Central Land Council

Rose Report Two

Aboriginal land management: Caring for country

Introduction

This chapter presents information from Aboriginal perspectives of what it means to look after the country. As far as it is possible this chapter follows the priorities of Aboriginal people based on the frequency with which issues were raised. Some other issues which could have been included in this chapter were less relevant to Aboriginal people during the interviews. Therefore they have either not been referred to or else covered only briefly. Some of these issues are covered in more detail in following chapters where responses on particular topics were actively sought. The issues addressed in those chapters are therefore framed around the concerns of non-Aboriginal land managers rather than the priorities of the Aboriginal respondents.

Caring for country

Land management is a concept that is often translated by and for Aboriginal people to mean the equivalent of "caring for country" or "looking after country". The sorts of activities which are involved in "caring for country" do to some extent overlap with the issues of European style land management but there are also significant differences. Similarly, activities which are part of the orthodox scientific approach to land management do not come under the province of "caring for country". Within Aboriginal society individuals have particular roles in the process of caring for country which are largely determined by their relationships to others and to particular places on the landscape.

It is clear, however, that some individuals take a more active interest in land management issues and develop a profound knowledge about the natural environment. When questions about particular types of animals are raised for example, there is often an individual whose knowledge is deferred to, and whose authority to speak on the topic is recognised within the community. An important part of "caring for country" is being able to access country, travelling to renew contacts with sites and to see and use the resources that are available.

The activities involved in caring for country revolve around being on their country, observing its responses to the seasons, maintaining an intimate knowledge of its resources and significance in terms of the Dreaming. Such activity is not seen as a specialised pursuit but as an integral part of living and a responsibility which is inherited through the social role in the community. It embraces all the traditional owners.

There are a number of aspects of caring for country that Aboriginal people identify. In presenting this information it is important to recognise that although they are divided here into separate categories they are not necessarily viewed as separate activities by Aboriginal people. The clear assertion of Aboriginal people from all areas involved in this study is that looking after country is primarily carried out through the "Law" and ceremonial obligations.

Sacred sites management

Across all of the areas covered by this research the issue of protection of sacred sites was of the highest priority for Aboriginal people. Sacred site protection is an issue which has a great influence on the way in which the whole range of land uses and proposals for land use are viewed. In different situations Aboriginal people have seen damage done to sacred sites by a range of agents, from developers interested in specific proposals to local councils involved with road maintenance or tourists unwittingly entering Aboriginal land. Sacred sites are not only damaged by people but also by animals such as cattle, horses or camels. These animals are often seen as having no "respect" for sacred places.

If sacred sites are not properly cared for, including their protection from the attentions of large animals, the country is not being cared for and will become sick. The sacred site issue is one which emphasises the difficulties of communication over land management priorities. Aboriginal people have to repeatedly justify their position in relation to the declaration of sacred sites. From the Aboriginal perspective there is an endless string of people who come on to their land to record the details of their sacred sites, to document the associated cultural instruments to "validate" the sites, and then to check and recheck if it might be possible to overcome Aboriginal concerns for the site for the sake of development. As a result Aboriginal people are sometimes very reluctant to come forward to register sacred sites unless the site is in imminent danger of damage or desecration. Consequently when Aboriginal people do come forward they are, on occasion, accused of fabricating claims or being deliberately obstructionist. The Aboriginal landscape is one where every physical feature was created by the activities of the Dreaming spirits. Within this landscape creation stories are recorded along Dreaming tracks with significant events marked by sacred sites. Dreaming tracks also run beneath the earths surface.

At some sacred sites powerful ancestral beings and forces have entered the earth and remain there. Special ceremonial rituals and sanctions ensure they remain undisturbed lest they unleash their power with destructive consequences. Many Aboriginal people were surprised that whitefellas did not seem to recognise this. Where concern over explorations and mining activities is expressed it is often based on this issue (See Chapter nine). Transport and access to country are also closely linked to the issue of sacred sites. Being unable to access sacred sites was often the most important issue for a community in terms of looking after their country. Older people were particularly concerned over these issues because they have responsibilities to look after the country and to teach the younger generation about looking after the land. Where people were unable to access sites to carry out their management practices the land was seen to be degraded. That is, the work required to keep the land in the condition best able to supply the material and spiritual requirements of the community was not being done. Although conceptually the link between the protection and maintenance of sacred sites and land management can at first seem unclear, there are many activities which form part of sacred site protection that are increasingly being recognised by scientists and land management agencies as being important for management in the arid lands.

Primary amongst these is the role of fire in the protection of sacred sites and its parallel role in contemporary environmental management. Aboriginal people burn around sacred sites to reduce the risk of wildfire damage to those sites. Such fire regimes provide important environmental characteristics for native flora and fauna and have a large influence on the regional distribution of resources. The potential environmental benefits of appropriate burning practices are highly significant for the conservation of endangered species. Cleaning rockholes and soaks is another example of sacred site protection with practical land management implications. Projects based on these activities have been carried out on Pitjantjatjara lands and Pintupi/Luritja lands. Removing debris from rockholes ensures a better supply of fresh water for the future for both native an introduced animals and for any people travelling in the area. In Aboriginal terms an important rationale for these activities is the responsibility to maintain the spiritual well-being of these places rather than just for environmental management.

Ceremony and Law

Aboriginal people across central Australia see the Law and ceremony as the main part of looking after their country. Older people are the ones who hold the knowledge about the Law in the ceremonies, songs, dances and stories needed to keep the land healthy. It is through the Law that people are said to "hold country".

The land is held in the sense that it is being used and looked after as it should be, in accordance with the Law and within the ongoing matrix of people and land as defined by the Law. The ceremonies and rituals for looking after the country include activities which are carried out for particular animals and plants as well as those which are used to affect the weather. For example there are ceremonies associated with particular sites and groups of sites which have been called "increase ceremonies". These ceremonies are often carried out at a particular time of the year to ensure that there will be a good supply of bush tucker for the next season. These ceremonies also have a role in making sure the natural order is maintained. When a particular animal (or plant) is seen to be scarce the appropriate increase ceremony may be performed to "bring out" the animals again. In discussions about the disappearance of many species of small mammals from central Australia, people often suggested that increase ceremonies could bring them back again. The proper Aboriginal Law ceremonies were the only way to bring about this change. In some cases, however, the ceremonies were no longer carried out as the old people who held the knowledge had passed away. As well as increase ceremonies, many other activities and stories are integral to the ongoing well-being of the environment. For example the land is divided into different regions within which certain activities such as hunting are not allowed. Such areas can form refuges for wildlife.

