He wrote a publication whilst he was the CEO of the Western Australian Aboriginal Legal Service Inc telling of his experience of forced removal (known as the Stolen Generations).
Telling Our Story was described as "the most comprehensive description of the experience of Aboriginal people removed from their families undertaken in Western Australia".
[2][3] He got involved in activist politics in the late 70’s and came into prominence during the Noonkanbah dispute of 1980 when he was working at the WA branch of the Aboriginal Legal Service.
This protest paved the way for the modern land right movement"[4]Riley was Chairperson of the National Aboriginal Council and part of the negotiating team on the Native Title Act.
[5] In 1995, Riley announced in two speeches that a trio of older boys had sexually abused him during his time at Sister Kate's.