ABSTRACT
In Australia, to make claim to an area of country, as many Aboriginal Australians refer to the land or sea, invariably involves the defining of that country as a traditional territory, the customary country of ones ancestors. Definition of Aboriginal territoriality according to non- Aboriginal concepts of boundaries is fraught with danger. Native title is a sui generis or unique form of land title. Where native title claims are successfully determined, native title claimants have to form a prescribed body corporate (PBC) to hold and manage their native title. This chapter provides a case study that looks at the issue involves Bardi and Jawi people of the northwest Kimberley region of Western Australia. In March of 2010, the Full Federal Court delivered its appeal decision in relation to the Bardi and Jawi native title claim. This issue concerned the Mayala native title claim that adjoins the Bardi and Jawi claim.