The way that traditional Aboriginal Law regulates the use of natural resources acknowledges the significance and value of key zones of what western scientists describe as biodiversity. Such areas usually correspond with water sources and rich habitats for flora and fauna. Other Laws cover particular aspects of hunting and resource distribution and have a significant impact in terms of land management. The Laws which control burning practices, for example, have played a significant role in shaping the present form of the arid zone biota. Stories also record and transmit historical information about natural phenomena and the impacts of human action. In their stories, Laws and beliefs Aboriginal people have a complex and holistic framework for understanding their place in the world and their role in looking after the country. Because of the importance of the Law for looking after their country, passing the knowledge to successive generations is viewed as an important land management activity. This involves visiting country with young people to teach them the stories and ceremonies.

Burning practices

Aboriginal attitudes to the use of fire vary widely across central Australia. Many of these perceptions relate to the different environments within which people are living and to the different roles of people within the society in relation to using fire. It is also apparent that some differing perceptions stem from the history of connection to or alienation from traditional lands and the influences of land uses such as pastoralism which may conflict with burning practices. Aboriginal people whose country is held under pastoral lease have limited access and little if any control over their lands.

Despite enjoying rights of access to visit sites and carry out traditional hunting practices they have no proprietary rights as land managers and therefore carry out very little burning. When these people are asked about burning on their country they respond that the question makes little sense. They do not have control over their country any more. Burning by Aboriginal people would not be acceptable to the pastoralists. In many cases cattle grazing may have reduced fuel loads to make burning impossible even if it was desired.

On Aboriginal land, burning practices are commonly practiced as a normal part of being on the country. "Need to burn and clean soaks to maintain country for native animals and for travellers." In some of the more remote areas, for example in the Tanami Desert, burning continues to be carried out but it is limited by the practicalities of access. Few roads and ephemeral water make travel into these areas difficult and relatively costly. When people are able to travel in these areas, for example where the Land Council provides support to do so, burning is a high priority. In other areas where Aboriginal people are regaining control over their land, such as on pastoral leases purchased on behalf of the traditional owners, burning practices are in a state of flux. On Angarapa Aboriginal Land Trust (formerly Utopia pastoral lease), for example, the land has passed to Aboriginal freehold title allowing the traditional owners control, free of pastoral covenants.

With the gradual return of the vegetation burning practices have also been reinstated. In the process traditional owners had to be reassured that these practices were acceptable to government authorities such as the Bushfire Council and some neighbouring pastoral properties. There were concerns over liability for any damage to adjacent pastoral properties and the concern that the broader community did not sanction the use of fire. Many Aboriginal people were not aware that the Bushfire Council and other land management agencies actively support the use of fire as an environmental management practice. The considerable amount of time that many of the recently purchased pastoral leases have been out of Aboriginal control has led to the situation where their Aboriginal owners are unsure if they can or should burn. In recent history many Aboriginal groups have been given conflicting messages about burning their country. "People not burning now because whitefellas said it was bad". The response that they had stopped burning in the past because these practices were outlawed by whitefellas was quite common. In many discussions people could not understand why the whitefellas had now decided that it was a good idea to burn their country. It should be remembered that the realisation of the importance of fire as a management tool by the scientific and land management community is less than 20 years old. In some areas people were reluctant to burn for other reasons. Lack of access to sacred sites has left these places in need of protective fire management before more general burning practices could be instituted. Burning practices have to be carried out according to Aboriginal Law which, among other things, dictates which people have the right to burn over country and what measures have to be taken to protect sites of significance.

Much burning was traditionally carried out in relation to hunting practices. It is likely that in some areas where little hunting is currently practised burning may not be commonly carried out. In other areas proximity to land controlled by other bodies affects Aboriginal burning practices. In areas adjacent to national parks and areas managed for conservation Aboriginal burning practices are controlled by the prevailing land management regime. In some areas the Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory (CCNT) burns the neighbouring country themselves or with the assistance of the traditional owners. In other areas the traditional owners may carry out the work themselves with some level of supervision from the park management authorities.

At the Aboriginal community of Ipolera proximity to CCNT controlled land means that they have to wait for government staff to help them with burning. This level of control over burning was seen as too restrictive as they wished to be able to burn when they wanted to without having to get a government agency involved.

The Community environment

After site protection and maintaining culture and Law, Aboriginal people often gave community landcare issues a high priority. Planting trees for shade and shelter, improving communal living areas and planting gardens were identified as the main ways by which the community environment could be improved. Requests for community landcare work and observations made during this research indicate that there is a great need for this sort of work throughout central Australia.

The need far outstrips the amount of on-ground work which is carried out. Organisations such as Tangentyere Council in Alice Springs, which provides assistance for community landcare work, cannot hope to meet the needs which exist. The number of communities which have instigated their own landcare works is very low; however, this may change with the influence of programs such as the Tangentyere Landcare Education Project which is based on helping the community realise the skills necessary to deal with their own problems. There are a number of issues which were raised during this research which have an impact on people's alibility and readiness to develop community landcare projects. The communities in which people were most keen to improve their environment were those situated on or near their traditional country. Other communities held the view that they were only there "until we get our real land".

People in these communities were less prepared to improve what is seen as a temporary home. In many developing communities environmental management issues are not regarded with a high priority. The initial priorities are for water, housing, health, education and other services above issues of environmental management. In many communities people said there were difficulties with access to an adequate supply of quality water for domestic uses let alone for planting or revegetation work. As the ability to move back onto traditional country away from welfare and station settlements is relatively recent many of these communities are still in the process of being developed. Another problem identified by respondents in outstation communities was that any periods of absence from the outstation for ceremonial or other business make the care and management of plants and gardens very difficult. Problems were also caused by children damaging plants and through vehicles running over them.

Many people also stated that they could not carry out work they wished to do because of what they perceived as a lack of equipment. At several communities people wanted to "clean up" the area but said they were unable to because they had no tractor or truck to do the work. This equipment was available to other communities and they felt they too should have access. There was little interest in doing the work using hand tools and wheelbarrows when a tractor could do it so much more easily. The use of mechanical tools to manage the community environment raises another issue. In many communities much of the vegetation, and in some cases some of the topsoil, is graded away in the process of "cleaning up". This often exacerbates dust problems and makes the establishment of other vegetation more difficult.

One of the main reasons given for clearing is to reduce the hazard of snakes and of fire near buildings. There is a clear conflict between the perceived need to clear the ground to clean up the community and that of creating a more healthy and comfortable living environment by growing plants for dust suppression and shelter. Some of this conflict arises out of responses to competing messages about managing the community environment. For example, Aboriginal resource organisations are promoting the need for community landcare work and the establishment of vegetation around the community. At the same time cleaning up the community, as promoted in campaigns such as the "Territory Tidy Towns" competition, can result in overzealous removal of "rubbish" vegetation. In many communities there was a lack of awareness of schemes for financial support to carry out community based landcare work. I

nformation about publicly available funds in programs such as the National Landcare Program, Greening Australia or the One Billion Trees Program is not widely available in communities. It seemed that only those communities which were serviced by effective Resource Centres or by community councils and community advisers with particular interest in landcare were gaining access to this information. Another issue noted during research is the influence of development planning processes on community aspirations and activities. The Community Development Planning (CDP) process which is carried out by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) presents an opportunity for environmental planning and improvement issues to be addressed.

