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The socio-cultural factors underlying contemporary Aboriginal settlement and mobility patterns are invisible to the categorisations that underpin both demographic modelling and policy that relies on that modelling. Taking the Yolngu people of north east Arnhem Land as a case study, this paper elaborates an anchored network model consisting of three tiers - an ontologicatly prior ancestral geography, with its associated contemporary settlements, to which kin-based networks are anchored by nodal individuals. While the content of each tier may vary across the continent, this model can potentially be applied wherever Aboriginal Australians continue to live in kin-based social universes. It is argued that constructing a 'recognition space' between conventional demographic categories and Aboriginal categorisations of their socio-spatial universes would lead to more informed policy-making on the part of government. Such policies would take account of the aspirations of Aboriginal people rather than imposing upon them the state's aspirations for them.

The current policy debate about the future of small Indigenous homelands communities in remote Australia is being framed in terms of a narrow economic definition of 'viability', with little attention to factors such as the social characteristics of such communities and the health, well-being, and aspirations of those who choose to live there. The debate is taking place in the absence of comparative socio-demographic data on these communities as opposed to other kinds of settlements in remote Australia. This paper argues for a broader conceptualisation of viability. It outlines some reasons why governments might consider helping homelands communities to become more economically self-sufficient rather than starving them of support so that their inhabitants increasingly face a 'choice' between a marginalized and impoverished existence on the homelands and recentralisation in larger settlements. The argument is based on an analysis of ethnographic data from north-east Arnhem Land that demonstrate the social cohesiveness and functionality of homelands communities as compared to larger hub settlements.

The socio-cultural factors underlying contemporary Aboriginal settlement and mobility patterns are invisible to the categorisations that underpin both demographic modelling and policy that relies on that modelling. Taking the Yolngu people of north east Arnhem Land as a case study, this paper elaborates an anchored network model consisting of three tiers - an ontologicatly prior ancestral geography, with its associated contemporary settlements, to which kin-based networks are anchored by nodal individuals. While the content of each tier may vary across the continent, this model can potentially be applied wherever Aboriginal Australians continue to live in kin-based social universes. It is argued that constructing a 'recognition space' between conventional demographic categories and Aboriginal categorisations of their socio-spatial universes would lead to more informed policy-making on the part of government. Such policies would take account of the aspirations of Aboriginal people rather than imposing upon them the state's aspirations for them.

The current policy debate about the future of small Indigenous homelands communities in remote Australia is being framed in terms of a narrow economic definition of 'viability', with little attention to factors such as the social characteristics of such communities and the health, well-being, and aspirations of those who choose to live there. The debate is taking place in the absence of comparative socio-demographic data on these communities as opposed to other kinds of settlements in remote Australia. This paper argues for a broader conceptualisation of viability. It outlines some reasons why governments might consider helping homelands communities to become more economically self-sufficient rather than starving them of support so that their inhabitants increasingly face a 'choice' between a marginalized and impoverished existence on the homelands and recentralisation in larger settlements. The argument is based on an analysis of ethnographic data from north-east Arnhem Land that demonstrate the social cohesiveness and functionality of homelands communities as compared to larger hub settlements.

In this article, we set up a dialogue between two theoretical frameworks for understanding the developing relationships between indigenous Australians and the encapsulating Australian society. We argue that the concept of "the intercultural" de-emphasizes

In this article, we set up a dialogue between two theoretical frameworks for understanding the developing relationships between indigenous Australians and the encapsulating Australian society. We argue that the concept of "the intercultural" de-emphasizes

Sutton's colleagues reflect on aspects of his life and work, starting with a set of biographical essays. The second section focuses on his controversial book "The Politics of Suffering". The third section addresses Sutton's ground-breaking analysis of the transition between "classical" and "post-classical" social formations in Aboriginal Australia.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Foreword -- 1 Knowing and Managing the Land: The Conundrum of Coexistence and Entanglement -- 2 Dialogues on Surviving: Eeyou Hunters' Ways of Engagement with Land, Governments, and Youth -- 3 The Endurance of Relational Ontology: Encounters between Eeyouch and Sport Hunters -- 4 Australia's Indigenous Protected Areas: Resistance, Articulation, and Entanglement in the Context of Natural Resource Management -- 5 Mediation between Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Knowledge Systems: Another Analysis of "Two-Way" Conservation in Northern Australia -- 6 Cultural Politics of Land and Animals in Treaty 8 Territory (Northern Alberta, Canada) -- 7 Entanglements in Coast Salish Ancestral Territories -- 8 Transmission of Knowledge, Clans, and Lands among the Yolnu (Northern Territory, Australia) -- 9 Alien Relations: Ecological and Ontological Dilemmas Posed for Indigenous Australians in the Management of "Feral" Camels on Their Lands -- 10 Nehirowisiw Territoriality: Negotiating and Managing Entanglement and Coexistence -- 11 Is There a Role for Anthropology in Cultural Reproduction? Maps, Mining, and the "Cultural Future" in Central Australia -- Afterword -- Contributors