Current Issue

SANTOS ABORIGINAL POWER CUP ARRIVES 

The Santos Aboriginal Power Cup brought more than 200 First Nations students together for a week that blended Australian football, culture and community pride.  It was the first time in the program’s successful 19-year history that the event had been held in the NT.  The cup is much more than a sporting carnival – it uses the...

Current Issue

50 YEARS OF LAND RIGHTS IN THE NT

But when the Australian Government excised more than 380 square kilometres of Arnhem Land in 1963 to make way for the Nabalco bauxite mine, it sparked a momentum that would grow into the contemporary land rights movement and ultimately lead to the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.  December marks 50 years of the...

Current Issue

PROUD TO BE TIWI

Historian Peter Forrest has written that the Tiwi are “arguably Australia’s most intact Aboriginal group. Certainly, they retain their fiercely possessive attitude toward their land and their culture, and they have a resolute determination to maintain controls over those essentials of Tiwi integrity.”  Today the Tiwi people face...

Current Issue

ART AT THE HEART OF LAND RIGHTS

That’s why, during this momentous anniversary year, the Central Land Council is partnering with Desart to present the prestigious Vincent Lingiari Art Award for the fourth time. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate half a century of land rights,” CLC chair Warren Williams says. VINCENT LINGIARI ART AWARD 2021 WINNER GRACE...

Business

A STRONG VOICE

He has taken on the job knowing that South32’s massive manganese mine will close in six to eight years, which will mean an end to royalties and mining jobs. The land council, which represents the Anindilyakwa people from 14 clans, is working hard to develop wealth-creating ventures.  its mission statement says: To lay the foundation...

Current Issue

STRONGER TOGETHER

Although this conference was a great success, with many progressive opinions, ideas and initiatives presented that can help to drive the sector forward, it was a stark reminder of the journey travelled since 9 December 1976 when the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 was passed in the Australian Parliament, giving inalienable...

Business

COMMUNITY BY DESIGN

Lead architect Rossi Architects, supported by Alice Springs-based Susan Dugdale & Associates, collaborated with Larrakia advisers to design what is already being heralded as one of the most striking buildings in Northern Australia.  Project lead Rossi Kourounis says: “It was a critical missing piece to celebrate, share and practice...

Current Issue

FROM RECOGNITION TO OWNERSHIP

This year marks 50 years since the passage of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 – legislation that fundamentally changed the relationship between Aboriginal people, land and economic power in the Northern Territory.  Today, Aboriginal people own approximately half of the Territory's landmass under the Land Rights...

Current Issue

GUMATJ CORPORATION

East Arnhem Land’s history of land ownership is not only written in history books, but witnessed in the businesses being built, the classrooms being opened, the jobs being created and the decisions being made by Yolngu people on Yolngu land.  As the Northern Territory marks 50 years of land ownership, Gumatj Corporation stands as one of...

Current Issue

LAND RIGHTS

In 2026, Australia marks fifty years since the passing of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth), a landmark moment in the recognition of Aboriginal people’s enduring connection to Country, culture and lore. For Rirratjingu Aboriginal Corporation, this anniversary carries particular significance. The foundations of...

Current Issue

THAMARRURR 

The remote community of Wadeye is often seen through a narrow lens.  In the news, it is portrayed as a place of violence and dysfunction. But step inside the community and a different story emerges — one grounded in deep culture, strong family connections and an enduring relationship to Country.  Life in Wadeye is not easy. Each...

Current Issue

CREATING WEALTH FOR YOLNGU

They were talking to politicians and bureaucrats from Canberra – men who knew little or nothing about Indigenous attachment to the land – and knew they had to put their case intelligently and clearly. The negotiations began in 1968 and continued until the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act was passed by the Federal Parliament...