The CDP plans are supposed to reflect community priorities. Landcare works around the community are invariably given a low priority in these documents. There are two conclusions from this observation. Firstly, community landcare works are made to appear to be a low priority for most communities. Secondly, and in some contrast to the first point, the CDP process largely focuses on developments and needs which require funding. It is a document which highlights, for funding bodies, the funding processes required to achieve a desired result. The point is that landcare activities which can improve the community living environment, often require very low levels of funding. They therefore tend to be under-represented in CDP documents. Where people have identified community landcare work as one of their objectives the ideas they present are often based on works they have seen at other communities.

Successful landcare projects in the community environment have an impact on surrounding communities as people travel widely to visit relatives and for ceremonial activity. Information is often spread by direct observation and by word of mouth. What observers do not often glean, however, from seeing such projects is information on how they were initiated, and more importantly how they themselves can access support and carry out the work. As previously mentioned the Tangentyere Council is focusing on this these issues through its Landcare Education Program. Workshops held in communities work through the priorities in relation to improving the community environment and enabling people to do the work using their own initiative and materials at hand. It is intended that the skills developed can then be passed from one group to another. It will be interesting to see how successful this approach is for disseminating information about landcare and helping communities to overcome the barriers to the initiation of landcare works.

At this early stage, responses to this study have not provided any information on the effectiveness of this process; however, Tangentyere's bush service is widely known for the provision of trees and landscaping work. In some communities landcare works were seen as necessary in order to overcome the damage caused by slapdash and ad hoc developments. Communities sometimes appear to be constructed with little thought for environmental considerations such as orientation to the sun, the direction of prevailing winds and the need to avoid damaging natural vegetation. It is common that some form of remedial work becomes necessary to make the place livable. A commonly expressed idea to improve the community environment was to create some sort of park where children could play and for community meetings. It was seen as important that such areas be protected from vehicular traffic. Broad-scale land uses Aboriginal aspirations for broad scale land use and management vary considerably. One issue upon which all groups agreed was the ownership of traditional lands.

Gaining title and control over traditional land was seen as the single most important issue, and one that is inseparable from discussions of land management. Where people did not have title, and therefore control over their land, questions about the activities they might carry out were difficult to answer. The primary goal for gaining title to land is to be able to live there. Once title is achieved the first priority is to set up communities and outstations to provide a basic level of services to those people who will return to the country. A number of issues arise from moving back onto their country.

A community impacts on its environment through the concentration of people and vehicles in a small area and from the impact of resource use radiating out from the community, such as, from hunting and the collection of bush food and firewood. The effect of the community on the immediate environment was seen as an issue by many respondents; however, the methods for dealing with these issues varied. Impacts on local resources around the community was recognised but seen as the inevitable consequence of living on the country. For example, as local firewood supplies are increasingly depleted, efforts to obtain wood become greater. Similarly people stated that the availability of bush tucker had declined around many communities. The answer to these problems was commonly seen as having access to better transport to where the resources were still available. Planning the management and use of these resources was not suggested by people as a priority.

Enterprise development

Many people expressed aspirations to use their land to develop some sort of enterprise. Some communities are already involved with cattle projects of varying size, ranging from "killer" herds to full scale export oriented ventures. Few people expressed reservations about them and the effect they may have on the country. Some people acknowledged that cattle had some impact but only after these ideas had been suggested to them during the conversation. From these discussions it was also clear that there are many misconceptions and perhaps unrealistic expectations about the benefits to be gained from involvement with cattle projects. These points are discussed in chapter five, while perceptions of the impact of cattle projects on the land are discussed in chapter four. The development of tourism enterprises was suggested as a possible use of land by a small number of respondents. At the same time however, most thought that it was a good thing for tourists to come out to communities to see more about Aboriginal life, provided that Aboriginal people could maintain control over where they went on Aboriginal land. Perceptions and aspirations towards tourism are discussed in detail in chapter six.

The sale of artefacts to tourists and to more remote markets has become an important part of the Aboriginal economy and this was reflected in the views of respondents. The impact that use of bush resources (such as wood) for artefact manufacture was having on the environment was not seen as an important issue. An issue many respondents raised in relation to enterprise development was the difficulty in overcoming a lack of management skills and experience. Many of the people who are in the situation of developing or coming to terms with land use enterprises are those who have only recently regained title to their land. These people have had no opportunity to make decisions about the use of their land in the past because they have not had control of that land.

It is often the case that people in this situation do not know the extent of their rights in relation to use of their land, and so continue to face barriers to real self directed development. Many respondents supported mining on their country, provided they were able to maintain control over where these activities took place. Those who were strongly opposed to mining often related accounts of themselves or their family being unfairly treated in the past. A widely held view was that mining, if not properly controlled, could damage the Dreaming underneath the ground. People were concerned for the integrity of Dreaming trails and sites below the ground as much as for those above the ground. Attitudes to mining are detailed in chapter nine. Some regional aspirations and perceptions The following sections provide details of the priorities for Aboriginal people within broad language group areas. Within each section some information on history and past land uses will also be given to provide some context.

It is important to recognise that present Aboriginal attitudes to their country are as much a result of the "traditional" Aboriginal world view as they are a result of influences arising from the recent turbulent history of dispossession, assimilation and "self-determination". Alyawarr region The traditional country of the Alyawarr lies east of the Stuart Highway and runs from the southern part of the Davenport Ranges in the north to Dulcie Range in the south and from Spring Range in the west to the Ooratippra and Lucy Creeks in the east (see Map 2). Many Alyawarr people live in outstations located on their traditional lands while others live in larger communities such as Alekareng, Tennant Creek, Ilperrelham (Lake Nash) and Mt Isa. Communities and outstations visited in the course of the research include Mulga Bore, Ankerrapw (Utopia Homestead), Atneltyey (Boundary Bore), Ngkwarlerlanem, Antarrengeny, Atnwengerrpe, Alekareng, Mwengkart, Atheley and Tennant Creek. Map 2 Alyawarr language region Alyawarr people made their initial contact with Europeans in the period after the construction of the overland telegraph line in the early 1870s. The early Pastoral leases covering the area of the present Kurundi, Elkedra, Murray Downs pastoral leases were established in the 1880s and 1890s and interest in mineral resources in the Davenport Ranges was a further influence in the late 1890s.

Some of the earliest contact came as a result of punitive raids against the Alyawarr for their efforts and those of neighbouring peoples (Kaytetje and Waramungu) to restrict European incursions onto their land. Pastoralism, and to a lesser extent mining have been major influences on the demographics of the Alyawarr since these times. More recently Alyawarr people have gained title to some of their lands through the purchase of Utopia pastoral lease (now Aboriginal freehold land), the successful Alyawarr land claim (1979) and through the granting of land associated with stock routes and a small number of pastoral excisions. Following the land claim which resulted in the granting of Aboriginal freehold title, the Alyawarr at the former Utopia pastoral lease expressed their desire to look after their land in the traditional manner through the establishment of many small outstation communities.

