TRADITIONAL OWNER VIEWS

The map and catalogue of exploration licence areas in Arnhem Land provide a general picture of mining activity in this region. But how do the Aboriginal owners of this vast and beautiful country see the rapid escalation in minerals exploration? And how do they view the role of the Northern Land Council in all of this? Below are a couple of examples of the variant views that are held by traditional owners.

Also well worth reading is Ian McIntosh (2000) 'Mining, Marginalisation and the Power of Veto', Chapter 10 in Aboriginal Reconciliation & the Dreaming: Warramiri Yolngu & the Quest for Equality, Allyn & Bacon, Needham Heights MA.

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Map of Aboriginal tribal/language areas (from Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia)

Note: In Aboriginal land ownership boundaries exist but cannot be represented accurately by lines on maps. There are also numerous blank spots in this map due to a lack of published information. The area around Tin Camp Creek is a case in point. However, a 1993 map by Stephen L. Davis, Resource Managers Pty. Ltd. and the Australian Mining Industry Council, Australia's Extant and Imputed Traditional Aboriginal Boundaries depicts the following clans in the Tin Camp Creek area: Manilaggar, Djok, Danek, Gadu and Gunwinggu.

Traditional owner statements to the Review of the Land Rights Act - Maningrida Meeting 1/12/97

Reggie Wuridjal (Gunabidji TO): Mining its important. All we ever do is, Aboriginal people here, is just say yes or no. The Land Council up the top there and we're bottom, and they're acting on behalf of us. We should be telling the Land Council what to do. We just got to give two answers, yes or no. That's all. No questions asked, no anything. Get into details. Ask them properly, "What you doing to our land? Leave our land alone".

Ralph Sumardal: I'm Ralph Samuel from Goulburn Island, Warruwi. I living at King River in my outstation. I living in east what you call Wellington Range at King. I living next to the sound. I'm the one they doing exploring in my area. I got the right to give those mines because I'm the elder and a few men at Oenpelli and few at Goulburn, we work together. We got association in our home. We set it up first before the exploration doing. We got our land trust people for doing, signing our paper there at Oenpelli. We call Jacob (Nayinggul), he doing our signing and we doing right with NLC mob, we thought we're doing - we work together and we work together with mining so good and our Aboriginal people, they work with mining, a few Aboriginal people they working with them.

Working with the, we don't let mining company just go and do their own or else they damage our sacred sites and our sacred area so I'm dealing in my area, we're dealing this right. We're doing a good thing, the area and everybody seeing I got trust from Northern Land Council (NLC). I got trust from Aboriginal Benefits Trust Association (ABTA). I did write it down an obligation so I got the trust from ABTA, not NLC. NLC, they didn't give money to buy that thing. I got from our trust account from ABTA.

Also we have NT we can do that. We can just do. We can write obligation, obligation permits in that Maningrida office, Goulburn office, some areas, so that is what I did. I got my trust so I look after areas. I got fishermen doing that. Not now, they're not doing it because the road is bad so asked some money from mining operator, operation mob, they helping me. They put some roads there while they doing their what you call it, surveying, looking for minerals and drilling same time. So when they find everyone who said "Yes", and when they find, you can't change your mind, when they do mining, they send money to America or overseas, they make money.

Note: Ralph Sumardal negotiated the EL on his land with PNC. Jacob Nayinggul is an Aboriginal Liaison Officer for the NLC and a senior traditional owner in the Oenpelli area.

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