Aboriginal land and land rights

The tide of history can never take away our connection to land, because it is a spiritual connection and at a higher level. [...] Our law and spirituality is intertwined with the land, the people and creation and this forms our culture and our sovereignty.—Wadjularbinna, Gungalidda Elder (Gulf of Carpentaria) [1]

What does land mean to Aboriginal people?

What does land mean to non-Indigenous people and land owners? For them land is [5]

• a commodity to be bought and sold,
• an asset to make profit from,
• a means to make a living off it,
• simply 'home'.

For Aboriginal people the health of land and water is central to their culture. Land...

• is also their 'home',
• is their mother
• is steeped in their culture
• gives them the responsibility to care for it.

Land sustains Aboriginal lives in every aspect, spiritually, physically, socially and culturally.

The land is my backbone... I only stand straight, happy, proud and not ashamed about my colour because I still have land... I think of land as the history of my nation.—Galarrwuy Yunipingu [5]

Aboriginal law and life originates in and is governed by the land. The connection to land gives Aboriginal people their identity and a sense of belonging.

Caring for the land

Aboriginal people can only care for their land when they also care for their culture. Culture is the key to care for the land, caring for the land strengthens their culture and well-being. That is why so many Aboriginal people get sick when they are removed from their traditional land (Stolen Generations). When they participate in both customary and contemporary land and sea management practices Aboriginal people are much healthier. The opposite also holds true: When Aboriginal people are removed from their homeland the landscape suffers too [5].

Caring for the land does not necessarily mean only they traditional way. Modern carers for land, such as rangers, can both continue traditional traditions, deep knowledge about country passed on from generation to generation, and the application of modern technologies and innovative land management practices.

Traditional owners often help government departments conserve and care for land. In such a mutual relationship traditional owners… [11]

• protect cultural sites, stories and songlines,
• record sites of resource use and special features,
• recognise important cultural areas,
• create seasonal harvest calendars,
• teach government departments about their connection with the land, the seasons and bush foods,
• take Aboriginal children out on country so they can learn from their elders.

Spiritual connection

Their spiritual and cultural connection to the land obliges Aboriginal people to look after cultural sites which are 'living museums' of their ancestors and include [7]

• Dreaming sites,
• archaeological sites,
• water holes,
• burial grounds.

Ceremonial activities help them renew or rebuild their spiritual connection to the land and the sacred sites they look after.

Today access to traditional lands can be gained when native title is recognised, but gaining this title is a lengthy, costly and complex process.

Non-Indigenous people have problems understanding the close relationship with land. When Aboriginal people try to educate about what the land means to them they often are "hit with this hurtful phrase 'the land doesn't belong to you Aboriginal people, it belongs to all of us." It is one of the "most hurtful comments" that they have to endure. [4]

It's like the love for your mum and dad.—Natasha Neidje, grand-daughter of Bill Neidje, about the love for the land, Kakadu National Park

If you belong there your country will find a way to call you back. Country needs to be remembered, needs to be listened to, needs to know that we can still speak its language. —Aboriginal elder in TV series Double Trouble

Indigenous Protected Areas

Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) are one way Aboriginal people can meet their cultural responsibility to care for their country and to pass on their knowledge about the land and its resources to future generations [8].

Through Indigenous Protected Areas, Indigenous communities manage their land to protect its plants, animals and cultural sites. For example, they work to control threats such as weeds, feral animals and wildfire.

Since Indigenous Protected Areas were first championed in the early 1990s, 25 IPAs have been declared in Australia covering more than 20 million hectares - an area more than twice the size of Tasmania. 37 IPAs were under development in 2008 [9].

Australia's 25 declared IPAs range from the turquoise waters of the Dhimurru IPA in the Gulf of Carpentaria to the arid beauty of Australia's first IPA at Nantawarrina in South Australia.

The stories of Australia's first 23 IPAs are told in the book Growing Up Strong, the first 10 years of Indigenous Protected Areas in Australia.

Aboriginal land and tourism

Tourism is an industry where Aboriginal people can use the intimate knowledge of their land to introduce international tourists to their culture and customs. This creates Indigenous jobs and satisfies the large appetite of overseas visitors for an 'authentic' Indigenous experience.

Maitland Parker is a Punjima Aboriginal man of Western Australia's Pilbara region and a ranger in the Karijini National Park. "People who come to the park express their admiration of the natural beauty," he says. "Many are overseas visitors from Switzerland, Germany and many other countries. This gives us a good feeling and in return we give them the Aboriginal history of some of the places. As soon as they see [fellow ranger] Johnny or me and our Ranger badge, they want to talk to us. They ask me all sorts of questions including those which show that they are uncertain of whether I am an Aboriginal. All of this supports our view that there is need for more Aboriginal Rangers in the park." [10]

"All my training in the bush skills of our culture helps me tremendously as a park ranger," explains Maitland. "I believe as an Aboriginal I see the bush differently to people of a different background. I think that I am constantly looking at and through the bush, looking for signs and automatically interpreting what I see. It's an automatic coordination of my facilities to interpret the bush. On this basis I can tell people what is happening in the fauna and flora of the bush." [10]

Aboriginal bush trackers

Aboriginal bush trackers have been part of Australia's history almost from the beginning of white exploration of the country. Trackers helped non-Indigenous people to find water and orient themselves in the vast country, but also chased and caught convicts (and fellow Aboriginal people) on the run.

Maitland Parker remembers: "Tracking is an art-form for the Indigenous people. Our Aboriginal trackers have been exploited for years by this society. They are asked to solve complicated problems of finding people in harsh environments and in the end are given a 'thank you', at the most. Money is never mentioned. As experts they should be paid appropriately. The non-Aboriginal society has to stop this exploitation of our skills." [10]

Northern Territory (NT) Land Rights Act

The NT Land Rights Act was introduced on 16 October 1975 and became law in 1976. Under the act, more than 50% of the Northern Territory was returned to traditional Aboriginal owners in the following 30 years.

The NT Land Rights Act gives Aboriginal people a strong say over what should happen on their land, through the principle of informed consent. It allows traditional owners to keep their culture strong and to negotiate constructively with governments and developers over mining and infrastructure projects.

The Act was a consequence of the Wave Hill walk-off in which 200 Aboriginal people had walked off a cattle station. Initially fighting for equal wages their protest soon turned to the core issue, land rights.

In 2006 this act was amended significantly to the worse of Aboriginal people. It allows an unspecified "government entity" to control townships for 99 years and sublease blocks to whomever it wants. Aboriginal people are no longer in control, and, to cap it all, the costs for implementing this policy will be covered by the Aboriginal Benefits Account (which was established for the benefit of Indigenous peoples and funded by mining activities on their land). [2]

Out of respect for Aboriginal culture I use Indigenous sources as much as possible.
[1] Koori Mail 390 (6/12/2006) p.26 [2] Antar NSW Newsletter 8/2006 [3] 'Sign on the dotted line saves spectacular rock art', SMH 25/6/2009 [4] 'Franklin battle remembered', Koori Mail 430, p.4 [5] 'Caring for culture, caring for country', NIT 10/7/2008 p.16 [6] 'No justice for Palm Island', NIT 30/10/2008 p.19 [7] 'Heritage plea', Koori Mail 438 p.26 [8] 'Indigenous Protected Areas', Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, www.environment.gov.au/indigenous/ipa/, 13/12/2008 [9] 'Governments urged to help protect areas', Koori Mail 440 p.15 [10] 'Karijini Mirlimirli', Noel Olive, Fremantle Arts Centre Press 1997 pp.120 [11] 'Coastline protected', Koori Mail 471 p.37