Relating to the Country in the Western Desert

Abstract

Abstract At the time I conducted eleven months’ fieldwork in the region ofUluru (Ayers Rock, Australian Western Desert) between 1977 and 1979, half a century had passed since colonization by pastoralists had irrevocably changed the indigenous way of life. Uluru itself had been subject to tourism for twenty years. East of Uluru lay cattle stations while to the west and south, the Petermann and Musgrave Ranges were former Aboriginal reserves which once again belonged to their traditional Aboriginal owners since passage of the Northern Territory Land Rights Act in 1976. One of the purposes of my research was to obtain evidence for a land claim on Uluru and Katatjuta (the Olgas). Much of this claim was unable to proceed because the Federal Government transferred ownership to the Australian National Parks and Wildlife Service before the claim came to court. Surrounding areas were none the less granted to the claimants and title to the Park area was returned to its traditional owners in 1985. The senior men and women with whom I worked were already young adults when they first came into lasting contact with White people. During their adult lives, however, they have seen their way of life transformed in many ways. Although men still hunt regularly, imported flour has largely replaced the wild vegetable foods, traditionally gathered by women, which once provided 80 per cent of the diet. Children are born in hospital rather than in the bush, a change which has created major difficulties for maintaining personal affiliation to the land. Life on settlements has curtailed some ceremonies, while the introduction of motor vehicles has greatly expanded the opportunities for maintaining ceremonial links between communities.