ABSTRACT
The author argues that Indigenous relationships to water cannot fit into the rules, laws and processes that have been imposed upon their own, without engaging with native title, not only as a legal concept but as an expression of contemporary Indigenous worldviews, cultures and identities. The author explains his reflections on why people remain constrained by the law and more importantly how people can limit the cumulative impact of these constraints on the Karajarri, Tjurabalan and Ngurrara traditional owners. The perceived constraints of the law to recognise Indigenous claims for both cultural and economic rights reflect established world views about the order of things or set of relationships within society. Parallel to the emerging legal recognition of Indigenous relationships to country, recognition of the challenges of climate change, water scarcity and ecological degradation has created an opportunity for an alliance between Indigenous and non-indigenous people recognizing shared values.