These outstations allow people to live on the country to which they are affiliated through their patriclans. At Antarrengeny, an outstation on the Alyawarra Aboriginal Land Trust and Atnwengerrpe, which is situated on Aboriginal land granted from a former stock route on Ammaroo Station, sacred site management was seen as the most important activity for looking after their country. "Most important thing is to look after sacred sites. We are always going out to visit rockholes and soakages." Respondents said that an important part of this is bringing young people out to see the sites and to learn the stories. Respondents at Antarrengeny said the community area had been fairly denuded of vegetation, partly on purpose to reduce the perceived threat of snakes, prior to recent rains. The result of the rains was that a huge crop of plants had sprung up covering the whole area, at times to a height of two metres. These were seen as a problem because they could harbour snakes and would dry off to become a fire hazard. People wanted to "clean it up again". A priority issue for the community was to grow gardens but they said they did not have an adequate water supply. At Atnwengerrpe the biggest problem for the community was an inadequate water supply. "We need a better bore, there might be only 2 days water in that one (tank). If the bore breaks down we might be in big trouble." Any work people might want to do to further develop the community is restricted by the water supply. "We have some new houses coming, we need to grow trees for windbreaks and for shade. Those houses they put up are not good for Aboriginal people. They just rush to finish the job and get the money from Aboriginal people, just hurry to finish up. We've got to make some gardens around so they are better to live in. We just want to keep it as it is. Healthy for Aboriginal people, good country." At Atheley outstation the community says that the health of the country is reflected in the abundance of bush tucker and resources such as firewood in the immediate environs. "The most important thing for looking after country is sacred sites. We've got plenty of bush tucker around here, kangaroos and goanna. Plenty of bush to build shelters and for fires.This country round here is healthy now."

Community aspirations revolve around improving the community environment. The ideas that were suggested were based on examples that had been seen elsewhere."We want to set up trees and a park in the community for people to sit in the shade and for kids to play. We could use some treated pine logs to stop cars driving around. We saw the logs used in Harts Range and at Canteen Creek and Lake Nash. Those young fellas can plant them up trees and watch them grow. We haven't got much around here for visitors. We need a shower block and some shelter for visitors too. We got to clean up around the houses to watch out for snakes."

At Apengarlintem outstation water was also seen as the most important issue as the community supply currently comes from a tank mounted on a trailer. They say they have approached the (NT) Power and Water Authority for a tank and to ATSIC for funding. "If we had more water there would be twenty or thirty people living out here."

Currently there are around ten people from one extended family group. Respondents strongly expressed the desire to set up a nursery to propagate and disseminate plants and landscaping services to the other communities in the region.

"We've got chooks and ducks and milking cows and beehives out here. We're almost self sufficient. That's the sort of thing that people should be doing, not running cattle all over the country."

At Atneltyey the "most important thing is to hold on to the sacred sites and look after them." The biggest issue for the respondents was that they had no "proper" vehicle to go out on country and this made it hard to access sites and to go hunting. Instead they said that they walked around the country hunting and getting kangaroos. They would walk long distances in the hills around the community hunting and camping overnight to eat the catch because they couldn't carry all of it back.

"Got no motor car to catch kangaroo but we are used to walking. But I'm still fighting for that Toyota so I can take young fellas out on country to teach them about the sacred sites."

At Ankerrapw protection of sacred sites was an urgent priority because several sites were seen as being too close to public access. The respondent wanted the Sandover Highway to be realigned to make a site less accessible from the road. The reasons for concern over the site were based on the danger the site presented for those who might come too close to it, as much as for damage to the site itself. On the way to visiting this site there were a number of other features that were pointed out as sites which had to be continually cared for.

There was particular concern over a place where "the road mob or the mining mob made a bore beside the road without even asking the community. They made it right through the Dreaming, night Dreaming [Milky Way Dreaming] which runs through to Irrultja, comes from Alcoota." At Irrerlirre community, which is situated on an excision from McDonald Downs Station access to country and looking after sacred sites were the key issues.

"We have got no vehicle to go and visit sacred sites, that's the most important thing."

People were also thinking about the impact of pastoral activities and feral animals on their country. "There are some sites that we don't let the cattle go to. When we see bullock in there we tell [the pastoralist] and he goes out there to bring it out."

Discussing the impact animals had on the country, women in the community pointed out that cattle damaged the bush food.

"Bullock eat all the bush food. They eat bush onion, they spoil the springs, damage the country. Cattle taking over, eating all that people eat." Improving the community environment was also a priority for people at Irrerlirre.

"We are growing trees from the river, we bring them up here ourselves. It gets boring when you sitting down here doing nothing, no work, we can work with planting trees. We also thinking about cleaning the place up a bit but we got no tractor to clean, pick up rubbish." People said that they were not aware of the assistance or advice they could get from Tangentyere about growing trees. They were also not aware of any schemes for financial support for greening the community. At Irrerlirre the people spoken to were not concerned about the issue of burning on their country. By way of explanation for this response people said "there aren't any old men around who want to burn."

Burning was not seen as important and people again reiterated that the country was not theirs to burn, the pastoralist and pastoral infrastructure made it impractical. In many of the places visited pastoralism has reduced fuel load so that burning is no longer possible and over time its practice has become less important for Aboriginal people in these areas. There is also a recurring theme that people have been told not to burn the country. In the past they have got into trouble for doing so. At Atnwengerrpe outstation respondents said "We can't burn this country, there are too many cattle here, we might burn them. We don't need to burn when there are so many cattle on the country because they keep the grass down." Anmatyerre region The history of European contact and land use in the Anmatyerre region is a pattern repeated across central Australia. The Anmatyerre region (see Map 3) extends some 200 km. to the north of Alice Springs and is dominated by pastoral leases. Initial contact was characterised by conflict over access to water between the Anmatyerre and the stock of the European settlers. As more and more of the Anmatyerre land was alienated the possibilities for moving freely about their territory, and caring for it according to Aboriginal Law became much more limited.

There are now two Aboriginal owned pastoral stations in Anmatyerre territory – Ti Tree and Mt Allan – while Utopia and Alcoota are Aboriginal owned properties bordering Anmatyerre country. Map 3. Anmatyerre language region At Pulardi Bore outstation which is situated on the Yuelamu Land Trust, formerly Mt Allan pastoral lease, living on their country and keeping the community healthy were seen as the main priorities. "All these kids growing up we need another place for them on our grandfather's country." It was important that young people maintain their contact with the land and learn about the country. Employment and other activities in the community were seen as the best way to ensure that this would happen. "We want to buy eight horses for the kids to ride – two quiet horse and six colts." One community member was also keen to set up a small nursery and vegetable patch and to have some training for young people in horticulture. It was not clear from the discussions with the community how many other people shared this aspiration.

