LAW 1506 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Galarrwuy Yunupingu, Lauriston Sharp, Temporal Line
23 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Aboriginal land law - theory
1. Distinct from native title: Practiced prior to colonisation in 1788. native title= western
jurisprudence first articulated in Mabo.
2. Traditional ownership is defined through
a. Soft boundaries and meta temporal lines
i. Exclusive use of land, distinguished from ownership- extended to children of clan
women. Right of exclusion exercised in exceptional circumstances. Function is to
apportion and conserve natural resources Lauriston Sharp 1934
ii. Ownership is not exclusive, land is not a commodity. Ownership defines the concern of a
limited group Irene Watson 1998
b. Customs (sacred ceremonial places; dreaming; spirits; painting; song lines and law;
knowledge and kinship) Galarrwuy Yunupingu 1976
c. Socio-political events (massacre and genocide; separation from land and kin
d. Inverse relationship (people belong to land, no other way around)
i. Land is alive, it is not just a thing
ii. When we took what we called land, we took what to them meant health, home, the
source and locus of life and their everlasting spirit. Destroyed their group structure, left
them with no social network William Stranner 1938-1973
e. Responsibility of custodianship and stewardship (land is sacred, must be cared for Diane
Bell, 1983
i. Deities shapes, humanised and put resources on the land for people to hold on trust for
the deities and future generations.
ii. Responsibility spread among people attached to specific territories, tied by
descent Ronald Berndt (1982)
f. Resources (cultivation; enjoyment and use)
3. Not defined through
a. Hierarchical structure (no overarching sovereign)
b. Physical boundaries
c. Continuous tenure
Tenure
Crown > owner/ leaseholder
Bundle: possession, control, enjoyment,
exclusion, disposition
Ab land concept
Men and women belong to land
Bundle: stewardship, management, enjoyment,
sharing, some rights of exclusion
4.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Aboriginal land law - theory: distinct from native title: practiced prior to colonisation in 1788. native title= western jurisprudence first articulated in mabo, traditional ownership is defined through, soft boundaries and meta temporal lines. Exclusive use of land, distinguished from ownership- extended to children of clan women. Function is to apportion and conserve natural resources lauriston sharp 1934. Ownership is not exclusive, land is not a commodity. Ownership defines the concern of a limited group irene watson 1998: customs (sacred ceremonial places; dreaming; spirits; painting; song lines and law; knowledge and kinship) galarrwuy yunupingu 1976, socio-political events (massacre and genocide; separation from land and kin. Inverse relationship (people belong to land, no other way around) Land is alive, it is not just a thing: when we took what we called land, we took what to them meant health, home, the source and locus of life and their everlasting spirit.
