The Project
The University of Wollongong and Rio Tinto Ltd established the
South East Arnhem Land Collaborative Research Project (SEALCP)
in March of 1999 with funding from Rio Tinto Ltd. The project
is an anthropological study of the cultural, social, political
and economic circumstances and potential changes in communities
of South East Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory.
The project was strongly supported by the community of Ngukurr
in South East Arnhem Land and had backing and participation of
the Northern Territory Government and the Northern Land Council.
The project’s central concerns were to document the historical
and contemporary social, cultural, political and economic circumstances
of the communities, develop an understanding and appreciation
of people's attitudes and aspirations, including their reception
of mining exploration, address issues for the possible development
of mining and the potential impacts of these developments and
how they may be managed by and with the communities effected.
The ethnographic research was carried out from mid 1999 to late
2002.