At Mulga Bore community which is on an excision from Atartinga pastoral lease "The most important thing for looking after the country is sacred sites. Sacred sites, we can't let that go, that's our seed, everybody, not just me. When you lost that one you could get killed any time. Young fellas got to learn. Okay to go to school and get that whitefella learning but they got to learn Aboriginal way, it's most important." The topic of burning country was seen differently at Mulga Bore than in many other areas. People were happy to talk of burning the country. "In old times when we were hunting we used to burn around a bit to find out goanna. That pastoralist, he burns a bit now too." The pastoralist managing the Atartinga pastoral lease is known to employ a range of conservation management techniques and to have cooperated with the Aboriginal people living on the lease to arrange an excision through a consent agreement. Despite this cordial relationship other issues have arisen which are a problem for the community.

Some of the access roads have been blocked by the pastoralist on the grounds that they were on fragile country and traffic was damaging them. There has been some discussion and an alternative route has been proposed. "He [the pastoralist] closed the gates for the shortcut to Waite River, we have to go right around now. We want to put in a new road. We want to talk to ATSIC about it." While the damage caused to the roads was not a concern to the Aboriginal people spoken to in the community there was some concern over other activities of the pastoralist.

As part of the conservation management of the lease ponding banks were made with the aim of harvesting water to improve revegetation and to minimise erosion problems. These were seen by the Aboriginal community as "cutting up the country". Community issues were of the highest priority. The respondents spoke of their need to have a tractor and a trailer to help them clean up the community, to collect all the rubbish lying around and to clean up the undergrowth which they view as a health hazard. "We are shamed when people come out from town and see all the rubbish around. We want to clean it up but we haven't got a tractor, we haven't even got wheelbarrow and rake."

"We want to fix this place up, plant 200 trees all mixed up different ones, to keep down the dust and for shade, grow some grapes, and put in drip lines too. We need some shelters to build away from the houses so the mess doesn't build up around the door. We don't want Tangentyere to do it, we can do it ourselves, we have young fellas who can work to put them up, maybe one person to show us how to do it. We've got all bush for building shelters but we need pine logs to build them. We want treated pine logs to build bough shelters for each house."

Arrernte region

Arrernte people live in communities and outstations across central Australia from Papunya in the west to Atula in the east and from north of Alice Springs to the Finke Community in the south (see Map 4). Western, Central, Eastern and Southern Arrernte are closely related groups within this area who are linguistically defined. Each of these regions has distinct features in relation to early Aboriginal contact and present day land use which influence the perceptions and aspirations of the people living there.

Today Central Arrernte people live predominantly in the communities of Alice Springs (Mparntwe), Santa Teresa (Ltyentye Purte) and Amoonguna. Early land use in this region centred around the Telegraph Station at Alice Springs with pastoral development radiating outwards into the more remote areas. As Alice Springs forms the service centre for the region it has grown with successive waves of new arrivals to central Australia, most recently as a result of increased tourism. The influence of the Catholic mission on Aboriginal people in the region should also be noted. The mission located firstly at Alice Springs and then at Arltunga was finally moved to Santa Teresa in 1953. Western Arrernte people live mainly in the communities of Ntaria (Hermannsburg), Papunya, Haasts Bluff, and Areyonga. Major influences on people in this region have come from the alienation of the land for pastoralism and the Lutheran mission which established the town of Hermannsburg. More recently the attraction of the Western MacDonnell Ranges National Park for tourism and conservation has had its own impact on people's lives. Eastern Arrernte people live in an area which was found by early European arrivals to contain valuable mineral deposits at the Arltunga goldfields and the wolfram and gem fields around Atitjere (Harts Range). While pastoralism and missionary activities affected the Eastern Arrernte they were also host to several booms in mineral extraction and provided labour to work mines.

More recently the purchases of Apiwentye, formerly Atula pastoral lease and Loves Creek pastoral lease by Aboriginal interests have given Eastern Arrernte people new opportunities to control and manage some of their traditional land. At Akarnenhe Well community located on Atnetye Aboriginal Land Trust (formerly Atula pastoral lease), people have simple aspirations. Primary amongst these is to live on the country and look after the sacred sites.

"Sacred sites are the most important to look after country. We don't have any problem with cattle getting into sacred sites, all the soaks and springs are pretty dry now anyway." Community development issues are also a high priority as the community has grown since the Aboriginal ownership of the lease. "We wanted to set up another outstation but the water is too salty." None of the people I spoke to at Akarnenhe Well expressed a desire to get involved with the management of the cattle company. Those men who work for the Aboriginal management at the station were not keen to talk about taking over management themselves one day. This was also a concern of the manager (a traditional land owner of the station) who was keen that someone come forward to take on the job as he was contemplating leaving soon (see chapter five). The issue of fire management was also discussed at Akarnenhe Well. People spoke about the period they had been away from the land while it was held as a pastoral station. On their return they had not taken on burning activities. They intimated that when they were away from the country they left behind the responsibility to burn and on their return the need to reinstate these activities is less.

Several people referred to a "Fire Dreaming" which runs through the country. "We don't do any burning now because we need to protect sacred sites. We have to burn around the sites to protect them first or they might be burned. On the other side near the lake they burnt that country, might be conservation mob. This country here has a Fire Dreaming that burns from here to Atnwengerrpe to Yambah at Wenten's (Rubuntja) place." At Areyonga discussions about burning practices in the vicinity gave the following response. "People not burning now because whitefellas said it was bad." People are constrained by the proximity of other land and the instructions from whitefellas that burning is bad.

There wasn't much interest in suggestions that burning could be brought back onto the country. People seemed to feel that it was really still the wrong thing to do. At Orrtipa Thurra (Bonya) community which is located on an excision from Jervois Station discussion of land management issues was difficult despite the services of an interpreter. The main reason for these difficulties was due to the land tenure situation. It was difficult for people to talk about looking after their country because they did not have control over it.

Discussing country was accompanied by motioning to the horizon, indicating that the country being talked about was "over there." Much of the discussion was about the things that people see as issues on that country. Discussion was limited by these constraints as people were not willing to talk abstractly about the issues of managing country in general; discussions had to be tied to a particular piece of country over which people had the right to make decisions and to carry out management. As a result many questions were not discussed as they may not have related to the country in question. For example, discussion about burning practices was limited because the country in question was stocked, and it was a dry time so there was no fuel to burn. Burning was also restricted as the country was now held as pastoral lease.

