenous Australians alike. The development of localised histories that document the relationships of people and places has the ability to highlight the shared indigenous and non-indigenous histories in given places.