Abstract
The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth) was the first recognition at law of the traditional ownership of land in Australia by Aborigines. It provides means whereby Aborigines claiming to have a traditional land claim to certain types of land in the Northern Territory can demonstrate that ownership to the Aboriginal Land Commissioner. If he finds that there are traditional Aboriginal owners of the land he reports that finding to the Commonwealth Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and may recommend a grant of it to a Land Trust. Sometimes problems in ascertaining which, if any, Aboriginals are the traditional Aboriginal owners of the land claimed arise from the difficulty inherent in expressing the land tenure system of one culture in the language of another. The author illustrates this with examples from one land claim hearing and argues that the use of interpreters is desirable to enable the claimants to put their case clearly and for the Commissioner to understand more fully the intricacies of Aboriginal land tenure systems.
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