It was indicated that this situation had been the same for many years. Questions about burning were dismissed, they made no sense for this country and could not take place while people had no control over the country. The issue of access was also identified as a problem. "We can't get out there now because we don't have transport." In discussions about looking after the immediate community area and issues such as the lack of vegetation for shade and the obvious dust problem people said that they were only there until they got their real land. They were not concerned about the community where it was. "We want to get back control of our land. We can leave this one, Orrtipa Thurra, for people to sit down on, but we want country for horse and bullock. Yeah, horse and bullock, I want em! We can get a truck there too to carry fence and wood around, to build yards, work him. Lots of family in Mt Isa waiting for them to get a block. We're just sitting down here until we get our country." At Atitjere (Harts Range) community which is situated on an excision from Mt Riddock pastoral lease the most important issues were community development and possible enterprise development. Around the community there was evidence of a range of landcare works with several gardens and limited access for vehicles.

Management of the surrounding country was seen as an issue as there was a need to control access by mining prospectors and tourists who come to hunt for gemstones around Harts Range. The highest priority for the community is the development of infrastructure detailed in the community development plan prepared by the Northern Territory Open College. Community members used this plan to explain their priorities to me. The plan focuses on the building of infrastructure around the community and places proposals for landcare around the community as the last item in order of priority. The main issue of concern was access to country and the protection of sacred sites. "Tourists coming more and more, they come to look for gemstones and to see the old mines." In general, however, there was not a problem with this, "like with that Gemboree, we'll tell them to go around our block. They will stay on the road, we have got to protect sacred sites. We are working with the sacred sites mob (AAPA) and with the Land Council to help protect them. CCNT they don't ask. They just come around." People also discussed a problem they had in the past and how it seemed to be escalating. One of the roads in the area was blocked by the pastoralist so the respondents had to pull down a fence to get through. Now it's blocked again. After some discussion access and control over country were again identified as problems. "We can't worry for erosion or burning because the country all blocked by the pastoralists, they got blocks all over. We can't go burning the grass because they [pastoralists] say 'what you burning country for'. Now the other pastoralists getting jealous too. They won't let us use the bore now, we got to carry our own water."

At Ipolera land management was seen from a political perspective and the roles of government and non-government authorities in land management were identified as paramount. Looking after the country involved burning, looking after sacred sites, and looking to the further development of the tourism enterprise already established and run by Aboriginal people. Can the Central Land Council help you with burning on your country? "In Spring time and Autumn that's the right time to burn them. It's quicker to burn things with the modern tool, the torch, not just use the stick like the old ways. When we got to wait for that mob we can't just go out anytime we like. When we want to burn we ask the CCNT if we can have the equipment but they say often that someone else has got it so we have to wait."

At Kulpitarra outstation near Hermannsburg community the issues people raised in relation to land management were burning the country, protecting sacred sites and controlling access to country. Some requests for site protection were seen to have led to no action. The community also has a small herd of cattle for which security against theft was seen as an issue. "When we have plenty of rain we can burn the country and we get plenty of bush tucker." What other things are you thinking about for looking after your country? "We are thinking about signs, you know, telling people not to bring grog into our place. And nobody coming in shooting around my area. That's why I was talking to Allan to put a sign on my turn-off saying nobody to come around shooting. A lot of Aboriginal people come through my place you know without seeing me first. We had a few cattle missing too you know, that's what I was worried about." "We are also worried about some sites. I was talking to that woman about that woman site down near Mereenie, about putting up a fence around it, but nothing has happened. I got another one, sacred site down near that oil field. I was talking to anthropologist about it, to put a fence around it but nothing has happened." At Kunoth Bore which is situated on an excision from Hamilton Downs pastoral lease people were keen to look at some form of enterprise development. The community currently has a few horses which are used primarily for the children to ride. Aspirations include gaining access to more land for a killer herd and setting up a shop to sell artefacts and petrol to the increasing numbers of tourists using the Tanami highway. "We want to get title to that piece of land (around Kunoth Bore) so I can have a few cattle and some more horses on that country." "Would like to have a shop and a petrol station like Napperby, to make some money, shop for tourists. Like Mbungara, they got a little shop there." "Would like a little bit bullock for killer – because the station owner is mean and he never comes back if you ask him about killer." Alatyeye is a small one family community based on an excision from Alcoota pastoral lease.

At Alatyeye community looking after the country was seen from a practical perspective. Access to adequate water supplies was seen as important to enable the land to be used. Sustainable land use was seen as a priority. The latest information was sought to make better use of the land and to repair damage already done by cattle. CCNT land conservation works had recently been carried out at the request of the land-holders.

From the condition of the land around Alatyeye these works are less urgent here than at many other communities. The fact that they had been carried out here and not at those other communities was testimony to an awareness by the people at Alatyeye of available support and their efforts in approaching the CCNT to get the work done. The people at Alatyeye were also seeking other information and support. "We need to know what authority has the responsibility for building dams. We are looking at the water from the new reverse osmosis machine out here but we know we won't have enough to water our plants and citrus. It seem such a waste not to harvest more rain water. We have got rain water tanks on most of our roofs but we want to build a dam or two."

The people at Alatyeye see themselves as having the initiative to get works going, but they see that this disadvantages them because funds are directed to communities that are more in need. "The funding bodies treat our outstation out here like a holiday camp. We're only two hours from Alice Springs and they think that we only come out here on weekends to rest or something. We live out here and yet they don't support us properly. You know why, because we have enough initiative to build our own houses out of what we could get hold of locally. If we had better water supply out here then there would be lots more people living out here."

Pintupi/Luritja region

The communities around the Papunya region are the largest population centres for Luritja people (see Map 5). Land tenure in this region is dominated by Aboriginal freehold land within the Haasts Bluff and Lake Mackay Aboriginal Land Trusts. Map 5. Pintupi / Luritja language region The community of Kintore and its surrounding outstations is predominantly Pintupi language speaking. The traditional country of the Pintupi extends into the Gibson Desert in Western Australia. The majority of the land in the area is used by Aboriginal people for subsistence activities and other uses. Some small scale pastoral activities are centred around the Haasts Bluff – Kunkayunti region but the majority of the country is considered too poor to support pastoral activity. There has been relatively little mining activity in the region.

At Kintore community there have been several programs initiated which address issues of concern to community members. A rockhole cleaning and protection program which has involved many people from the community has focused on visiting the rockholes and soaks in the area to maintain them and protect them from damage caused by feral animals. This program was set up after similar work in the Pitjantjatjara lands. Resources for the work were provided by keen resource staff in the community although similar programs have been supported by the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service in other areas. The community members that I spoke to knew about the program and wanted the work to continue. There is increasing interest in harvesting feral camels at Kintore. Some respondents were keen to find out about resources for setting up camel harvesting ventures and what the likely return from such a venture might be. Interest in camels has been fostered by resource centre staff who have facilitated community involvement in camel research being conducted by the CCNT in the Western Desert and through slaughtering camels providing meat for the community.

