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Yale Tropical Resources Institute
Dr. Michael Dove, Director
Nathaniel Delafield, Program Director
School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
210 Prospect Street
New Haven, CT 06511
U.S.A.
phone 203.432.3660
fax 203.436.4404
www.yale.edu/tri
©2006 by Yale Tropical Resources Institute
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TRI Fellows Research Projects, 2004
Australia
Victoria Critchley, MESc 2005
Reclaiming Homeland Dreaming: Indigenous Politics and Conservation in Cape York.
Location: Australia, North Queensland
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Victoria meeting with David Claudie, Chairman — Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation, at Chuula, Wenlock River Outstation — Cape York.
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Many of the most biodiverse and ecologically significant regions of the world are within the existing or historic territories of indigenous people. In both developed and developing countries protection of these ecosystems is intrinsically linked to the welfare of and the assertion of rights for indigenous communities. European settlement in Cape York, Northern Queensland led to the dispossession of the country’s traditional owners and has greatly impacted the region’s biodiversity and ecosystem health. Aboriginal leaders in Cape York are struggling to regain ownership and control of the land and its resources. In this endeavor they have the general support of national and local environmental ngos, however tensions exist between the indigenous priorities of community development and the conservation agenda.
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Bullocks at the Archer River Roadhouse, Cape York. There are major tensions between pastoralists, environmentalists and traditional owners in Cape York in respect to the sustainability of the cattle industry.
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My study involved an analysis of the Australian Wilderness Society and its attempts to work with indigenous organizations, and individuals to bring about the protection of environmentally significant ecosystems in the Cape York region of Northern Queensland. Interviews with leading figures in Cape environmental and indigenous politics provided an avenue to understand the interplay of indigenous and environmental values, perspectives, and ambitions, including their association with recent developments in native title and resource extraction. In the process, this study suggests some of the elements that contribute towards either productive or conflicted relationships between indigenous and environmental interests. Recent political events suggest that the Wilderness Society’s ability to work collaboratively and effectively with local indigenous organizations and leaders is at a major crossroads.
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