Abstract
In some contexts, including those that require concrete and locally specific knowledge, the term 'traditional owner' has come to mean something different from its original statutory definition, in daily discourse, in the routine operations of settlement life and the administration of the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (ALRA). It has also become a common referent for Aborigines resident in remote areas, rather than a specific term for land-holder. I will begin to unpack the nexus between this category and the reality of decision making by persons whom I term 'community-country' Anangu. To this end, this post-settlement sociopolitical category is examined to contrast it from the definition of traditional ownership under the ALRA. This will highlight the tensions between the functional legal operations of the ALRA - its obligation to consult with traditional owners - and the reality of those persons who tend to be consulted about development proposals. The emerging issue of the regionalisation of remote settlements also plays directly into this issue of defining traditional owners.
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