ABSTRACT
Relative to other Australians, Wik, Wik-Way and Kugu people (referred to hereafter for anthropological convenience as Wik people) living in Aurukun Shire on the west coast of Cape York Peninsula (CYP) are socio-economically disadvantaged. They are largely outside the market economy and are financially dependent on government welfare, including the work-for-welfare Community Development Employment Program (CDEP). Nevertheless, elders aspire for their people to be economically independent and self-reliant (Venn, 2004a). While opinion varies about how to promote economic development in remote Indigenous communities, there is an emerging consensus among economists (e.g. Duncan, 2003; Altman, 2004) and Indigenous leaders (e.g. Pearson, 2000; Ah Mat, 2003) that economic development is urgent and necessary to improve the welfare of inhabitants and for the survival of Australian Indigenous cultures.
