The Northern Territory’s Ilkewartn Ywel Anmatyerr People expect to celebrate the recognition of their native title rights today at Pine Hill Station, 150km north of Alice Springs.

The Federal Court is expected to make a consent determination over the 1,173sq km application, recognising the people’s non-exclusive native title rights over 1,144sq km of their traditional land at Pine Hill Station, enabling them to live, camp and erect shelters on the land.

Justice John Reeves is scheduled to preside at today’s hearing, to be held at Desert Bore, on Pine Hill Station.

The applicants, the Ilkewartn and Ywel people, are represented by the Central Land Council (CLC), who lodged the application for them in July 1999.

The people are from Anmatyerr country and their language is eastern Anmatyerr, an Arandic dialect. Many have always lived in the area. Senior Ilkewartn man Lindsay Bird grew up collecting bush tucker and learning about the dreamings on Pine Hill and senior Ywel man Archie Glenn and his family have regularly visited a sacred site on the application area.

Today’s hearing follows the National Native Title Tribunal’s registration, in 2007, of an indigenous land use agreement to establish a 25sq km community living area for the Anmatyerr applicants at Pine Hill Station.

The Anmatyerr people, the CLC and the NT Government signed the agreement, which provided for the creation of leases and freehold areas at Pine Hill for horticultural activity including grape growing, an art centre at Mulga Bore and a road reserve.   

The Tribunal’s NT state manager Tony Shelley said today’s determination ended a process that had been conducted with respect and a willingness to negotiate an agreement to suit all parties.

“The Tribunal was involved in the facilitation of mediation of this application in its early years. The CLC and the NT government were then able to progress this mediation to a positive conclusion in a relatively short time frame,” he said.

“Today’s hearing follows last week’s consent determination for the people of the NT town of Elliott, affirming that progress continues to be made for NT native title claimants.”