Introduction

The Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act of 1976 is intended to give Aboriginals in the Northern Territory legal title to their traditional lands, where these lands are unalienated from the Crown or where all interests in the lands are held by or on behalf of Aboriginals. When an area of land is being claimed, an Aboriginal Land Council prepares a claim on behalf of the traditional owners, often using contract researchers, in which it tries to ascertain the names and relationships of all the traditional owners, the location of sites on their land, and the nature of their affiliations (spiritual and economic) to the land. This evidence is presented before an Aboriginal Land Commissioner, who is a judge of the Supreme Court of the Northern Territory, in a quasi-legal hearing with lawyers representing the claimants and other parties with interests in the same lands, for example, mining and pastoral companies, the Northern Territory government, local councils. The proceedings are tape-recorded and an official transcript produced by the Commonwealth Reporting Service. The Aboriginal Land Commissioner issues his findings and recommendations in a published report to the Federal Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, who may then make a grant of the land to an Aboriginal Land Trust established to hold title to the land for the benefit of its traditional owners (see Maddock 1983 and Neate 1989 for a general discussion of the Land Rights Legislation).