The returns of recognition: Ngarinyin experiences of native title, encounter and indeterminacy in the Kimberley region of northern Australia

Abstract:

This article explores a contemporary politics of recognition as it relates to Ngarinyin Aboriginal people of the Northern Kimberley region of Western Australia. I focus on the reflections and experiences of a Ngarinyin man, ‘the Alchemist’, who was involved in a native title claim across the region during the 2000s. Through ethnographic examples drawn from along the Gibb River Road, I show that time on country is animated by unexpected encounters imbued with interpersonal recognition and indeterminacy. These encounters involve non-Aboriginal people (including tourists) and non-human animals: allies who are co-opted at a time when people's intimate knowledge of country is becoming further attenuated. This article contributes to a growing literature on Aboriginal people's perceptions of and experiences in country in post-native title contexts.