Search results

The papers in this collection reflect on the various social effects of native title. In particular, the authors consider the ways in which the implementation of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cwlth), and the native title process for which this Act legislates, allow for the recognition and translation of Aboriginal law and custom, and facilitate particular kinds of coexistence between Aboriginal title holders and other Australians. In so doing, the authors seek to extend the debate on native title beyond questions of practice and towards an improved understanding of the effects of native title on the social lives of Indigenous Australians and on Australian society more generally.These attempts to grapple with the effects of native title have, in part, been impelled by Indigenous people's complaints about the Act and the native title process. Since the Act was passed, many Indigenous Australians have become increasingly unhappy with both the strength and forms of recognition afforded to traditional law and custom under the Act, as well as the with socially disruptive effects of the native title process. In particular, as several of the papers in this collection demonstrate, there is widespread discomfort with the transformative effects of recognition within the native title process, effects which can then affect other aspects of Indigenous lives

The papers in this collection reflect on the various social effects of native title. In particular, the authors consider the ways in which the implementation of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cwlth), and the native title process for which this Act legislates, allow for the recognition and translation of Aboriginal law and custom, and facilitate particular kinds of coexistence between Aboriginal title holders and other Australians. In so doing, the authors seek to extend the debate on native title beyond questions of practice and towards an improved understanding of the effects of native title on the social lives of Indigenous Australians and on Australian society more generally. These attempts to grapple with the effects of native title have, in part, been impelled by Indigenous people's complaints about the Act and the native title process. Since the Act was passed, many Indigenous Australians have become increasingly unhappy with both the strength and forms of recognition afforded to traditional law and custom under the Act, as well as the with socially disruptive effects of the native title process. In particular, as several of the papers in this collection demonstrate, there is widespread discomfort with the transformative effects of recognition within the native title process, effects which can then affect other aspects of Indigenous lives.

This paper outlines efforts by Kaanju families to develop a comprehensive framework for the management of traditional lands and their associated resources on Kaanju homelands. Based at the Chuula homeland camp on the upper Wenlock River, Kaanju people are attempting to move beyond involvement as mere partners or stakeholders in land and resource management projects, which involves a substantial re-orientation in the ways in which land and resource management are undertaken. Through engagement with the 'Indigenous Protected Areas' framework, and other categories devised by 'mainstream' agencies, Kaanju people are seeking a practical but substantial form of selfdetermination in partnership with local non-Indigenous people and regional and national agencies. This approach to local land and resource management is based on what Kaanju people understand to be their inalienable and substantial ties to their traditional homelands. The paper provides perspectives from the Chairman of the Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation (David Claudie) and from an anthropologist (Benjamin Smith) who has researched Kaanju homelands aspirations for the past seven years. The paper outlines the opportunities and challenges entailed by this innovative approach, and the cultural and political contexts underlying Kaanju relationships with current land management structures.