Always Ask: Resource Use and Land Ownership Among Pintupi Aborigines of the Australian Western Desert

This chapter addresses the relationship between boundaries, band organization, and territoriality through an individual oriented, processual approach to mobility, land use, and land ownership among Pintupi Aborigines of the Gibson Desert in Australia. Here territorial organization is not the division of people into discrete, mobile, permanent "bands." Rather, "bands" are fluctuating, on-the-ground residential groups that differ from "bands" as land-owning groups. Both kinds of "group" are the outcome of individual choices and negotiations, as well as environmental and demographic pressures. On this analysis, boundaries are seen to be permeable for some resources and not for others. Distinguishing between rights of use and of ownership, the analysis emphasizes the different sorts of cultural logics and choices Pintupi individuals can and do make in voicing claims to "country" and its resources. Finally, the content of "ownership right" is considered: to "own" something is to have the right to be asked for it. The significance of this cor.cept for the understanding of resource management and territoriality is evaluated.