CLC land management staff have assisted the community in preparing funding applications to set up camel based ventures. The issues of using feral camels and their impact on the country have been explored more fully by the community at Kintore through these contacts. The movement of people from the larger centres to outstation communities is an ongoing priority for people in this region. Outstation development is seen as part of the process of looking after country. People need to have access to their country to visit sites and to carry out the work of looking after it.

This is one of the key issues for Aboriginal people to be able to use their natural and cultural resources as they see fit. Issues associated with natural resource use around outstations were also of concern. One respondent spoke about plans to improve the outstations including "cutting down desert oaks to make fences." The reason given for these fences was to make the place look better. The area inside the fences would be the responsibility of the residents and the area beyond could be looked after by the council or resource centre. The impact of cutting down the desert oaks was not seen as an issue. These responses reflect a concern with management of the immediate community environment. The longer term issue of impact on regional resources and sustainability are less of a concern.

At Ulambeara outstation near Papunya the main issue with regard to looking after country was lack of transport. Because they did not have a vehicle which was capable of safely taking them out onto the more remote areas of their country they said that they could not look after it properly. Around the outstation they wanted to have some small scale agricultural activities such as raising poultry and growing some vegetables but there was a need for fencing to keep out feral animals and Haasts Bluff cattle. At New Bore community there was interest in setting up a rockhole maintenance program. "We want to clean up rockholes, want to try for work like in Pit lands."

This response was given after I had provided a brief description of the program carried out on the Pitjantjatjara lands and how it worked. The respondent was not previously aware of the program.

Waramungu region

The history of Waramungu contact with Europeans began early by comparison to many other Aboriginal groups in central Australia. The overland telegraph line brought permanent non-Aboriginal settlement to the area in 1872, and over the period from 1880 to 1900 much of Waramungu land was taken up by pastoral leases. The influx of miners to the region followed the discovery of wolfram at Hatches Creek and gold in the Tennant Creek region.

An area of land was originally set aside as a reserve for the Waramungu people; however, mining and pastoral interests forced the revocation of the reserve. Another reserve was established on unwanted and unwatered country. Eventually this land too was revoked. The Waramungu remained landless until 1986 when the first of the existing areas of Aboriginal land were granted following the Waramungu land claim.

The Waramungu language area (see Map 6) covers the area around Tennant Creek and includes communities on the Karlantijpa North and South Land Trusts and the Waramungu Land Trust. Tennant Creek is the largest population centre in the region followed by Alekareng and around 20 smaller communities and outstations. Because Waramungu people have only relatively recently regained title to some of their land the management issues which are most important to them are related to reasserting ownership of their land through setting up outstations and moving on to their country to "grow up" the young people properly. Map 6. Waramungu language region One of the issues raised by Waramungu people was access to their country. Access to country is said to be a problem in the wet season and upgraded roads to outstations are needed.

A request repeatedly made by the community is to improve the road from Lajamanu to Tennant Creek. The reasons given for wanting to upgrade the road were to make it safe for travellers and to provide a direct route between the two localities which avoided the roadhouses which sell grog. In 1993 the CLC was able to meet with traditional Aboriginal landowners to secure a federal grant to carry out initial upgrading works on this road. At the time of writing Aboriginal work crews from the Lajamanu and Ali Curung communities are engaged in this work.

Another issue raised by respondents is the importance of burning the country. People said that they burned the country regularly, they are keen to burn and sure of their knowledge to do it in the right way at the right time. Late in 1993 Aboriginal landowners and CLC staff combined a road survey field trip with burning activity along the road and also the access track constructed for the proposed Alice Springs railway alignment.

Warlpiri region

The Warlpiri people inhabit a large area centred on the Tanami Desert and surrounding lands (see Map 7).

Much of this country is geographically isolated as there are few roads. Much of Warlpiri country is considered too poor for pastoralism and remained unalienated Crown land until it was handed back to the traditional owners as freehold under the Aboriginal Land Rights (NT) Act 1976. Map 7. Warlpiri language area The Tanami Desert is the site of considerable mining activity centred around the Tanami and Granites gold mines. Because these mines are on Aboriginal land considerable royalties have accrued to the traditional owners of this country. Both the mining activities and the disbursed funds have had a significant impact on the Warlpiri people living in the area.

The relatively untouched nature of large areas of the Tanami region are of considerable conservation value as several endangered and rare species are found there. There is ongoing contact between conservation managers and local Aboriginal people in the management of areas for the re-introduction of the mala. As elsewhere, a primary concern of Warlpiri people for the management of their land is to visit country and to carry on the Law in relation to sacred sites. This translates to the desire to set up outstations close to traditional country and to have access via roads and vehicles. Accessing some of the more remote areas is difficult due to lack of roads and the extreme climate of the region. Well equipped parties are needed to traverse this country safely.

A difficulty in talking about managing country is a reluctance on the part of Aboriginal people to talk abstractly about country which is not their traditional country. When examples are used to illustrate an issue people often offer no opinion because they do not have the right to talk for another's country. When people speak about the need to be on their country they use phrases like "I have got to go and live there. That's what I am thinking about, I have to be there so people can come and stay with me. I have got sacred sites there that I want to look after. Yeah, that's the only part of the country that I have to worry about." Some respondents connect the issues of land management with the work of rangers. "Other community they got rangers there to look after people and community, but we got nothing here. They might have a plant there down at the waterhole, they got to take care of that you know what I mean, we need a ranger for that. He is looking at the place, do something about that, ranger lets the people know what is happening on the country." "We haven't got any rangers around here. I heard on the radio that mob in Queensland they have some ranger training program there where Aboriginal people learn to look after the country. I'm worried about that burning on country, burning sacred trees. Yaapa got to do it themselves. Rangers can do it properly, like those mob in Queensland.

The most important thing for looking after country is the sacred sites, trees, caves. You have to travel on country with the right people for that country to show you where to go." At Lajamanu one recounted that burning country would get you into trouble. "From the kardiya (whitefella) if you burn the country you get into big trouble. Trouble from the Northern Territory bloke, even me, I'm Aboriginal man, but I get in trouble if I burn." Do you still burn the country now? "No not now I'll tell you, we don't want to burn it now, we don't think about that, but before they bin used to burn them for that country." Other people at Lajamanu said that they burn the country regularly. The only thing which causes them problems is access. Whenever they get out on to country they are keen to burn and sure of their knowledge to do it in the right way at the right time. "When we travel we can burn the country."

The respondents at Lajamanu described looking after country as: ".... travelling out, looking around, place to camp, sit down, holiday. We still trying to find those old sacred place. We burn all around our country when we travel out there. I know all those places. My father took me all around there after army finish [after World War II]. I still remember the soakage, I know the countryside. Old people can't remember now, but we can show you that place. There's water at those place all the time, important one for people to worry about. People could make a big town there, live on the country, put down a bore." At Tanami Downs, a former pastoral lease now held under Aboriginal freehold title, there are many issues related to managing the land which are clouded by a lack of awareness of rights to use the land. Looking after the land in the traditional way is a strong priority. "We go out all the time. We foot walking we don't use cars. There's plenty of goanna and kangaroo, lots of bush tucker here." Receiving title to the land has been seen as a great achievement. However, since that time other requirements for the community have not been forthcoming. "Well, we have been sitting here for years, and now we have got the title to that land but the government hasn't given us anything, no big truck or anything, houses, we need a tractor and trailer to pick up the rubbish around here, we can't do it by hand. We put in applications through the cattle company, they don't give me."

One of the activities community members would like to undertake is planting trees for shade and shelter around the community. "We can't do that now because we haven't got a big enough tank for water. Sometimes that water goes off when we have a shower when the tank goes dry. We would like to have a few vegetables and trees but we need to have a tractor too for making the garden. The water comes from the station in the pipe, but we need a bigger tank if we are going to do that." At Nyirrpi community much of the conversation centred around the requirements of the outstations and the support needed by Aboriginal people wishing to establish new communities. These were once looked after by the Yuendumu Resource Centre which has since ceased activity. "Yuendumu outstation resource centre finished up but they never did much for Nyirrpi. "We need an outstation resource centre, community council doesn't look after outstations, need resource centre." The development of roads in the region was a very high priority.

The road from Nyirrpi to Kintore was a big issue. A recent tragic death of a community member from heat stress and exposure on this road highlighted what the community saw as an immediate need to improve the road and to supply water for travellers. "Kintore could grade half-way and Nyirrpi the other way. Only a bulldozer been through, single track too rough now." Outstation development in the area was seen to be a natural follow-on from the development of the road with some people talking about the desire of those at Kintore to have outstations on that country too. At Yuendumu, following explanation of the aims of this research, some men said that it would not be listened to by the government and that this information would not make any difference. "Whitefellas come out from government mob and other mob and just write down, nothing happens."

They said that they had told these things to many whitefellas before and nothing had happened. No doubt they had good reason to see this researcher as another of the endless stream of white people that come into the country and talk to people about problems, write it all down on a piece of paper and then leave and nothing gets done. The desire to access country has led to a happy coexistence between Warlpiri and the mining companies that are exploring the region. Many respondents were pleased that they are able to get better access to their country using the roads constructed for exploration and mining activities. There is further discussion of Warlpiri attitudes to mining in chapter nine.

As previously mentioned, the conservation interest in the Tanami Desert has been an influence on many Warlpiri people who have either worked personally with the CCNT programs or been exposed to the issues involved. Some respondents were keen to point out the need to grow up more mala, and talked of the "pussy cat" that eat the mala. Others in the Warlpiri communities were less aware of what it was the CCNT were doing in the area. They knew they were working with animals as they had been approached in the past to help to identify some of the species which had disappeared from the region. However, this contact appears to have created some misconceptions among some respondents. Some stated that the animals which had gone from the region were not extinct but could be found living "with the whitefellas because they bring the skins in here sometimes to show us." Further discussion of attitudes to endangered and extinct species can be found in chapter seven. Throughout Warlpiri lands fire management was seen as a normal part of looking after the country.

Most respondents were clearly involved with ongoing fire management whenever they were able to visit their country. Conservation biologists are concerned at the probable impacts of changes to the fire regime due to demographic changes over the last fifty years or so. Aboriginal people, however, did not share these concerns. They remain keen to access the country which has not been burnt to continue their burning practices.

The main problem for Aboriginal people is lack of transport to enable them to access the country (which includes burning). They did not see the problem as one of lack of burning. Summary Aboriginal people see caring for country as an integral part of living on their land. Caring for country forms part of the relationship individuals have with each other and with the land. It is not seen as a separate activity which must be "carried out". From this perspective the most important issues are land ownership and access to land so that Aboriginal people can care for their country. The responsibilities individuals have under Aboriginal Law to take care of the land are then able to be carried out.

Sacred sites are looked after and the proper relationship between people and their land can be maintained. The stories for the country are passed to the younger generation and the land is looked after according to Aboriginal Law. Increasingly Aboriginal people are taking on "western" perceptions related to land issues into their world view. Increasing contact with white land managers and the need to face a range of new challenges in the management of their land are the principal agents for this change. Changes in the ecology of the lands and the introduction of feral animals and weeds are forces beyond Aboriginal control which require new and different approaches to looking after the land. Aboriginal people consulted in this study expressed a variety of views about the use of fire in relation to looking after country. On most of the Aboriginal Land Trust areas people said that fire is actively used to protect sacred sites and to maintain areas used for hunting. Using fire is seen as a natural part of being on the country. An issue identified by some respondents on Land Trusts was that lack of access to reliable transport reduced the amount of burning they could do in the more remote areas.

For people with limited control over their land, for example those living on pastoral properties, burning was often seen as a bad thing to do. Stories were recounted where white pastoralists had explained that burning country was not an acceptable practice. Some people no longer burned the country because of the damage it would cause to fences, bores and cattle. Aboriginal people have a strong sense of the need to look after their land. Most respondents were firm in the belief that they had the knowledge and ability to look after their country in the traditional Aboriginal way.

At the same time there are land management issues to which traditional Aboriginal knowledge does not apply. Aboriginal people need to have access to information about these new issues and to find a balance between the traditional and new methods that are needed to look after their land today.

Recommendations

It is recommended that the Land Councils, ATSIC and representative Aboriginal organisations:

Foster and support Aboriginal land management knowledge through: promoting the recognition of Aboriginal rights as landowners and as people practicing an indigenous culture to control and manage their lands and resources.

developing a structured statement of environmental and land management policies based on considerations important to Aboriginal people such as ownership and access to traditional land, protection of sacred sites, establishment of communities and living areas, maintaining cultural and social control and maintaining traditional land use and management practices. promoting formal recognition of the role of Aboriginal land management practices in contemporary Aboriginal land use.

Carry out research in order to develop guidelines and recommendations on a range of issues related to sustainable land use planning for Aboriginal land. Such research would establish an Aboriginal context for sustainability by focusing on: the sustainability of contemporary land uses including resource use around communities and living areas and bush tucker collection, culturally appropriate planning processes, providing opportunities for Aboriginal land owners to have access to scientific knowledge in order to make decisions about land use and land management.

Seek to establish programs for information transfer from Aboriginal people to government agencies and the broader public identifying: the aspirations and perceptions of Aboriginal landowners the information needs of Aboriginal land managers Seek to establish information transfer programs to provide information to Aboriginal people about the land management issues and priorities of government departments and their programs and policies.

It is recommended that government departments and land management agencies: Tailor their extension programs to take account of Aboriginal perceptions, recognising that: the land management priorities of Aboriginal people may be very different to those of non-Aboriginal groups the issues which drive extension programs may not be recognised as issues by Aboriginal people.